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The following 5-step plan gives restaurateurs the information they need to pursue a study of their patrons and to achieve all of the repeat business they can manage: 1. Decide exactly what is to be achieved with the customer research program. 2. Motivate staff to become involved in soliciting customer opinions and to communicate with customers. 3. Collect data, using a standardized set of questions. 4. Convert complaints into valuable customer input. 5. Slowly implement the changes that came about through customer suggestions, and implement only those that will help customers as well as the restaurant.

The cost of drawing in a new customer is six times greater than that of hanging on to a regular patron.

So, how is it done? How do we keep them coming back for more? Good food? Sure. Personalized service? Of course. Giving them what they want? Yes, but, how do we know for certain what they want? Simple. Ask them.

Gathering and using customer feedback requires an organized effort. The following five-step plan guides guest-sensitive restaurateurs to new levels of consumer awareness. It gives you the information you need to pursue a study of your patrons and achieve all the repeat business you can handle.

GO FOR A GOAL. First, decide exactly what you want to achieve with your customer research program. There are reasons why your repeat business isn't what it should be. Now is the time to find out precisely why.

"It is very valuable to know what our customers are thinking," says Larry Pera, a Jack-in-the-Box restaurant area manager in Hayard, California. "We instituted our guest questionnaires in 1989 with the goal of improving communication and service."

MOTIVATE YOUR STAFF. Recognizing the importance of guest satisfaction led Foodmaker Inc. to use customer questionnaires as part of the monthly quality inspections of its Jack-in-the-Box restaurants. By basing a percentage of its employees' bonus structure on these questionnaires, everyone from the grill person to the area manager is forced to face the importance of the customer's opinions.

Your staff probably already knows your customers better than you do. Get them involved in the input program from day one. Impress upon them that soliciting opinions and brief periods of customer communication are expected.

Gary Kearns, manager of a San Jose, California, Hungry Hunter restaurant, tells his staff, "If you're not servicing a guest, you'd better be servicing somebody who is."

Hungry Hunter's award-winning Encore Service program relies heavily on customer input. "All of our servers know that it's part of their job to communicate with customers."

COLLECTING THE DATA. If you opt for a verbal interchange, your staff will need a few minutes to jot down notes, probably in a pre-designed format. And they should use a standardized set of questions.

The Hungry Hunter uses tabletop cards to collect demographic information. "But," adds Kearns, "any problems that surface on the cards or at the tables are addressed on an individual and immediate basis."

A receptacle near the cash register can be used to collect business cards or small filled out entry forms. A monthly drawing can provide lunch for the winner, as well as a customer base.

Collecting data via on-site written formats seems to work best. Foodmaker's simple one-page form asks five questions, leaving room for additional comments. An optional space for customer name and telephone number allows call backs for further information.

CONVERTING COMPLAINTS. Learn to treat complaints as valuable customer input. Weed out the emotional overtones of an irate customer and you're left with something that went wrong. A problem situation, handled well, can lead to a steady patron.

Jack-in-the-Box views complaints as potential future business. A letter from the area manager is sent, telling the customer how their particular problem has been remedied. "We have discovered that the complimentary coupons we send out are even more important than the letters," says Larry Pera. "The good will the coupons engender goes far beyond the value of a sandwich."

IMPLEMENTING CHANGE. You will eventually use your customer input to make some changes, best taken like castor oil, in small doses. Too much all at once can leave customers and staff disoriented. Start with the most critical and obvious, proceeding slowly from there. And only implement changes that will help your customers as well as your restaurant.

"Customer responses have led to some improvements that we might not have instituted otherwise," Larry Pera says, "like no-smoking dining rooms and a more upbeat music system. We also poll customers on every new food item before adding it to our menus."

Tell staff and customers alike when customer data translates into real time changes. A comment like "Yes, the lowfat entrees were suggested by a regular customer" lets a guest know that her input is, indeed, valued.

When you solicit input, rather than just sit back and wait for complaints, you use your customers' opinions as a springboard to improvement and increased profits.

Customers are definitely cheaper to keep. Taking up the repeat business challenge means keeping them happy. Supplementing super service with a request for feedback puts you one step ahead of the competition.

Judy Erkanat is customer-service expert and freelance writer from San Jose, Calif.