lunch-outings during the work day

Offering private dining is a great way to attract customers who want a more intimate dining experience. From anniversary dinners to small family parties, private dining allows your customers to enjoy the convenience, pampering, and flavor of dining in a restaurant without having to share space with others. But how can you make private dining feel even more special and set your restaurant's private dining experience apart from that of the competition? Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Let customers select the music.

Set up a separate sound system in the private dining room, enabling those in that room to listen to different music than is playing throughout the rest of the facility. When a customer calls to make a reservation for private dining, ask them if they have a music preference. Depending on how you get your music (through a free service like Pandora, off CDs, etc.) you can let them pick either a genre or specific artists.

If your sound system and music availability is sophisticated enough to allow for it, you can even let guests request certain songs be played during dinner. This will especially appeal to those who are celebrating anniversaries or engagements and want to hear "their song."

Offer complimentary drinks.

If you offer each private dining customer a complimentary cocktail or glass of wine, they'll feel valued and pampered. You don't need to include the fact that you offer complimentary drinks on your menus or advertisements. Let it be a surprise for the customers; let them feel like it's something you're offering just for them. If your restaurant has a signature cocktail or a house wine, you could simply provide that for your customers. Otherwise, give them a choice of two or three beverages.

Create several "private dining only" menu options.

Your private dining customers want to feel like they're the stars of the show and like they're getting something your ordinary customers don't have access to. Offering two or three dishes only to your private dining customers helps evoke these feelings. When your chef has a little spare time, let him or her go to work creating something that's just a touch more upscale than your restaurant's standard cuisine. Before you know it, guests will be calling to book private dining just for the opportunity to try these exclusive dishes they've heard about.

Customers want private dining to be a special, memorable occasion. By allowing them to select the music, offering them complementary drinks, and designing several exclusive menu items, you'll ensure they feel pampered and catered to. To get a feel for how other restaurants manage their private-dining experience, book private dinners at places in your area, such as Silicon Valley Corporate Catering and Event Management.