As a Dresden based institution, Kochsternstunden brings together the area’s top culinary experts in competing against each other. Different menu creations are promoted according to the flavors of guests’ palates. A total of 34 restaurants compete against each other to secure the top position.
Comfortable atmosphere and hospitable company
Every year, the cooking event attracts guests to participating restaurants. In a welcoming and comfortable atmosphere, various menus and wine pairings are sampled and discussed. In total, more than 3,400 menu reviews are submitted within the 5-week duration of the competition.
Guests can rate various aspects of their restaurant visit, including taste, creativity, ambiance, value for money and the service staff. All factors together form the basis for the overall rating of the restaurants and their final placement. There is a special rule for service employees. The rating for service employees is not only included in the overall rating of the restaurant, but also the ranking, “Best Service Staff”. Furthermore, each restaurant receives a detailed evaluation of its results, which also includes suggestions from guests.
Different channels for different tastes
For the organizers of the Kochsternstunden, it was important to have different communication channels available to gather feedback from guests. Another aspect of major consideration was to bring together the results from all 34 participating restaurants in a common ranking standard to determine and showcase the yearly winners. Furthermore, each restaurant should be able to receive its detailed evaluation after the Kochsternstunden contest. This would enable restaurants to receive helpful recommendations for their service quality.
A final factor to be considered was speed. All evaluations of the individual restaurants needed to be prepared right after the event was held to coincide with the ceremony of the award show to announce the winners.
Individual access key for evaluation
In order to make it as easy as possible for the numerous guests to submit feedback, various feedback channels were established. Through our online survey tool, guests were able to submit their evaluations directly online, via email, fax or classic paper form.
To easily assign online ratings to respective restaurants, each restaurant had an individual access key, which was handed over to the guests with the invoice.
Regardless of which channel guests use for their rating, they all come together in a unified platform. The presentation of results in this combined form ensured that Kochsternstunden had an overview of reviews at all times. Furthermore, the merger of the results ensured the quick and easy analysis of all 3,453 appraisals to determine the winning restaurants and winning service staff. On average, each of the 34 participating restaurants received 100 reviews. Every 6th feedback was provided with a useful comment on service quality and customer experience.
In addition to ambiance, food, and drinks as well as value for money, the numerous service staff also contribute to the overall satisfaction of the guests. Their positive rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars added to the overall restaurant experience. The overall satisfaction of all guests is 4.5 of 5 stars and speaks volumes for the region’s restaurants.
Increase customer satisfaction and loyalty
The establishment of the various ensured that Kochsternstunden received a large number of reviews. An average of 690 reviews per week, spread over 34 restaurants, were submitted. The high number of feedback ensured a detailed ranking of the individual restaurants and thus a fair placement. The same applies to the employees in the service ranking within their special category, “Best Service Staff”.
Furthermore, the participating restaurants benefited from the numerous comments, valuable tips and suggestions about their service quality. This, in turn, has helped to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.
