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No matter what you do inside your restaurants, problems will occur. And sometimes, those problems will linger in the minds of customers and cause them to not come back.

But here’s the good news: Guests who are loyalty club members are half as likely to defect after they experience a problem than guests who aren’t part of the loyalty club. While the obvious reason to have loyalty programs is to incentivize guests to return, loyalty clubs also have the hidden benefit of minimizing the negative impact when guests experience a problem.

It can—when key metrics are executed well. Taste and temperature of food are important for carry-out guests, but guests who are highly satisfied with these measures still aren’t as satisfied overall as dine-in guests.  

 However, if guests are also highly satisfied with accuracy, the carry-out experience can be just as satisfying overall as the dine-in experience. Clearly, accuracy is the key component to get right in the carry-out world, and restaurants should make sure it’s their main focus.

SMG’s Benchmark Database shows Pace of Experience scores, along with Likelihood to Return scores, suffer on St. Patrick’s Day compared to other Saturdays in March. Overall Atmosphere scores are slightly up on the holiday, but customers indicate the fun, vibrant atmosphere doesn’t compensate for slower service.

Restaurant bars should stay focused on Speed of Service, even when the atmosphere is spirited, because delivering on this important key driver will keep those fun-time guests returning to your bars—even when there’s no green beer on tap.

When it comes to Speed of Service scores, it certainly seems so. Fine-dining restaurants experience a 9 percentage point boost on Speed of Service on Valentine’s Day compared to other Tuesdays in February. Through use of price-fixed menus, fine-dining restaurants are able to accommodate more guests in less time.  

Unfortunately, the news around fixed menus isn’t all good: Taste of Food scores suffer on Valentine’s Day, taking a 2 percentage point dip compared to other Tuesdays in February. 

Restaurants need to find a balance between providing speedy service and great-tasting food on holidays, because both contribute to customer loyalty.