Loyalty
How to Turn First-Time Guests Into Returning Guests
A first-time guest comes back when the first visit was good, when they remember you, and when they have a reason to return. Get the basics right at the table, give the guest an easy way to stay in touch before they leave, and follow up once, personally, at the right moment — rather than with a discount for everyone.
Get the first visit right
- A clear menu with prices, photos and allergen information, in the guest's language if you serve visitors.
- Short waits at the moments that matter: being seated, ordering, getting the bill.
- A dish worth coming back for — and staff who can say which one.
- A problem handled on the spot, before the guest leaves, rather than discovered later in a review.
Before the guest leaves
The end of the meal is the one moment you know the guest is there and has just experienced you. Use it once, lightly:
- Ask how it was — a quick rating or a word from staff — and act on what you hear.
- Offer a way to stay in touch: joining the loyalty programme, the newsletter, or following the restaurant.
- Make the benefit concrete: points already earned on this visit are a stronger reason than a promise.
- Do not ask for everything at once; one invitation is enough.
The follow-up
| When | What | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Within a few days | A thank-you, if they agreed to hear from you | They still remember the visit |
| When something new arrives | News of a dish, a season or an event | A reason to return that is not a discount |
| After a few quiet weeks | A personal invitation | It reaches guests before the habit fades |
| When they bring a friend | A reward for both | Regulars are the best introduction |
Measure the second visit
- Count how many of last month's new guests came back this month; that is the number to improve.
- Look at it by channel: guests who ordered at the table, booked, or joined the loyalty programme.
- Change one thing at a time — the welcome, the invitation, the reward — and compare.
What to do with what you learn about returning guests: how loyalty and guest data work together.
Bringing guests back with Thmenu
Where a guest pays online through Thmenu, the page they see after paying can show the loyalty points the order earned, a quick rating when you have feedback switched on, and a button to follow your restaurant; followers see your announcements, campaigns, new dishes and closures in their My Thmenu page. You can set referral rewards in points for a member who invites a friend and for the friend, credited on the friend's first order; they are off until you set them. In the Customer Profiles list, segments such as new guest and away for 30 days or more let you send an email campaign to the right guests, only to addresses that subscribed.