How this Michelin two-star restaurant excels in diner experience

Read the success story of Dede at Customs House, a Michelin two-star restaurant, and discover how they deliver exceptional diner experiences with the help of ResDiary’s restaurant booking system. 

You'll discover how they:

• Launched successfully with ResDiary to help them attract diners from around the world
• Take table bookings 24/7 and never miss a booking opportunity with W8List
• Sell their unique taster menu experiences online
• Support their staff in setting up for a smooth service
• Excel in delivering exceptional diner experiences thanks to booking notes

Contents

• Meet Dede at Customs House
• ResDiary’s restaurant booking system
• Launching a new venue that the locals would love
  
• Relying on ResDiary to capture table bookings 24/7
• Ensuring they never miss a booking opportunity
• Selling table bookings for taster menu experiences
• Ensuring a smooth and enjoyable service
• Using booking notes to excel on experience
• Working with ResDiary
• Download this story

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Meet Dede at Customs House 

Dede at Customs House is an independent restaurant in Baltimore, West Cork, Ireland. Its close-knit team has been delighting diners with unique taster menu experiences since 2020. They’ve attracted regular customers from across the world and have also won rave reviews and many industry accolades along the way, not least of all, being awarded two Michelin stars in 2023. 

Check out Dede at Customs House on Dish Cult 

Maria Archer is co-owner of Dede at Customs house, managing the business and running front-of-house operations on a daily basis. We caught up with her to learn about them and the challenges they’ve faced in their incredible journey so far. Of course, we were very interested to hear how ResDiary has helped them to successfully manage table bookings and serve up exceptional experiences to their customers.

Meet the ResDiary booking system

ResDiary is the zero-commission online reservation system, designed for hospitality venues by experienced industry experts. Our platform is packed with features and over 60 integrations to help you attract diners, run a smooth service, and maximise value from every single table booking.

But that’s not all, as venues are also backed-up by our market-leading table management software that helps to reduce no-shows and drive more value from every service. You can join 10,000+ ResDiary venues and start streamlining your booking management today!

• ResDiary venues can amplify their online presence and attract diners on their own website with a bespoke booking widget.
  
  
• You can also use ResDiary’s table management system, segments, and yield management tools to control the flow of diners and take care of bookings.
  
  
• Grow your business with ResDiary’s marketing tools to create custom menus, events, and special offers.

Find out why 10,000+ venues are using ResDiary to help grow their businesses!

Launching a new venue that the locals would love

Baltimore is an idyllic coastal village in western County Cork, Ireland. It’s a popular spot for tourists looking for an authentic slice of Ireland’s natural beauty and city-dwellers hoping to escape the business of everyday life.

This, along with a beautiful old building (Customs House) being available, was enough to inspire Maria and her co-owners to open a restaurant here. While opening a restaurant in 2020 had its challenges, Maria explained that this may have helped Dede at Customs House (also known as ‘Dede’) attract its original customers.

She said, “We set up to launch Dede just before the COVID-19 pandemic, obviously not knowing it was going to happen.”

“We were very lucky in that where we’re located, a large number of people also re-located there during the pandemic. A lot of people who had holiday homes moved to Baltimore, West Cork. I think we started with huge community support as people were keen to see what was happening.”

Are you ready to let ResDiary take care of your table bookings?  Book a demo to see it in action today

On relying on ResDiary to capture and manage table bookings 24/7

Pandemic aside, Maria was also well aware of the many challenges involved in opening and running a successful hospitality venue. Thankfully, she made the right calls early on in adopting the right tech to take care of key tasks, like attracting bookings and managing tables.

“I knew we needed a restaurant booking system straight away and we had a look at the systems that were on the market. We spoke to a number of suppliers, but I would have to say William’s (their ResDiary representative) advice was really instrumental in our choice [of ResDiary]. He was close by, but most of all he was helpful, and we knew that support would be a major factor in whatever option we chose.”

It didn’t take long for Dede’s popularity to grow well beyond their local audiences, as tourists from all corners of the globe began to book as well. This meant they needed to be able to take table bookings around the clock.

Maria explained, “Because of where we’re located, most of our bookings will come in advance because people have to book their accommodation, and we know that they’d like to be able to book our restaurant at the same time.”

“We have people who travel in from not just within Ireland but also great distances [all over the world]. So, they need to be able to book when we’re closed or asleep through the night, in whatever time zone suits them!”

Thankfully, Maria’s choice to implement ResDiary’s restaurant booking system early on meant that they were able to adapt quickly.

She said, “We had ResDiary in place right from the very start. It has been absolutely instrumental in us being able to manage bookings and accept advanced bookings.”

“We also take their menu choices, and their credit card details for a deposit with the booking, and it’s all done within ResDiary.”

We asked if any of those far-flung diners had also become loyal customers, to which the feedback was very positive again. She said, “Oh yes! We have people who will come every year. We recently had a customer who came from America two years ago and returned this year. So, we do have regular diners from all over the world. We feel very lucky for that!”

Amplify your online presence and capture reservations where diners are searching, with ResDiary

On ensuring they never miss a booking opportunity

Taking table bookings from across the world 24/7 means that Maria and her team at Dede rarely have to worry about walk-ins. But they do have a healthy list of customers on reserve ready to whip up any tables as soon as they become available - that’s no surprise considering their popularity.

Anybody who’s had to manage cancellations and a waiting list will know that it can be stressful trying to keep track of everything, communicate with customers, and manage expectations, all while running a busy service.

Thankfully for Dede, ResDiary’s standby list feature has been the perfect antidote to any of that unnecessary stress. In fact, it’s become a source of appreciation from their customers.

Maria explained, “The W8List and standby list features have been absolutely fantastic. If we have a table booking who has cancelled for whatever reason, I can just take a look at the list to see who’s in there and ring to ask them if they’d like a table.”

“It’s certainly helped us to ensure that we’re always full. But it’s particularly helped because customers love it when you ring them up and say, “We’ve had a cancellation, would you still like a table?” They know that they’re not just wasting their time going on standby, you will actually ring them up, and they’re absolutely delighted when you do.”

Explore how ResDiary can help your team handle walk-ins and your waiting list automatically.

On selling table bookings for taster menu experiences

Dede provides a unique experience that’s built exclusively on offering tasting menus, unlike most other restaurants who offer a regular a la carte menu as standard. This is exciting for diners but created an added complication for Dede’s team in how they capture and manage reservations.

Again, ResDiary’s team was able to provide a solution that suited their specific needs, using our Promotions feature.

Maria said, “Because we don’t provide a standard offering, we use what are called ‘promotions’ in the system. These aren’t actually promotions per se, they’re our lunch and dinner services that people can choose when they book online.”

“As you can imagine, we couldn’t operate without those promotions, as it would be chaos trying to manage bookings without them featuring in the booking widget and being managed automatically in ResDiary.”

You can use ResDiary’s Promotions feature to create special set menus, tasting events, and other offers for diners to choose when they book.

On ensuring a smooth and enjoyable service for diners and staff

Every restaurant needs to run like clockwork, especially when they’re running tasting menu experiences and diners' expectations are understandably high.

We asked Maria how ResDiary’s booking and table management system has assisted her team to ensure that their service runs smoothly.

She said, “ResDiary has been very helpful, especially when I’m not there. For example, information on the tables we need to set up and the number of covers is all there for our floor team to see, so they can get set up correctly for each service. Even our sommelier can look forward and see when we’re getting busy to see if we need to stock up with more wine than usual or more regularly.”

“We also want to see what’s coming ahead for staff planning too. We have a permanent team of staff, but we also have people who can come in and work part time. So, we would need to know when we’re going to need them and when we won’t as well.”

Using booking data and trends to shape their service

Diving into booking data can certainly help venues optimise their operations and prepare for a busy service. But it can also offer important insights that could help to shape and refine customer experiences too.

Maria shared a perfect example of this from her experience at Dede. She said, “We’ve seen that the way people eat now has changed. With their timings, for example, we see a lot more early bookings now than we’ve ever had before. I would say 6-6.30pm are our most popular booking times now, whereas before it would have been 7-7.30pm.”

“Most people don’t go for drinks before [their reservation] or afterwards, they tend to come for the whole evening and we know they’re going to be there for three, sometimes even four, hours.”

With this in mind, Maria’s team uses ResDiary to tailor their experience and control the flow of bookings to ensure that they can meet expectations where service is concerned.

She said, “This information allows us to see if say, there was one person booked in at 8.30pm. I will ring them and say, “It looks like you’re going to be the only table in on your own, would you like to move it to an earlier slot when everyone else is in the restaurant?” as it’s a better atmosphere.”

“We can manage things like that with that booking information to hand. And it’s fine because we want people to relax and enjoy themselves more than worrying about rushing people into ordering coffee so that we can get them out.”

Using booking data and trends to shape their service

Diving into booking data can certainly help venues optimise their operations and prepare for a busy service. But it can also offer important insights that could help to shape and refine customer experiences too.

Maria shared a perfect example of this from her experience at Dede. She said, “We’ve seen that the way people eat now has changed. With their timings, for example, we see a lot more early bookings now than we’ve ever had before. I would say 6-6.30pm are our most popular booking times now, whereas before it would have been 7-7.30pm.”

“Most people don’t go for drinks before [their reservation] or afterwards, they tend to come for the whole evening and we know they’re going to be there for three, sometimes even four, hours.”

With this in mind, Maria’s team uses ResDiary to tailor their experience and control the flow of bookings to ensure that they can meet expectations where service is concerned.

She said, “This information allows us to see if say, there was one person booked in at 8.30pm. I will ring them and say, “It looks like you’re going to be the only table in on your own, would you like to move it to an earlier slot when everyone else is in the restaurant?” as it’s a better atmosphere.”

“We can manage things like that with that booking information to hand. And it’s fine because we want people to relax and enjoy themselves more than worrying about rushing people into ordering coffee so that we can get them out.”

Controlling the flow of bookings to keep everything running like clockwork

As you can see, having that booking data to hand allows Maria and her team to go above and beyond in delighting diners. It also helps in ensuring that everything runs smoothly both in the front and back of house. This is where ResDiary’s smart rules as part of its Yield Management feature play a vital role.

Maria explained, “Tasting menus absolutely feed into that idea of it being an evening out. So, we don’t do a lot of turnarounds, but we do plan our service accordingly.”

“We use smart rules in ResDiary to seat around eight people every half hour, approximately. That helps us to control the flow, so that the kitchen is not overloaded, and you are not waiting for long when you come in. You know you’re going to get a drink straight away and snacks will be coming shortly after that.”

“With it being a tasting menu, we know that if those timings weren’t correct, you wouldn’t get the same experience or level of service.”

Use Yield Management to control the flow of diners.

On using booking notes and staff messages to excel on experience

We’ve seen that as well as serving amazing food, Dede’s experience thrives on delivering exceptional service too. It’s no wonder why so many of their customers come back again and again – regardless of how far away they may be.

Maria explained the key role that diligent attention to booking notes plays and the incredible detail they’ll go into to delight their regular diners.

She said, “The booking notes are very important to us. We obviously add whatever information we can in there for diners, and also when anyone from the hospitality industry is coming in to visit – like the chef or sommelier from another restaurant. We feel it is important to acknowledge industry members and make sure they have a good time.”

“We recognise most of them [returning customers] on site, but we also put things into their booking notes like dietary requirements – which is especially important when you run a tasting menu that changes through the seasons.”

“We’ll usually also put in the booking notes the date of when they last attended as well. So, we’ll know whether it has been a year or two years, or whenever, we can welcome them back.”

We asked Maria if offering that highly personalised service was important to their success

She said, “Very much so! We have things in our booking notes apart from dietary information. For example, let’s say you’re an older person with mobility issues, we’ll make a note so they can sit at the front of the restaurant and block out a parking space right outside.”

“If you were somebody who has a bad back, we would fetch cushions for chairs and we would write those notes in the diary for next time.”

“We even have a customer who we know is deaf in one ear, so we know he cannot sit on the left-side of our venue and we’ll make sure he’s on the opposite side.”

“If you’re someone who actually really enjoys being in amongst the action and noise in front of the pass (these are generally guests from other hospitality venues), we will add those preferences into the notes and try our best to give you the best evening.”

“These are all things that we feel are very important. It’s why our booking notes are so vital to the level of service we provide. If we rely on memory for setting up for this, it would be no good.”

Discover how you can fully utilise your booking data to create more personalised experiences and highly targeted marketing campaigns for your customer base.

On working with ResDiary as their booking system partner

Having been there since the beginning, we were keen to learn how Maria’s experience of working with ResDiary has evolved as Dede’s business grew.

She said,“ResDiary right from the start has been very supportive, particularly in terms of training, answering questions, and finding out how best to use the system. As you’d expect with our specific needs, it’s taken a bit of time to get set up and learn how to use it the way we need to.”

It’s also pleasing to see how Dede’s team have utilised different features within their restaurant booking system to do more than simply capture bookings.

As Maria said, “The system has definitely adapted with our needs too. It was a lifesaver for us in the beginning and now I can’t see how we could possibly operate without it. We have lots of people trying to sell us systems, but we have what we want, which makes us very happy.”

So finally, we asked would the team at Dede at Customs House recommend ResDiary to other hospitality venues? “Absolutely!” she said, “We have recommended ResDiary to a good number of other restaurants and colleagues!”

How can ResDiary help your business?

Are you ready to grow your bookings and revenue?

ResDiary is packed with features and integrations to help your business run more smoothly. While capturing bookings is our bread and butter, we know that it takes so much more to run a successful restaurant. We could tell you more about how ResDiary could work for you, but wouldn’t it be much better to see it for yourself?

• Switching from pen and paper to a digital system
• Increasing your online presence and attracting online bookings
• Growing your business with the help of a scalable booking system
• Taking deposits and reducing no-shows
• Driving repeat customers with highly targeted marketing campaigns

Simply book a time to speak to a friendly ResDiary expert today!

Download this success story!