Fleming's Seizes the Fine-Dining Opportunity

Scott believes this can be credited to the segment’s ability to satisfy today’s experience-driven consumer, those who are willing to spend time and disposable income on dining out. It’s this generation’s version of a vacation. And if consumers are not seeking convenience or price, they’re courting ambiance and experience. That’s the sweet spot of fine dining.

“I like to say that the dining experience is the time you have to disconnect from the world and connect with the people you’re dining with,” Scott says. “We’re finding a way for customers to share their experiences with each other, and that’s something not everyone can offer.”

Zeroing in on that guest, Fleming’s drives experience throughout its menu. On Tuesdays, customers can share a “Tomahawk for Two.” It comes with two starters, two sides, two desserts, and a 35-ounce Prime Tomahawk Steak aged a minimum of 21 days and cooked in Fleming’s 1,600-degree broiler Scott is pretty confident couldn’t be picked up at the local grocer. The chain’s “Mondays at Fleming’s” presents a three-course menu with Filet Mignon and Cold-Water Lobster. The “Sunday Table” promotion is another three-course setup, featuring Slow-Roasted Beef Tenderloin, for $45 per guest. Intended, as Fleming’s says, to be a “great meal with the people you love.”

Fleming’s frequently hosts special events, like wine dinners, where it brings in winemakers to chat with guests. The chain earned an Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator six times.

“I think it’s different for every guest, but our thing is, people want to take the time to really engage with each other,” Scott says. “Put the phone down. There will always be that photographable moment. You’re there for a celebration.”

Scott says fine dining covers that corner of the market, too. Fleming’s will see multi-generational celebrations where people who have come to the brand for 15 years introduce their children, grandchildren, to the restaurant. Their fond memories of birthdays, anniversaries, and so on, spent at Fleming’s stick when it’s time to pass the tradition along. Unlike some brands that target solo occasions and spontaneous drop-ins, fine-dining chains illicit fierce loyalty because of life events, and the nostalgia that comes with them.

That can be a blessing and a curse. Fine-dining restaurants have a smaller window to nail the experience. And customers are far less forgiving given the price point.

That rule—it takes three great experiences to win a loyal guest? You could argue it’s one night in the fine-dining space.

“We really want people to walk into a Fleming’s, taste, smell, and feel like they’re in their location,” Scott says.

Training is critical, she adds. Customer service has to be top notch from the bar to the booths. Each Fleming’s has a Chef’s Table menu named after its culinary leader. Scott says they approach the back- and front-of-the-house connection differently as well. Instead of treating the menu like a flash-card project, Fleming’s tries to encourage collaboration. “It’s interesting,” she says. “I think when we engage together, heart of the house and front of the house, from the menu conception to bringing it to the guest, it’s a partnership versus, hey, chef is going to make a couple of things and you guys need to memorize what’s in them.”

She says operating partners involve the entire team. “What are you seeing in the market? And then chefs going out and sourcing ingredients. Chefs engaging other staff members in the kitchen on where they grew up, and what did they eat, and what are they seeing. And then creating those dishes together,” Scott says. “Tasting and changing along the way.”

Fleming’s also asks loyal guests for input.

“It’s helped really solidify the program as something that’s ingrained in the culture versus just, we’re adding these menu items and now everyone has to know there’s cilantro in this dish,” Scott says.

She called the change “a culture shift for Fleming’s,” and a program that will definitely continue. It gives servers something dynamic to talk about, and it brings guests into the fold.

Fleming’s sends teams for wine certifications. Scott says they’ve seen retention rise as they incorporate more education into the training process. “This whole millennial, want access to information and bettering your own knowledge notion, it just falls right into something like this.”

It’s turning Fleming’s employees into food experts, she says, and that’s no small change from the status quo.

A recent study from research and consulting firm Y-Pulse surveyed 1,400 restaurant workers aged 18–34. In the data, 76 percent said their friends considered them foodies for working at a restaurant. That doesn’t happen by accident.

“You really see it in the front of the house with us,” Scot says. “They are actually rising to the occasion of wanting to learn more about food versus, again, just kind of memorizing things.”

Giving younger employees learning opportunities, instead of just paychecks, has produced circular benefits for Fleming’s. Better retention results in better service. Higher engagement leads to more effective cross-selling and upselling, and just more satisfied customers in general.

Here’s an example: Fleming’s has stayed away from technology at the table. There isn’t a kiosk in sight. But the company did dabble a bit with wine iPads before realizing guests wanted to engage servers on the topic, not just scroll through a cool-looking list. They sought personal recommendations, which opens the door for all sorts of selling opportunities.

“It’s an interesting dilemma, right?” Scott says. “You want to give guests what they want but at the same point and time you want to curate that experience to hopefully put them in the best position.”

Fleming’s tries to keep its wine list fresh with recognizable options and choices not found at the local store. Fleming’s invested in a Coravin system so it could offer some options by the glass that normally would have taken a whole bottle commitment.

This is how Fleming’s looks at technology—as a customer service enabler, not as a replacement to a human element.

Something like having a customer service management system that allows Fleming’s to know more about guests’ preferences and what they had last time, so the chain could surprise with a favorite drink or food item on the next visit.

With technology, Fleming’s can wield the benefits of a multi-chain, multi-brand system directed by one of the industry’s biggest operators.

Bloomin’s Dine Rewards program has north of 8 million members. The company has used it to drive engagement across its portfolio and leverage customer segmentation opportunities provided by data it has collected over the years. Bloomin’s investments in CRM allow engagement through customer-centric communication, and also give the company room to provide higher return from marketing spend. In the past two years, for instance, Bloomin’ reduced advertising spend $25 million as its shifted from mass marketing to digital personalization.

In regards to Fleming’s, the platform lets Bloomin’ cross fertilize its traffic. It can introduce loyal customers of, say, Outback, to Fleming’s with deals that might fit into their personalized schedule, like a birthday. Smith said Bloomim’ has seen existing customers experience other brands, like Fleming’s, and increase their entire frequency across Bloomin’s ecosystem. It also saw new users try brands they didn’t know were even connected to each other.

What it’s done for Fleming’s in particular, Scott says, is give the chain a more sophisticated approach to customer service than the roaming birthday singer. “We can decorate the table specially, send them home with a special gift. We’re trying to up the level,” she says. And that comes from having rich consumer information beforehand.

Fleming’s can now customize emails that are more relevant to customers so it’s not just “crushing your inbox,” as Scott puts it. Not just offers but notes about specific happenings, like a chef’s table addition. Every month Fleming’s will send out news curated to each market, telling them what’s on the seasonal menu, etc. “It’s much more effective than inundating them with national messaging that’s not relevant for them,” Scott says. “And I think it helps us connect to the communities better.”

“We’re really trying to be your local steakhouse even though we’re a national brand,” she says.