Introduction example: 山﨑

Hospitality for all five senses that begins at the L-shaped counter

— Could you tell me about the characteristics of your shop?

Inside, the restaurant features an L-shaped counter made of light-colored wood and private rooms. With plaster walls, the soft glow of lanterns filtering through cedar shoji screens, and a vermilion shop curtain with the name rendered in white, we strive to create a space that carefully combines traditional Japanese materials.

The L-shaped counter is a place where you can fully enjoy, with all five senses, the sounds and aromas of dishes being finished right before your eyes, as well as the chef’s movements. Because we serve only a small number of guests, we place great importance on the sense of closeness with each person as we provide our hospitality.

We source seasonal ingredients from all over Japan and serve them in the most delicious way for that particular time of year. We also place great importance on creating a comfortable atmosphere where guests can forget the busyness of everyday life and truly relax.

— In cooking, what do you value most?

What I’m conscious of is doing work that “sharpens the contours of an ingredient’s flavor.” I try not to let my own handiwork get in the way of the natural taste the ingredient already has; instead, I approach and draw closer to that flavor from my side. With that feeling in mind, I build up the cooking process and seasoning.

While keeping the foundations of Japanese cuisine at the core, I also want to value a perspective that transcends genres, cultivated through my training so far. I aim to create dishes that allow guests to experience both traditional techniques and a fresh sensibility across the counter.

After-hours spent struggling with double management

— Before introducing Respo, what challenges were you facing with reservations and customer support?

Because our restaurant has only a small number of counter seats, we place great importance on giving our full attention to each and every guest. On the other hand, managing reservations used to require a lot of effort, and it was not uncommon for us to be swamped with paperwork after closing.

We had to manage phone reservations and online reservations separately, and confirming details and sharing information was time‑consuming, so we were looking for a system that would let us manage everything as simply as possible.

"Simple and easy to use" was what best matched the reality on the ground.

— Why did you choose Respo out of all the available services?

The biggest factor was that it’s simple and easy to use. When there are too many features, it often becomes difficult to use on the front lines and ends up adding to the operational workload.

With Respo, it’s very easy to understand that you can manage online reservations and phone reservations in a single ledger, and I felt it really matches the realities of on-site operations. Another major advantage is that, through integration with the payment terminal, the checkout process can be handled smoothly all the way through.

After business hours, focus on cooking and preparing for the next day. The team has gained some welcome breathing room.

— After introducing Respo, what changes have you actually noticed in terms of store operations?

Now that we can centrally manage all reservation information, the workload for checking and entering data has been greatly reduced. The amount of office work after business hours has decreased significantly, and I feel we can now focus much more on cooking and preparing for the next day.

Our accounting operations have become smoother, and the time customers spend waiting has also decreased.

――― Please tell us if there have been any changes in how your staff work or how they feel.

By reducing the burden of back-office tasks, I feel that our entire staff can now focus more on our customers and the food. At our restaurant, we place great importance on building the place as a team, so rather than being overwhelmed with tasks, what matters most is being able to move and respond while sensing the atmosphere and mood of our customers.

Now that we have more leeway, we’re able to focus more consciously on customer service and communication.

Leveraging the counter-service format to build up and make use of accumulated customer information

— How are you making use of your customer ledger and customer information?

By being able to serve customers while checking their visit history and personal information, we can now provide more attentive service. If information such as “which season you visited us last time” or “what dishes we served and what kind of conversation we had” is recorded, we can confirm it on the spot, allowing us to offer hospitality tailored to each customer.

Precisely because we’re a counter-style establishment, I feel we’re able to make the most of customer service that values a close, personal connection with each guest.

― If your store has any unique ways of using Respo or any operational innovations, please tell us about them in detail.

We use Respo as a system that lets us record each customer’s information as carefully and in as much detail as possible. In addition to visit history, we always make notes about what we talked about that day, the dishes we served, and their drink preferences, so we can quickly check them the next time they visit.

We also make sure to thoroughly record any allergies, disliked ingredients, or upcoming celebrations at the time of reservation. By sharing this information in advance, operations on the day run more smoothly, and we feel it enables us to offer finely tuned, personalized hospitality to each and every guest.

Not just about improving efficiency, but as a framework for refining what makes “Yamazaki” unique

— How do you feel using Respo has affected your shop’s branding?

I believe the biggest change is not just simple streamlining, but that it has allowed us to further refine what makes “Yamazaki” unique. At our restaurant, we want guests to enjoy not only the food, but also the atmosphere and the time they spend here.

By reducing the stress of reservation management and accounting, we’ve been able to focus more on talking with customers at the counter and serving dishes at the perfect timing. As a result, I feel this has also helped enhance our brand value as a restaurant.

More time to focus on your dishes and your guests

— Going forward, how would you like to move ahead together with Respo, and could you share a message for others in the same industry?

I believe that for restaurants, the most important things are the food and the time spent facing and engaging with customers. Being able to streamline back-office operations is not just a matter of convenience; I feel it directly contributes to enhancing the very value of the restaurant itself.

We’re also looking at expanding overseas in the future, and we feel very reassured knowing that with support from AutoReserve and Respo, we’ll be well prepared to welcome customers from abroad. We’re hoping for more user-friendly updates that reflect on-the-ground needs, and we’d like to keep making full use of these tools to help us build an even better restaurant.

I hope others in the same industry will also experience the value of “making management easier so you have more time to focus on on-site work.”

Store Information

Yamazaki

Address: Nishi-Azabu UOU Building 1F, 1-15-3 Nishi-Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Phone number: 03-6812-9848
Store details:https://autoreserve.com/restaurants/8cRRLGXcq4BpyZLEDK7f

Bringing back time to focus on cooking and hospitality. The renowned Japanese restaurant Yamazaki chose a simple way to manage reservations.