The Management at Mango Medley - Essay Example

Mango Medley Problem Identification Long wait time. Despite having an advantage of being strategically located, MangoMedley restaurant has got it share of inefficiencies. The average wait time for taking of orders and service delivery is seen to be too long. During the survey, I observed some customers who left the restaurant apparently after being unattended to within their fifteen minutes wait. Assuming more than five customers leave the restaurant unattended to per day, it will not only reduce the income received but will also create a bad image for the restaurant. If such customers give their reviews of social media, it will go viral affecting a bigger market share and discouraging potential customers from visiting the restaurant. The secret to keeping your customers satisfied is through quality service and product delivery. David. H. Maister, in his book “The psychology of waiting lines”, argues that satisfaction can assessed through a simple equation (S=P-E, where S-satisfaction, P-perception, and E-expectation). It can, therefore, be that a satisfied customer is a loyal customer. When customers enter a restaurant expecting a certain level of service and perceives the service reviewed to be higher, then they are satisfied customers. The management of any restaurant should, therefore, aim at improving the perceived quality of service as it would have the largest payback (Maister, 1984). Unexplained waits always tend to seem long and boring than explained ones. A reason should, therefore, be given to explain why a given service has been delayed. Customers are also concerned about the environment in which they are seated while waiting. Some customers may not like to wait in very crowded places as it may interfere with their personal conversations. It is important to keep the customers comfortable during their wait. Customer equity is also something that the management should put into consideration. It involves valuing the customer not only in terms of current profitability, but also with respect to the net discounted contribution stream the firm will realize from the customer over time. More emphasis should be put on not only on getting customers to buy their products but maintaining them for long (Zeithaml, Lemon, & Rust, 2001). Dependent customer service processes Mango Medley restaurant has got only two workers. One is in charge of the kitchen and the other taking of orders, serving the customers and clearing of the bills. This divided attention makes service delivery slow especially during weekends and holidays when the restaurant is open for longer and receives more customers. Most customer service processes are interconnected, and one person has to perform more than two duties at any given time. It is a challenge as there are too many waits between transitions from refilling, getting orders, and clearing the bill. The result is that most customers leave due to the lack of attention and service. Since service delivery is perishable, the management should put measures in place to ensure that the service is and sufficiently when the need is there. Customers should be to in the time when they are present in the restaurant as they cannot be asked to come back when there are enough staff members to cater to them. The workers tend to get too exhausted since they perform multiple tasks, further decreasing their efficiency in service delivery. An apparent difference is in the trend of service delivery from the first few hours that the restaurant is opened for the last time to closing. When the restaurant is for the day, the workers are enthusiastic and carry on with their activities joyfully as compared to the closing time when they seem tired and less friendly. Appropriate mitigatory actions should be taken to reduce the amount of work that should be done by a single worker, improving the delivery of services as well as maintain the quality of services provided. If an individual worker has one line of duty, he can perfect on it, and this will leave the customers more happy and satisfied. Solutions to long waiting time Automation of some services To reduce the workload that is given to the employees, some services can be automated. For example, the use of an automated coffee maker may be helpful. Embracing technology may just see the problem of long waits a problem of the past. There are available technologies that eliminate the need of waiters. The customer can make an order from their table and even get images of how the food would look like once served. An automated system will not only cut on the cost of employing new personnel but also will draw in a new type of customers who would want to get the experience. A restaurant that has this type of technology will not worry about marketing them as the customer satisfaction will be enough proof of the efficient technology. Mc Donald’s is among many others companies that plan on installing self-ordering kiosks as a method of reducing customer wait time as well as cut on costs incurred on salaries at a time when there is increased pressure to raise minimum wages (Patrick, 2014). Increasing number of employees During peak season, like weekends and during holidays, the management can employ additional labor to help and ease congestion. It will be especially relevant in creating more space for incoming customers. Since orders will be efficiently worked on, there will be less time wasted in waiting space for new customers hence will always be available. Increasing the number of employees would also help in solving the problem of heterogeneity of products and services offered at the restaurant. Customers prefer homogenous products and services of high standards. Heterogeneity is created especially when the personnel in a restaurant keep changing from time to time. Therefore, by having a specified type of people being employed during peak season will ensure the services and quality are not compromised. These types of specified people will acquire sufficient experience and training over time. Embracing technology in restaurants Mobile payment is a fast growing trend among many restaurants since it helps in enhancing speed in delivering hence reducing on the customers average wait time. Poquito Mas restaurant is one such company that has invested in technology and are reaping the benefits through reduced customer wait time and general customer satisfaction (Ron, 2015). Investment in mobile payment services saves the time that the waiters have to move to and fro receiving the cash from the client and bringing back change. Fewer duties for waiters create time for serving other customers significantly reducing the average wait time. Carmel cafe and wine bar based in Florida has embraced technology by introducing I-pads at each table. It not aggregates taste and technology but also helps in the speedy delivery of orders. Errors are also eliminated as orders are received directly to the kitchen (Nancy, 2010). Branded food trucks The Company can also resolve to introduce branded food trucks to augment services provided by the primary outlet while at the same time saving on average wait time as fewer clients will reach the main outlet. This has been embraced by Sizzler, Shakeys, Poquito Mas, and Koo Koo Roo and is seen to have a positive effect on average wait time and most of their clients tend to be more satisfied (Hadley, 2010). Conclusion Conclusively, no customer wants to enter a restaurant and spend most of his time waiting. There are apparent reactions of customers who are bored with long delays. They may keep checking their watches, complain to others on the line or even express their discomfort verbally. A good manager should be able to check for this signs and try and address the problem. Such problems may be solved by explaining to the customers the reason for the wait, making them comfortable for the wait and offering a source of entertainment would be creative. The management at Mango Medley should invest in the number of employees they have to help and improve on the time taken to serve clients. An improvement in this area will see the profits increase as more customers will be loyal since they are assured of quality delivery and in ample time. References Maister, D. H. (1984). The psychology of waiting lines. Harvard Business School. Zeithaml, V. A., Lemon, K. N., & Rust, R. T. (2001). Driving customer equity: How customer lifetime value is reshaping corporate strategy. Simon and Schuster. Hadley Tomicki.[2010], The Horror! Sizzler, Shakey’s, Poquito Mas, and Koo Koo Roo Will Soon Start Trucking. [21.04.2015] Retrieved: . Ron Ruggless [2015], Mobile pay makes headway in restaurants.[21.04.2015] Retrieved: < http://nrn.com/technology/mobile-pay-makes-headway-restaurants> Mango Medley. (2015, April 16). Mango Medley. . Retrieved from Four Square: https://foursquare.com/v/mango-medley/4a51716ef964a5200cb11fe3 Nancy Schneid [2010], Pairing taste and technology. [21.04.2015] Retrieved :< http://www.apple.com/ipad/business/profiles/carmel-cafe/> Patrick Thibodaux [2014], Automation Arrives at Restaurants. [21.04.2015] Retrieved: Read More