Analysis of Service Failure and Service Recovery at the Wagama Restaurant - Case Study Example

Hospitality Service Excellence AFFILIATION: WORD COUNT: Table of contents Table of contents 2 Service Failure and types of service failure 3 Analysis of service failure and service recovery at the Wagama Restaurant 3 Effectiveness of service recovery strategies 5 Conclusion 6 References 7 City@Hotels is among the well-known hotels in Amsterdam. It is recognised globally for offering an excellent range of services from exceptionally high quality accommodation to fine dining experience. Besides excelling in the hospitality industry, the management team has been trying to penetrate in other sub-sectors such as restaurants and leisure so that it can exceed the expectations of its customers. Wagama is an example of a company’s service failure as there were various areas which were overlooked by the experienced employees of the enterprise. In the hospitality industry, service excellence is an important aspect (Viada-Stenger, Balbastre-Benavent & Redondo-Cano, 2010). Majority of the travellers make their decisions on the basis of service quality and range of amenities offered by the resort (Cambra-Fierro et al., 2011). Despite a firm’s efforts of avoiding service failure, there are many instances in which service failures happen and the employees have to be trained to deal with them in a proficient manner (Oakland, 2014). Moreover, an efficient hotel has to make sure that it gathers information about the critical incidents which can be possible service failures’ occurrences and try to take proactive measures for avoiding their happenings (Ooj, Lin & Chong, 2011). Service Failure and types of service failure According to Cruz (2007), service failure is described as the inability of meeting the customers’ expectations regarding their desired standards of the service delivery. In the customer’s viewpoint, the service failure is referred to any incident or situation in which something is not right in relation to the service received (Michael, Bowen & Johnston, 2009). In the hospitality industry there are many instances in which interaction takes place between the guests and employees; the inseparability of the service provider and service offerings gives rise to the service failures (Swanson & Hsu, 2009). It has been stated by Black and Kelley (2009) that the ideal way of preventing any form of service failure is to do everything appropriately since the beginning. It is recommended that the entire process is developed efficiently so that there is less dependency on service recovery for keeping the customers loyal. Additionally, doing the things properly from start is achieved by critically thinking the operations so that the possible points of service failure are identified. Mamalis (2009) is of the viewpoint that the probable failure incidences have to be documented and service delivery process has to be reviewed and modified in accordance to the data collected. Service failures are broadly classified into four categories; Core service failures (slow service, unavailable service and other core services), responsiveness to implicit/explicit requests (customer preferences, special needs, disruptive others and customer error), unsolicited/unprompted actions of employees (unusual action, level of attention, gestalt, cultural norms and adverse conditions) and employee reported events such as problematic behaviour of customer (physical or verbal abuse, violation of rules, drunkenness and uncooperative behaviour of customer) (Akbar et al., 2010; Politis et al., 2009). Analysis of service failure and service recovery at the Wagama Restaurant What kind of service failure was found? Who is responsible for this situation? What should be done in this situation? What the need to do recovery? Core service failure (Slow service, long waiting time, unclear policies, hostess stand was not operational) Manager Attend the customer proficiently Hire a person to attend the customers in the waiting area and document the policies to allow the employees to carry out their work efficiently Responsiveness to implicit/explicit responses (Order not being served on time, improper order, unprofessional behaviour of chefs and food service staff, ) Food service staff Try to fulfil customer’s requests quickly and appropriately while apologising for the problem caused Manager intervention is sought so that the matters can be handled effectively Unsolicited/unprompted action of employees (Wrong order, inappropriate behaviour of food service staff and lost orders) Food service and wait staff Orders have to be replaced quickly so that customers’ requests are fulfilled Service delivery process has to be redesigned so that negative elements are completely eliminated From the case, it is evident that the restaurant’s manager has not undertaken proper service delivery system. There are various service failure points in Wagama restaurant which start from entering the amenity to the payment of the bill. In any service entity, the entrance is the first point of interaction and the customers at the restaurant could not locate anyone to serve them. Moreover, there were malfunctioning hostess stand which meant that the customers had to look for self-assistance. Once the guests were seated, there was nobody to attend them which showed that there was lack of clarity about the operational policies. It is apparent from the case that there was insufficient number of staff who was unable to fulfil the customer’s expectations. Although one food service staff was trying to do multi-tasking but she was untrained in fulfilling all responsibilities at once. Moreover, the chefs were uncooperative which meant that the orders were not being served on time and even the wrong ordering was being done. Due to insufficient process of ordering, some orders were lost and there was misalignment between the orders placement and fulfilment followed by inefficient payment procedure. Moreover, the back-end functions tend to be inappropriate as there is no synchronisation of activities. In order to meet the requests of the customers, the food service staff was apologising and trying to fulfil their demands as proficiently as possible. Similarly, when food service personnel was asked by the chef to serve the soups to guests, she refused as she wanted to first clean the table. This incident shows that the employees had to be trained in understanding their roles and responsibilities. Additionally, there were no written policies which is a proof of a large number of service failures in the restaurant. However, the personnel were able to undertake service recovery measures but they are just temporary modifications. In order to make permanent changes and enhance service excellence, the restaurant needs to develop a service blueprint and implement all necessary changes within the premises. Even the manager has to refine her job duties and obligations so that the individual is involved in daily operations of the restaurant. Thus, there are a range of refinements needed in the service delivery process so that all failure points are properly addressed. Hence, the employees have to be trained in understanding the importance of service excellence and they need to be made aware about their job within the enterprise. Also, the chefs have to learn the art of balancing between fulfilment of the customer’s order on time and offering them superb meal which will enhance the customer’s experience. Effectiveness of service recovery strategies When any service failure takes place, it is imperative for the firm to implement the most ideal service recovery strategy (Cambra-Fierro et al., 2011). When identifying the service failure points, the companies have to analyse the service recovery options so that they can make sure that they have profound solutions in place. According to a study by Oakland (2014), dealing with the problems in an effective manner is the major contributor in regaining the customer’s lost confidence and it is the critical component for enhancing the firm’s reputation (Ooj, Lin & Chong, 2011). In the service recovery phase, the organisations have realised that the bad experiences cause the customers to switch to other brands which means that the firm loses the customer’s lifetime value (Akbar et al., 2010). When the favourable recovery takes place, it gives a positive influence on the customers and due to optimistic environment created by the enterprise the customer’s satisfaction is enhanced (Cruz, 2007) which in turn leads to positive word-of-mouth behaviour (Petzer & Steyn, 2006) and ultimately surging profitability of the business (Black & Kelley, 2009). In the hospitality industry, the customer retention is the most challenging aspect as gaining and retaining customer’s loyalty is too difficult due to intense competition. In order to make sure that the service recovery strategy is effective, following are the key aspects which have to be implemented in the entire service framework: 1. Measure the total costs (Lifetime value of the customer) 2. Make quick responses to the customer complaints 3. Anticipate recovery needs (Allocate sufficient sources for impromptu reply to the customers) 4. Encourage customers to actively give feedback and complaints 5. Empower the front-line employees (Give them the leverage to make decisions for retaining the customers such as free food, coupons, refund and etc.) 6. Close the service loop (Controlling the elements which can hinder service excellence) 7. Training and developing employees (Polishing the competency level of back-end and front-line staff so that they can give good impressions to the customers) (Johnston & Clark, 2008; Krishna, Dangayach & Jain, 2011). Since the customers give utmost importance to the way they are treated, it is imperative for the service providers to make sure that the customers are given fair and true judgement for the mistake committed by the firm’s employees. Generally, the customers evaluate the service recovery actions on the basis of three perceived justice needs i.e. procedural (process refinement), interactional (human aspect of recovery) and distributive (outcome based) justice (Weber, 2009). In terms of the distributive justice, there are two strategies employed by the hospitality firms i.e. compensation strategies and refunds. Mostly, the customers prefer that they get discounts, gratis, free coupons or other ancillary service for the service failure. As most of the restaurants are aware of the fact that the mistakes can be made by their personnel, they make sure that they have such service recovery initiatives in place so that they can retain the customers (Anupam, Dangayach, & Rakesh, 2011). As part of the hospitality industry, the restaurants have to be assured that they can provide the customers with service recovery options so that they can regain the lost confidence of the customers and try to move one step ahead so that they can get engaged in service excellence activities. With the advent of time, the hotel managers have understood the significance of their presence in the operational matters (Chelminstki & Coulter, 2011). The managers have to be present in the amenity so that they can keep an eye on the activities of the employees and make sure that every customer is given complete attention. Moreover, there is mandatory requirement of having well-written and documented restaurant’s policies and procedures so that each staff member is aware of the work expected of him/her (Chuang, Cheng & Chang, 2011). When there is clarity and synchronisation of the business processes and service delivery aspects, the possible chances of service failure are minimised. Each personnel has to be trained in addressing the issues of the customers in strategic manner so that they can satisfy the customer’s requests and make a valuable contribution in the organisation’s enhancing performance (Mamalis, 2009). In addition to customer retention policies, it is recommended that the restaurants employ right tools for strengthening the relationship with the customers such as offering loyalty programs, providing option for availing discounts at various locations, rewarding customers for dining frequently and many more (Swanson & Hsu, 2009). Simultaneously, the firms should evaluate their performance by taking feedback from their customers on an ongoing basis. It is suggested that the customers are asked to recommend areas for improvement so that the restaurant can maintain its position in the market (Dale, van der Wiele & van Iwaarden, 2007). However, the restaurant has to evaluate its performance by assessing its position in the minds of all stakeholders i.e. management, employees, customers, suppliers, society and others. Another latest trend in the hospitality sector is of social networking; it is vital for the restaurants to exploit this avenue for reaching the customers and getting endorsed in extensive word-of-mouth activities. Hence, the hospitality industry has to remain competent by strategically changing demands of the customers and the market (Meyer & Petzer, 2012). Conclusion City@Hotels is definitely a leading player in the hospitality industry which has been expanding its horizons across the globe. Wagama Restaurant is an example of service failure and service recovery process as it shed lights on a diverse range of areas which are often neglected by the professionals of the field. Hence, it is mandatory for the firms operating in the hospitality industry to develop service recovery strategies so that they can retain customers and develop long lasting relationships with them. However, the restaurants have to understand that the identification of service failure points is an ongoing activity and it should be carried out on frequent basis. Additionally, the organisations have to develop the competencies in their employees so that they can meet the customers’ expectations. Likewise, there should be sufficient amount of resources available for the firm to address the service delivery process challenges. References Akbar, S., Som, A.P.M., Wadood, F. and Alzaidiyeen, N.J., 2010. Revitalization of service quality to gain customer satisfaction and loyalty. International Journal of Business and Management, 5(6), pp. 113-122. Anupam, K., Dangayach, G.S. and Rakesh, J., 2011. Critical factors of service failure and corresponding recovery system. Advances in Management, 4(7), pp. 39-44. Black, H.G. and Kelley, S.W., 2009. A storytelling perspective on online customer reviews reporting service failure and recovery. 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Service failure and recovery in an all-suite hotel/serviced apartment context: a case study. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 26(2), pp. 195-199. Read More