Establishing the Problems That Face the Momi Restaurant - Case Study Example

Executive Summary This research aims at establishing the problems that face the Momi Restaurant and that have limited its growth. It has been observed that this restaurant has stagnated in its revenue generation. The fact that it is locate in one of the most favorable business locations of Miami brings a lot of debate on what should be done to improve its efficiency and income. This study focusses on the main problems that result in the failure of having return customers and looks into possible areas of improvement. The study is simple and involves 10 randomly selected customers. A brief questionnaire is handed to them together with their bill and they fill it for analysis. Confidentiality is of paramount importance and their names are not required in the forms that they fill out. This ensures that they are not demonized by anyone who is has a liking for the restaurant. The customers later get an explanation on why they had to fill out a questionnaire and any one of them willing to get interviewed is interrogated. The main issues asked include whether the customer would eat at the restaurant again, what they liked about the place, and what they hated. A few employees, including the manager, are also questioned. After data has been collected, it is analyzed and the appropriate recommendations made. This research can be used by the management for future reference and for the implementation of change. Contents Executive Summary 1 Contents 2 Introduction 3 The Momi Restaurant is a Japanese ramen restaurant located along the beach of Miami. It is yet to achieve its intended status having been started two years ago. This restaurant serves authentic Japanese food prepared and served by a Japanese chef. The management ensures that the restaurant is favorable for people who need a meal at whichever time of the day or night with its long open hours. It also gives a small variety of food options to choose from, making its menu less complicated and easy to comprehend. The strategic location of this restaurant makes it easy to access, and most of its customers include people spending their team at the beach. This restaurant has its good and bad side. However, some of its problems limit its growth, creating stagnation in terms of revenue generated. They also make it difficult for it to have return customers. The efficiency of the restaurant can be improved by matching its location to its visitors and their preferences. 3 Positive Aspects of the Restaurant 3 One of the aspects of the Momi restaurant that works well for them is the good interior design. This restaurant is uniquely made, finished, and furnished. The artwork is well-displayed, and the furniture brings out the Japanese tradition. The beauty of this restaurant is the first thing that catches the eye of a passer-by such that they would be tempted to go in and have a bite. This exceptional design includes a glass wall at the kitchen that enables customers to see what the chef is preparing and how they are doing it. This visible kitchen ensures hygiene and proper cooking practices since it exposes the chef to criticism. A good design impresses and attracts customers (Baraban, 2010). 3 Another good thing with the Momi Restaurant is that it has a Japanese chef. Having such a person prepare Japanese food means that, its quality can be trusted. This restaurant has authentic ingredients imported on each day of the week, guaranteeing the maximum authenticity of the foods prepared. The ramen meals are pure Japanese and not an American version. This meals attract customers back to the restaurant and bring in new ones who would like to experience Japanese foods. The chef is also a professional and is good at, preparing Japanese food. He makes hand-made noodles that are a delicacy to many Miami residents and tourist. The restaurant has fresh food every time ensuring that there are no cases of customers complaining about the stale food. 4 The location of the Momi Restaurant is critical in the capturing of a huge customer base. This restaurant is located on the Miami Beach. The beach is known to have many clients, visitors and tourist who make up the available market. The Momi restaurant can capture this huge market and tap into its resource of revenue. The location in this part of the region makes it a prominent and attractive target for the foreign visitors and locals visiting the beach of Miami. A successful business should be positioned in a strategic place, especially if it includes customers. Having the physical address that is easily accessible makes it easy for customers to locate and go to these places regardless of how busy they are. This proximity assures the restaurant management of a constant flow of customers, and with proper maintenance, they can get most of the customers along this beach. 4 The hours through which this restaurant is open are exceptional and play a big role in attracting customers. It is open from 11am to 5am on Mondays. This time provides customers with an 18-hour window through which they can pop in and have a bite. The rest of the week sees the restaurant open at 11am and close at 2 am. It is amazing how the restaurant maintains the same kind of momentum throughout these working hours, ensuring that the service you receive during the day is almost similar to that for the night. This restaurant makes it flexible for the night shift workers who like to grab a quick meal in the middle of the night. It also presents adequate competition to the restaurants around the same area that have less working hours than Momi restaurant. The effect of this kind of working hours is improved flexibility among employees and customers, with some exhaustion among the employees. However, its reliability is appreciated due to the accessibility times available. 5 Negative Aspects of the Restaurant 5 There are various factors that can be improved in this restaurant. These aspects are the kind that customers complain about, and those that make them not wish to return to this incredible Japanese ramen restaurant. One of them is the limited menu variety. The restaurant’s menu is small and consists of a very short list. One does not get tired thinking of what to take since they only have a few options. This menu can be helpful in speeding the restaurant’s service, but it creates a monotony in the food one takes in the restaurant. It is an ideal place for people who have particular favorite dishes that they always take. Ramen has to be their favorite dish for the case of this restaurant. It is a boring place for people who wish to try different kinds of food each time they have a meal. 5 The pricing of food in this restaurant is unwelcoming. Ramen is sold for more than twice its regular price in other restaurants. The Momi restaurant is yet to achieve a 5-star status, and should, therefore, not have such prices. People who visit the place have complained of the expensive but delicious food. They do not get an equivalent value for their money because the food is not worth such a high price. The Japanese ramen is a meal that should be affordable to many people. It is a simple, delicious food sold to people at cheap prices for their enjoyment rather than getting full. This pricing has made the Momi restaurant a subject of criticism with due to its alleged intentions of raising its standards to the level of international restaurants. It is one of the contributors of the restaurant’s poor achievements since it was opened two years ago (Dahmer, 2009). 6 Limiting people to one payment method will lead to the downfall of the restaurant. According to surveys conducted on the customers, it was noted that a big number complained of the cash only system applied by the restaurant. A few of them cited embarrassing moments they had within the restaurant related to the payment methods used. At one point, a customer noted how they had finished up their meal and were willing to pay for it with their credit card . However, they were shocked to realize that only cash would be accepted. With the meal already taken, all they could do was to walk to a nearby ATM and withdraw some cash, then return to the restaurant and make the payment. 6 This restaurant has a long way to go in terms of the service it offers. There are a number of issues to look into when serving customers, and this restaurant fails in most of them. One of them is customer satisfaction. A happy customer advertises the restaurant through the word of mouth, and when they are satisfied, they will inevitably bring in their friends to share in the same experience. However, five out of the ten customers from whom feedback was collected complained of two major issues. One of the issues is the fact that the chef is the same person who serves the ramen some of the time. This two activities conflict in terms of proper time management. The other issue is the tips that customers have to give to the waitresses. Some of the restaurant attendants are more enticed by tips than the quality of service they deliver. This mentality drives them into running for customers who look wealthier, hoping for a tip higher than the regular amount. A particular lady was noted for being rude after receiving less than 15% for her tip. She complained to the customer involved and asked him to add to the tip, using harsh words and yet the customer had left some change uncollected to cover up for the tip. Such treatment would make one never want to return to this restaurant. 7 The parking space availed by this restaurant is small. People with cars have to find alternative parking slots, which could be available in other nearby restaurants and restaurants. They have to park their vehicles at a distant place then walk back to the Momi Restaurant to enjoy their meal, after which they will walk back to their cars. A lot of inconveniences come with the limited parking space. 7 Why the Restaurant Operates Without Change 8 The restaurant should have identified its weakness and changed for its good having operated for two years. However, there have been lapses in this process of change. Several factors come into play when it comes to limiting the growth, development and improvement of restaurant practices, procedures, and services. The management of this restaurant is slow in implementing change. They believe that the restaurant can have its status raised by the number of stars associated with it. The manager hopes to get a five-star ranking in the near future but is taking the wrong approach towards it. The expensive Japanese ramen meals are meant to limit the customers visiting the restaurant to the elite and wealthy class. Another target market is the middle class that is out to spend a good amount of money on holiday at the Miami Beach. This trend has been observed in how the regular beach-goers prefer restaurants with cheaper ramen, leaving the Momi Restaurant with a few customers who are willing to pay the required price. 8 The menu variety is short probably due to the need of creating a specialized restaurant. According to the manager, limiting the available options enables the chef perfect his art of making the few meals they offer. The expected long-run effect is having the best Japanese ramen in the region, which will in turn attract customers from all over, creating a strong brand for the restaurant. Having a single chef serving as an additional attendant is also a way of creating a personalized service. It feels good when the person serving you is the one who prepared your meal. He will make sure it is of the best quality because he will be open to direct criticism. 8 Another reason behind why the restaurant operates as it does is the fear of having customers with blocked credit cards. Others may fail to have enough funds in their debit cards. Moreover, personal checks can bounce or fail to go through such that the restaurant will incur losses. In addition to these payment problems, the restaurant imports fresh ingredients from Japan on a daily basis. This activity requires readily available cash. The mentioned explanations force the restaurant to operate on a cash only policy that is hated by many. In this modern age of technology, most people do not carry physical cash with them. They either have plastic money or can perform online transactions through the various online payment methods available. However, some of these methods are known to have a delay of up to a week before the transaction can be fully processed. The result of this is confusion in balancing the daily restaurant ledgers and books of accounting. It also limits the amount of money available for the daily transactions of the restaurant and hinders the ability to make regular payments to casual workers. 9 The manager of the restaurant is also stubborn. He is not open to suggestions for improvement and change. The meetings held at the restaurant, according to the staff questioned, are only about the level of work to be done and the performance of the employees. Their agenda does not include the possible changes that can be made to improve on the amount of revenue earned and the number of customers streaming in and returning to the restaurant. No one dares question the manager on the decisions he makes and anyone who does so is reprimanded and might even lose their job. 9 Improving the Restaurant’s Efficiency 10 A lot needs to be done to improve the efficiency of the restaurant. Most importantly, the main problem has to be addressed and resolved. This problem, according the study carried out, is the manager and his attitude towards this restaurant, its operations, and future growth. The manager needs to be taken through a series of business development courses for the sake of the growth of this restaurant. Addressing this issue will create a good place to start changing the necessary areas towards increasing its ranking among customers. It is important to note that customers are the most valuable assets a restaurant can have. They are its marketers and can at the same time lead to its downfall. 10 The business should increase its diversity in the food available. This increased options will allow customers to have different meals every time they visit. They will not be limited to Japanese ramen. Thus, the monotony of the restaurant will be reduced. Customers will have the company to bring along even if their friends don’t eat the same food. 10 This efficiency can also be improved by including various payment options within the restaurant. They can allow for credit card transactions or retain the cash only system through innovations. Such developments include having an ATM lobby within the restaurant. Accepting foreign money from tourists will also increase the number of people taking a meal in this restaurant because not all tourists have American dollars in cash. The service of the restaurant can also be put in check. Without proper customer service, all other efforts to improve the efficiency of this awesome Miami restaurant will be futile. Rendering of useful services includes reducing the amount of time that a customer has to wait before receiving their order and the way in which the restaurant attendants serve the customers. The restaurant can also organize for a proper parking space at its premises or hire people who can sort this issue out. They can employ valets to take over the customers’ cars and drive them to appropriate parking spaces paid for by the restaurant. The same people can retrieve the vehicles for the customers once they are done with their meal (Chapman, 2008). 11 Recommendations 11 A lot of effort and dedication is required in the improvement of this restaurant. It is recommended that the following steps be taken. Firstly, the chef should be changed such that an all-rounded one with skills in all types of foods can be brought in. Contrary to this, the chef can be requested to sharpen his skills on a variety of foods. An additional chef can also be employed if the restaurant can afford it. Secondly, the restaurant should seek financial investors if bringing in an ATM proves to be costly. It would also take a change in the mentality of the manager to grow the restaurant. An additional change manager should be employed or recruited from the existing leadership team of the restaurant. This change manager will oversee the improvement strategies being implemented and report any issues or developments. 11 Conclusion 12 This restaurant has a huge potential of growing and increasing its customer base. There are many visitors to the Miami Beach all year round, from business people to holiday seekers. Appropriately utilizing this resource can greatly benefit the restaurant. Research on alternative business options for Momi Restaurant can be carried out at a later date. 12 Works cited 12 Introduction The Momi Restaurant is a Japanese ramen restaurant located along the beach of Miami. It is yet to achieve its intended status having been started two years ago. This restaurant serves authentic Japanese food prepared and served by a Japanese chef. The management ensures that the restaurant is favorable for people who need a meal at whichever time of the day or night with its long open hours. It also gives a small variety of food options to choose from, making its menu less complicated and easy to comprehend. The strategic location of this restaurant makes it easy to access, and most of its customers include people spending their team at the beach. This restaurant has its good and bad side. However, some of its problems limit its growth, creating stagnation in terms of revenue generated. They also make it difficult for it to have return customers. The efficiency of the restaurant can be improved by matching its location to its visitors and their preferences. Positive Aspects of the Restaurant One of the aspects of the Momi restaurant that works well for them is the good interior design. This restaurant is uniquely made, finished, and furnished. The artwork is well-displayed, and the furniture brings out the Japanese tradition. The beauty of this restaurant is the first thing that catches the eye of a passer-by such that they would be tempted to go in and have a bite. This exceptional design includes a glass wall at the kitchen that enables customers to see what the chef is preparing and how they are doing it. This visible kitchen ensures hygiene and proper cooking practices since it exposes the chef to criticism. A good design impresses and attracts customers (Baraban, 2010). Another good thing with the Momi Restaurant is that it has a Japanese chef. Having such a person prepare Japanese food means that, its quality can be trusted. This restaurant has authentic ingredients imported on each day of the week, guaranteeing the maximum authenticity of the foods prepared. The ramen meals are pure Japanese and not an American version. This meals attract customers back to the restaurant and bring in new ones who would like to experience Japanese foods. The chef is also a professional and is good at, preparing Japanese food. He makes hand-made noodles that are a delicacy to many Miami residents and tourist. The restaurant has fresh food every time ensuring that there are no cases of customers complaining about the stale food. The location of the Momi Restaurant is critical in the capturing of a huge customer base. This restaurant is located on the Miami Beach. The beach is known to have many clients, visitors and tourist who make up the available market. The Momi restaurant can capture this huge market and tap into its resource of revenue. The location in this part of the region makes it a prominent and attractive target for the foreign visitors and locals visiting the beach of Miami. A successful business should be positioned in a strategic place, especially if it includes customers. Having the physical address that is easily accessible makes it easy for customers to locate and go to these places regardless of how busy they are. This proximity assures the restaurant management of a constant flow of customers, and with proper maintenance, they can get most of the customers along this beach. The hours through which this restaurant is open are exceptional and play a big role in attracting customers. It is open from 11am to 5am on Mondays. This time provides customers with an 18-hour window through which they can pop in and have a bite. The rest of the week sees the restaurant open at 11am and close at 2 am. It is amazing how the restaurant maintains the same kind of momentum throughout these working hours, ensuring that the service you receive during the day is almost similar to that for the night. This restaurant makes it flexible for the night shift workers who like to grab a quick meal in the middle of the night. It also presents adequate competition to the restaurants around the same area that have less working hours than Momi restaurant. The effect of this kind of working hours is improved flexibility among employees and customers, with some exhaustion among the employees. However, its reliability is appreciated due to the accessibility times available. Negative Aspects of the Restaurant There are various factors that can be improved in this restaurant. These aspects are the kind that customers complain about, and those that make them not wish to return to this incredible Japanese ramen restaurant. One of them is the limited menu variety. The restaurant’s menu is small and consists of a very short list. One does not get tired thinking of what to take since they only have a few options. This menu can be helpful in speeding the restaurant’s service, but it creates a monotony in the food one takes in the restaurant. It is an ideal place for people who have particular favorite dishes that they always take. Ramen has to be their favorite dish for the case of this restaurant. It is a boring place for people who wish to try different kinds of food each time they have a meal. The pricing of food in this restaurant is unwelcoming. Ramen is sold for more than twice its regular price in other restaurants. The Momi restaurant is yet to achieve a 5-star status, and should, therefore, not have such prices. People who visit the place have complained of the expensive but delicious food. They do not get an equivalent value for their money because the food is not worth such a high price. The Japanese ramen is a meal that should be affordable to many people. It is a simple, delicious food sold to people at cheap prices for their enjoyment rather than getting full. This pricing has made the Momi restaurant a subject of criticism with due to its alleged intentions of raising its standards to the level of international restaurants. It is one of the contributors of the restaurant’s poor achievements since it was opened two years ago (Dahmer, 2009). Limiting people to one payment method will lead to the downfall of the restaurant. According to surveys conducted on the customers, it was noted that a big number complained of the cash only system applied by the restaurant. A few of them cited embarrassing moments they had within the restaurant related to the payment methods used. At one point, a customer noted how they had finished up their meal and were willing to pay for it with their credit card . However, they were shocked to realize that only cash would be accepted. With the meal already taken, all they could do was to walk to a nearby ATM and withdraw some cash, then return to the restaurant and make the payment. This restaurant has a long way to go in terms of the service it offers. There are a number of issues to look into when serving customers, and this restaurant fails in most of them. One of them is customer satisfaction. A happy customer advertises the restaurant through the word of mouth, and when they are satisfied, they will inevitably bring in their friends to share in the same experience. However, five out of the ten customers from whom feedback was collected complained of two major issues. One of the issues is the fact that the chef is the same person who serves the ramen some of the time. This two activities conflict in terms of proper time management. The other issue is the tips that customers have to give to the waitresses. Some of the restaurant attendants are more enticed by tips than the quality of service they deliver. This mentality drives them into running for customers who look wealthier, hoping for a tip higher than the regular amount. A particular lady was noted for being rude after receiving less than 15% for her tip. She complained to the customer involved and asked him to add to the tip, using harsh words and yet the customer had left some change uncollected to cover up for the tip. Such treatment would make one never want to return to this restaurant. The parking space availed by this restaurant is small. People with cars have to find alternative parking slots, which could be available in other nearby restaurants and restaurants. They have to park their vehicles at a distant place then walk back to the Momi Restaurant to enjoy their meal, after which they will walk back to their cars. A lot of inconveniences come with the limited parking space. Why the Restaurant Operates Without Change The restaurant should have identified its weakness and changed for its good having operated for two years. However, there have been lapses in this process of change. Several factors come into play when it comes to limiting the growth, development and improvement of restaurant practices, procedures, and services. The management of this restaurant is slow in implementing change. They believe that the restaurant can have its status raised by the number of stars associated with it. The manager hopes to get a five-star ranking in the near future but is taking the wrong approach towards it. The expensive Japanese ramen meals are meant to limit the customers visiting the restaurant to the elite and wealthy class. Another target market is the middle class that is out to spend a good amount of money on holiday at the Miami Beach. This trend has been observed in how the regular beach-goers prefer restaurants with cheaper ramen, leaving the Momi Restaurant with a few customers who are willing to pay the required price. The menu variety is short probably due to the need of creating a specialized restaurant. According to the manager, limiting the available options enables the chef perfect his art of making the few meals they offer. The expected long-run effect is having the best Japanese ramen in the region, which will in turn attract customers from all over, creating a strong brand for the restaurant. Having a single chef serving as an additional attendant is also a way of creating a personalized service. It feels good when the person serving you is the one who prepared your meal. He will make sure it is of the best quality because he will be open to direct criticism. Another reason behind why the restaurant operates as it does is the fear of having customers with blocked credit cards. Others may fail to have enough funds in their debit cards. Moreover, personal checks can bounce or fail to go through such that the restaurant will incur losses. In addition to these payment problems, the restaurant imports fresh ingredients from Japan on a daily basis. This activity requires readily available cash. The mentioned explanations force the restaurant to operate on a cash only policy that is hated by many. In this modern age of technology, most people do not carry physical cash with them. They either have plastic money or can perform online transactions through the various online payment methods available. However, some of these methods are known to have a delay of up to a week before the transaction can be fully processed. The result of this is confusion in balancing the daily restaurant ledgers and books of accounting. It also limits the amount of money available for the daily transactions of the restaurant and hinders the ability to make regular payments to casual workers. The manager of the restaurant is also stubborn. He is not open to suggestions for improvement and change. The meetings held at the restaurant, according to the staff questioned, are only about the level of work to be done and the performance of the employees. Their agenda does not include the possible changes that can be made to improve on the amount of revenue earned and the number of customers streaming in and returning to the restaurant. No one dares question the manager on the decisions he makes and anyone who does so is reprimanded and might even lose their job. Improving the Restaurant’s Efficiency A lot needs to be done to improve the efficiency of the restaurant. Most importantly, the main problem has to be addressed and resolved. This problem, according the study carried out, is the manager and his attitude towards this restaurant, its operations, and future growth. The manager needs to be taken through a series of business development courses for the sake of the growth of this restaurant. Addressing this issue will create a good place to start changing the necessary areas towards increasing its ranking among customers. It is important to note that customers are the most valuable assets a restaurant can have. They are its marketers and can at the same time lead to its downfall. The business should increase its diversity in the food available. This increased options will allow customers to have different meals every time they visit. They will not be limited to Japanese ramen. Thus, the monotony of the restaurant will be reduced. Customers will have the company to bring along even if their friends don’t eat the same food. This efficiency can also be improved by including various payment options within the restaurant. They can allow for credit card transactions or retain the cash only system through innovations. Such developments include having an ATM lobby within the restaurant. Accepting foreign money from tourists will also increase the number of people taking a meal in this restaurant because not all tourists have American dollars in cash. The service of the restaurant can also be put in check. Without proper customer service, all other efforts to improve the efficiency of this awesome Miami restaurant will be futile. Rendering of useful services includes reducing the amount of time that a customer has to wait before receiving their order and the way in which the restaurant attendants serve the customers. The restaurant can also organize for a proper parking space at its premises or hire people who can sort this issue out. They can employ valets to take over the customers’ cars and drive them to appropriate parking spaces paid for by the restaurant. The same people can retrieve the vehicles for the customers once they are done with their meal (Chapman, 2008). Recommendations A lot of effort and dedication is required in the improvement of this restaurant. It is recommended that the following steps be taken. Firstly, the chef should be changed such that an all-rounded one with skills in all types of foods can be brought in. Contrary to this, the chef can be requested to sharpen his skills on a variety of foods. An additional chef can also be employed if the restaurant can afford it. Secondly, the restaurant should seek financial investors if bringing in an ATM proves to be costly. It would also take a change in the mentality of the manager to grow the restaurant. An additional change manager should be employed or recruited from the existing leadership team of the restaurant. This change manager will oversee the improvement strategies being implemented and report any issues or developments. Conclusion This restaurant has a huge potential of growing and increasing its customer base. There are many visitors to the Miami Beach all year round, from business people to holiday seekers. Appropriately utilizing this resource can greatly benefit the restaurant. Research on alternative business options for Momi Restaurant can be carried out at a later date. Works cited Baraban, Regina S, and Joseph F. Durocher. Successful Restaurant Design. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons, 2010. Dahmer, Sondra J, and Kurt W. Kahl. Restaurant Service Basics. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley, 2009. Chapman, Mary Boltz. "Best Food at the Best Price: Restaurant Customers Value Food Quality above All, but Values Importance Is Growing. (CONSUMER PULSE)." Chain Leader 1 Nov. 2008. Read More