McDonald's Seniors Restaurant - Assignment Example

These elderly people do not have much to do, and can therefore comfortably spend half their day at her restaurant. According to the case, Quinn’s decision to accommodate her senior customers’ needs by allowing them to spend unlimited time at the restaurant does not improve the image of her McDonald’s franchise. Instead, it tarnishes it, and makes her restaurant appear like a rendezvous point for the old people in her town. The seniors spend a lot more time interacting within the facility than they do making actual purchases.

They remain there for hours and fill up the chairs that would have otherwise been occupied by a consecutive number of people. If this trend continues, then Quinn’s profits may plummet. This is because the opportunity cost incurred per chair during these periods is too high to be overlooked. In addition, younger customers may also not want to be associated with a restaurant that has a predominantly elderly crowd. On the other hand, Quinn has successfully established a niche market for herself within the elderly population in her town.

She is assured that she can rely on this crowd to bring in the bulk of her income. These seniors value the relationship that they have created with Quinn and her employees above the expenses that they incur whenever they eat at her restaurant (Blythe, 2005). It is almost certain that there will always be old people for Quinn to attend to. They are not as energetic and ambitious as the youth, and would therefore opt to remain where they currently reside. It is therefore necessary that she works towards retaining this loyal clientele.

In this regard, Quinn should definitely encourage the senior citizens to keep coming to her restaurant. The party room area, which is able to hold as many as 150 people, should be converted into a recreational space for the seniors. These older people can play the bingo games there, and this would prevent congestion in the main dining area during the morning hours. It would also allow her employees to establish a similarly good rapport with the younger patrons who frequent the restaurant. Young customers are generally impatient, and thus if they feel neglected, then they would opt to have their meals elsewhere.

Additional room in the dining area would also attract more people to the restaurant. However, there should never be, as Blythe (2005) puts it, “an over-emphasis of acquiring new customers, at the expense of ensuring that the firm keeps its old ones.” The seniors, who have been Quinn’s loyal customers all through, must continue to enjoy excellent services. Quinn McMahon should introduce the bingo idea during the slow morning hours of 9am to 11am. Since bingo games are popular with some senior citizens, she should ensure that the party room is available for the games.

The bingo idea is very viable because it will earn her extra revenue above the normal food and drink purchases. The customers will be charged $2 each for the two-hour period and run the game with two of her employees who are underutilized. Quinn should also ensure that coupons are readily available as the prizes to make the games legal, and enable senior citizens to make purchases with them at her retail store. The coupons should also amount to a huge amount of the bingo receipts sold in small amount prices to