An Overview of Mystery Shopping Activities in Retro Dinner - Assignment Example

? Service Experience Diary Report: Mystery Shopper Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Diary 3 Background 3 Pre-purchase Stage 3 Consumption Stage 3 Satisfaction Rating 4 Analysis 4 Title: Retro Dinner Customer Service Analysis 5 Expectation Theory 5 Satisfaction Theory 5 Service Mix: 8Ps Framework 6 Opportunities and Threats 8 Conclusion and Recommendation 8 References 10 Executive Summary This assignment is a service experience diary report. The assignment will provide an example of mystery shopping. Mystery shopper performs several tasks in an organization like product purchasing asking several questions to the customers about the products or services, registering complaints and providing detail feedback about their experiences (Peppers and Rogers, 2004, p.54). This study will provide an overview of mystery shopping activities in a London based restaurant known as Retro Dinner. This assignment is divided into two parts namely Diary and analysis. The diary part will provide the record of mystery shopping activity. Then the study will analyze the overall judgement and feeling about the provided service by Retro Dinner based on the mystery shopping experience. Diary This diary is a record book of the mystery shopping activities. It will help to formulate an effective analysis and recommendation at the end of the study. Background I am an undergraduate international student of London business school. I am 20 years of age. This mystery shopping will help to understand the expectation and satisfaction level of the customers in terms of organizational customer services. This practical curriculum will help me to achieve important knowledge about the important of effective customer services that will enhance my future career growth. Pre-purchase Stage I made a plan to visit the restaurant in the evening during the rush hour. This will help me to identify the actual quality of service of Retro Dinner. I drove around the lane four times in order to find an appropriate parking space. Finally I managed to park my car near the restaurant. Consumption Stage Finally I entered in the restaurant. The environment and exterior of the restaurant looked attractive. The store manager and two waiters greeted immediately. Soon the shift managers asked about several needs like seating preferences and number of people. He gave the lists of special menus for that evening. Moreover, he was very polite in nature. After 5 minutes, one of the waiters asked about the drink orders. Most importantly, the restaurant does not offer special drinks. I ordered for a glass of coke. Then the waiter replied that we can go through the menu card. Within 2-3 minutes the waiter returned with the ordered drink. After serving the drink, he immediately asked whether I have decided for the dinner menu or not. I made an order of one regular cheese burger with Caesar salad. The waiter asked if I want any appetisers. Moreover, he suggested me to have fried prickle. According to him, it will increase the taste of hamburger. Finally, I indicated that I do not want any kind of appetisers. However, the food arrived within 12-15 minutes. The hamburger was warm. The waiter served the open-faced burger with pickles and chips. The pickle was crisp and chips and burger were tasty. Moreover, the salad was large and served fresh. During that point of time, the waiter asked if I would like to refill the drink. Within 2-3 minutes the store manager came to my table. He asked me whether the dinner was prepared according to the satisfaction or not. I immediately replied with yes as the food was so testy and healthy. However, I was fully satisfied with the food and services. After the dinner, a dessert tray was bought. I decided to order split a pineapple in pie ala mode. Finally, the desert came within 8-10 minutes. The dessert was so delicious. Overall the quality of food was good and healthy. Moreover, the food was reasonably prices. The in-room service was very friendly. The restaurant was adequately decorated and restrooms were clearly marked and clean. Satisfaction Rating After the above experience, I decided to come again in Retro Dinner in order to dine. The experience was enjoyable. According to me, in terms of service rating the restaurant will achieve 8 out of 10. In terms of price rating it can be stated that the restaurant is slightly expensive. I would give 6.5 out of 10. However, it is a good and quality place to dine. I will recommend my friends and families to visit Retro Dinner. Analysis This part of the study will analyze the mystery shopping activities executed in Retro Dinner restaurant. This analysis will help to evaluate the customer service operation of Retro Dinner. Title: Retro Dinner Customer Service Analysis According to the above discussion in the Diary part, it can be stated that the restaurant is trying to focus on both product and service quality. The following theories will help to analyze the service quality of Retro Dinner. Expectation Theory Expectation theory addresses that expectation about service and product quality lead to post purchase or after sales satisfaction. This impact is mediated through negative or positive disconfirmation between performance and expectations. Based on the mystery shopping activities it can be stated that the attractive exterior design and favourable location will help the organization to increase the expectation level of the customers. Moreover, welcome greetings on arrival and friendly behaviour helped to pool more number of customers. Due to effective quality of products and services, people generally recommend the name of the restaurant to their friends and relatives (Smith, Bolton and Wagner, 1999, p.7). This indirect promotional activity helped the organization to develop a potential client base. However, this strategy helped the organization to increase the expectation level of the employees. Satisfaction Theory Satisfaction theory addresses that the customers compare between expectations about the perceived performance of product or service and real performance. People always expect effective product or service performance against their payment. The optimum output depends upon the inner feelings, motivation of people and operational performance of the organizations. On the other hand, several organizations try to meet the customer demand or satisfaction level by providing quality products and customer services. This value addition in service or operational process helps the organizations to increase their brand recall in the mind of the customers (Hallowell, 1996, p.1). It can be identified from mystery shopping activities. Retro Dinner tried to fulfil the customer demand through effective business process. Effective friendly behaviour of employees with guests, efficient time management, and significant customer following up activities, superior quality of products and other services is the major reason behind the success of Retro Dinner restaurant. Service Mix: 8Ps Framework Service marketing mix consists of 8Ps, such as product, price, place, promotion, people, process, physical evidence and productivity. Product Retro Dinner provides authentic continental and fast foods. The organization tries to provide foods of effective quality. During the mystery shopping activities it has been identified that the managers and waiters of the restaurant were continuously asking about the quality of food. Moreover, they have effectively implemented product differentiation strategy. Extensive range of food products increased the customer preference. Price Pricing strategy is an important tool of service marketing. Retro Dinner implemented cost based pricing strategy due to high quality of products and services. It is true that the recent economic recession and financial crisis reduced the purchasing behaviour of middle class people due to low disposable income (Andreassen and Lindestad, 1998, pp.3-4). Therefore, it is important for Retro Dinner to implement competitive pricing strategy. They need to reduce the operational cost. It will help them to implement reasonable pricing strategy. Place The restaurant is located in London. London is one of the most potential cities for business. It is one of the most popular historical places. London is also known as largest business education and business hub. Therefore, this favourable location is helping Retro Dinner to achieve the advantages of huge footfall. Moreover, the organization is trying to create a huge customer base based on superior service and product quality, and huge potentiality of the city. Promotion Promotion is an important tool of service marketing strategy. In-store effective service and customer’s word of mouth strategy increased the brand awareness of Retro Dinner. Moreover, the organization is using local magazines and Radio jingles as effective promotional tools. The organization effectively understood the current market trend. Therefore, they implemented effective promotional strategy based on the current market trend. Process Retro Dinner Practices effective manufacturing and service process. Effective order taking from customers and providing the specific orders within the quick period of time is the key aspect of Retro Dinner’s business operation process. People Here people mean employees of the organization. Effective employees are the important assets of an organization. During Mystery shopping activity, it is identified that employees are well trained. Moreover, these employees are very much keen to provide effective service to the customers. Physical Evidence It is important for a restaurant to maintain effective physical evidence in order to create potential brand image. Same dress code of employees and utilizing organizational colour and logo on the dresses has increased the core competency of Retro Dinner. Productivity The organization focuses on customer feedback process in order to improve the negative areas of customer services. This strategy improved the business productivity of Retro Dinner. Opportunities and Threats There are several opportunities and threats that can influence the business operation of Retro Dinner. Now-a-days, the restaurant industry is achieving significance growth rate. People are trying to consume food outside of their home due to their busy daily work schedule. Therefore, it is important for the organizations to capitalize on the potential opportunities. On the other hand, the global market trend is changing slowly and gradually. People are trying to consume healthy food. They are avoiding junk foods or fast foods. Junk foods increase the calorie and obesity level of human body. Therefore, people are generally trying to avoid these kinds of food items. The leading fast food brands are trying to introduce healthy fast food items in order to maintain their leading position. Therefore, it would be effective if Retro Dinner try to offer healthy and differentiated food items to its customers. Moreover, it is important for the store managers to organize effective training and induction program for the employees. This strategy will enhance the skills and competencies of employees. Most importantly, employees can provide effective customer service through the skills and competencies. There are several threats that can affect the business performance of Retro Dinner. Recent financial crisis and global economic recession affected the buying behaviour of consumers (Carrigan and Pelsmacker, 2009, p.11). Moreover, intense competition within the market place can pose huge threat to the organization. Moreover, it is identified from the mystery shopping activity Retro Dinner implemented cost based pricing strategy. This strategy may fail to attract middle class people due to their low disposable income. This restaurant industry is sensitive industry. It is possible that the organization may be suffered from several legal issues due to any kind of quality problem of service and food. Conclusion and Recommendation Mystery shopping is an important tool that is used by the market research companies or internally by the organizations in order to measure the service quality of an organization. However, the study is based on a mystery shopping activity in a restaurant. Retro dinner is a London based restaurant. The organization tries to provide effective quality foods and services to its customers. Moreover, due to favourable location the organization is gaining effective footfall. The organization is failing to target middle class people due to high priced products. Following recommendation plans will help to overcome the issues and avoid future threats. The organization should try to organize a training and development program for the employees. This strategy will increase efficiency and knowledge of the employees. The organization should try to reduce the operational cost. It will help them to maximize their business revenue. Quality of the products and services are essential for Retro Dinner. The organization should employ a supervisory team. This strategy will help to maintain the quality of food products. The organization should focus on their core organisational value. This process will help them to maintain the business ethics (Kotler and Anderson, 1996, p.121). Retro Dinner should try to increase their promotional activities. It is important marketing criteria in a competitive market. Effective promotional strategy will help to increase the brand awareness in customer’s mind. Last but not the least it is important for Retro Dinner to maintain sustainability in their business practices. They should try to reduce the carbon emission. It will help them to achieve environmental sustainability. Moreover, maintain effective work culture and CSR activities will increase the brand value of Retro Dinner. References Andreassen, T., and Lindestad, B., 1998. Customer Loyaslty and Control Services. International Journal of Service Marketing, 12(3). pp.3-4. Carrigan, M., and Pelsmacker, P., 2009. Will Ethical Consumers sustain their values in the global credit crunch? International marketing Review, 6(3), p.11. Hallowell, R., 1996. The Relationships of Customer Satisfaction, Customer Loyalty and Profitability: An Empirical Study. International Journal of Service Industry, 7(2), p.1. Kotler, P., and Anderson, A., 1996. Strategic Marketing on Non-Profit Organizations, 5th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall. Peppers, D., and Rogers, M., 2004. Managing customer relations: A strategic framework. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Smith, A., Bolton, R., and Wagner, J., 1999. A Model of Customer Satisfaction with Service Encounters Involving Failure and Recovery. Journal of Marketing Research, 4(1), p.7. Read More