Services Marketing and Management at The Edge Restaurant - Case Study Example

? service report: The Edge Restaurant The Edge Restaurant is one of the renowned restaurants of the UK. This report focuses on the service delivery of the restaurant in the UEL Docklands Campus. After analysing the It has been found that the restaurant has been facing issues pertaining to delivery of quality services. In order to surmount this issue, the company has been recommended to make use of technology to streamline the service delivery process. Introduction Edge Restaurant is one of the renowned restaurants of the UK. It operates through various locations of the country. However, it is headquartered in Bournemouth, Dorset. Although the name suggests it as a restaurant, it is also involved in the business of bar and lounge. The restaurant and bar is best known for offering fine dining to the local inhabitants (Edgerestaurant, 2013). It serves European cuisines to the customers. Though the restaurant target foreign residents, but the prime target customers are the residents of the country. The restaurant has also made their presence at several universities of the country. One such university where the company has made their presence is the University of London. The restaurant offers the customers with breakfast, lunch and dinner, however; breakfast is only available during the weekends. One of the USPs (Unique selling proposition) of the restaurant is its location. The main branch of the restaurant is situated on the cliff top at Alum Chine and offers the view in the form of open Dorset coastline. Moreover, with unobstructed sight of the views of Old Harry Rocks and Hengistbury Head the restaurant is favored among the mass. In addition to soothing view, the internal ambience of the restaurant also acts as a business driver. This is the reason why the restaurant is often referred to as a reflection of glamour and style (Garrick, 2011). This study attempts to uncover the Service Package of The Edge and simultaneously develop a Service Blueprint for The Edge by identifying failure points. Furthermore, a Walk through Audit (WTA) and gap analysis of the restaurant will be also carried out. Lastly, the report will attempt to discuss how service quality is determined based upon the five dimensions of quality and how technology could be used at The Edge to improve its customer service. On the basis of the discussion a collision to the project will be drawn and a new service blueprint for the edge based on your proposed improvements will be developed. Discussion Service Package of the Edge The service packages of the company include a bar and live lounge. In addition, the restaurants also offer live music for the music lovers. However, in the UEL Docklands Campus, it does not offer the service packages such as Bars and Lounges. It only offers food and drink services in the university canteen. In addition, it also offers special event hosting services at the campus. The menu offered at the campus is as follows: - Foods and Service packages Special Events Breakfast • Valentines Day Special Set Lunch • New Year Eve Dinner Platters & Nibbles • Easter Sunday Special. A La Carte Early Bird Menu Desserts Winelist (Edgerestaurant, 2013a) Service Blueprint for the Edge The service blueprint of the restaurant at the UEL Docklands Campus is presented below. The service blueprint will help us to identify the possible causes of the poor service delivery. Figure1: Service Delivery Blueprint of the Edge (UEL Docklands Campus) (Author’s Creation) From the above blue print it is evident that the major problem of the company is product availability. However apart from the product availability issue a general walk through test has uncovered that, other factors such as front-of-store operations, the internal ambience, and the seating capacity, cleanliness of the restaurant, service delivery process and hospitality offered by the employees played a critical role in the decision making process of the employees. Walk Through Audit (WTA) In order to identify the service delivery and other factors of the Edge at the UEL Docklands Campus a walk though audit has been carried out (Bona, 2011; Perry, 2006; Tipton, 2010). In this context the variables which I will be measuring are front-of-store operations, the internal ambience, the seating capacity, cleanliness, service delivery process and the hospitality offered by the employees. After conducting the walk through audit of the Edge at UEL Docklands Campus it has been found that most of the variables that were selected for the study were excellent. However, the service delivery variable was a bit disappointing. The measurements were done on a rating scale i.e. from 1-5, where 1 signifies excellence and 5 signifies poor. Table I – Result of the Walk through Audit Variables or Factors Rating (out of 5) front-of-store operations 3 the internal ambience 2 the seating capacity 1 cleanliness 1 service delivery process 3 hospitality offered by the employees 2 The above table clearly signifies that the restaurant has successfully passed the walk through test. However, there are concerns over the service delivery of the restaurant. It has been found that the company hardly uses information technology or take assistance of technical equipments. Hence, implementation of information technology can be a feasible option to streamline the business process and improve the quality of service delivery. In order to gain deeper insights into the possible causes of the poor service delivery of the company, a GAP analysis will be carried out in the subsequent section. Gap Analysis A gap analysis can be defined as a strategic management tool which is used to determine the steps that must be taken so as to move from the current state or condition to the desired condition in the future (Franklin, 2006; Kang, 2007). Hence, GAP analysis is extremely important for a business venture (Mishkin and Eakins, 2006). In the context of The Edge Restaurant, UEL Docklands Campus biggest problem facing the company is the quality of service delivery. Hence the prime objective for the restaurant is to augment the eminence of service delivery. Therefore it is essential to find out the root cause that led to poor service delivery. Some of the major variables that act as an influence of service delivery are queue management, number of service staff, quality of managing the floor (floor management), skills of the staff members and spacious capacity of the restaurant. The Gap analysis is presented below. Again in this context, a rating scale will be used to identify the areas where the company or the restaurant needs to focus more. The rating scale will be from 1-5, where 1 signifies excellent and 5 signifies poor. The factors will be rated as per the findings of the walk through test. In order to identify the GAP, a benchmark or a set standard will be used to uncover the GAP. The benchmark will be again as per the rating scale. Table II – Result of the GAP Analysis of the Edge Restaurant Variables or Factors Rating of Benchmark (out of 5) The Edge Restaurant, UEL Docklands Campus (out of 5) queue management 4 1 number of service staff (rating) 4 3 quality of managing the floor 4 2 cleanliness 5 5 skills of the staff members 4 3 spacious capacity of the restaurant 4 4 Figure 1 – GAP analysis Therefore from the analysis it is evident that the company is below the standard in several areas. The gap mainly exists in the expectation of the customers from the restaurant to that of the service being delivered by the company are factors such as queue management, number of service staff, floor management quality, and skill set of the staff members. In order to reduce these gaps the company needs to undertake certain measures. Five Dimensions of Service Quality Every company wants to get a set of loyal customers that ensures higher chances for the company to embrace increased sales (Zeithaml, 2010; Gilmore, 2003). Apart from that having a set of loyal customers allow companies to have increased revenue However, it is essential for the company to know about the service delivery dimensions. The five dimensions of service quality are reliability, responsiveness, empathy, tangibility and assurance (Lawsirirat, 2007). The five factors are discussed below in the context of the restaurant: - Reliability – The reliability of the service will reflect in the timely delivery of the product and the foods are of high quality. Responsiveness – The responsiveness of the company will be represented through the promptness in order taking and quickly addressing the issues of the customers. Empathy – Empathy will be reflected by the special attention that the employees will give to the customers. Tangibility – The cleanliness within the restaurant including the floors, dishes, glasses represents the tangibility of the restaurant. Assurance – The assurance dimension will be reflected by the knowledge and skill of the employees. Technology at the Edge Achieving high level of customer satisfaction is significant for a business as customers who are satisfied are likely to be loyal and make repeat purchases. A business cannot survive without customers and as a result they are often referred to as the backbone of a business. For a company involved in the service industry, the importance is much more. There are several ways by which a company can achieve success and one of the forms is the use of technology. In the similar way, Edge can also effectively use technology to improve the quality of their and operation and service delivery. The restaurant can make use of inventory management system so as to ensure the availability of the products. In addition to that, the service delivery can also be improved by ensuring accurate service is being delivered to the clients. Implementation of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) can also be a feasible option as it will add to the loyalty among consumers. Furthermore, the implementation of technology will also assist the company in generating quicker reports and the quality of the offering can be assessed with ease. Lastly, it should be also noted that implementation of technology will help the company to evaluate and assess the needs of the customers. The service delivery pressure in the UEL Docklands Campus is very high due to the presence of a large number of students. In order to efficiently handle this, the restaurant can also make use of technology for the purpose of effective queue management. Recommended Blueprint Conclusion The study was meant to analyse the quality of service delivery at the Edge. The service packages of the edge were also evaluated and it was found that the restaurant offers different services namely food and drink services and special event hosting services at the campus. Despite issues pertaining to service delivery, the restaurant has successfully passed the walk through test. However, there are concerns over the service delivery of the restaurant. Gap analysis was also carried out to assess the gaps in service delivery and it was found that major issues lie in the queue management, number of service staff, floor management quality, and skill set of the staff members. Therefore from the analysis it is evident that the company is below the standard in several areas. A number of studies reveal that technology can be used to enhance the quality of services being offered by the restaurant. Hence, implementation of information technology can be a feasible option to streamline the business process and improve the quality of service delivery. Therefore, it can be concluded that service quality is one of the crucial aspects of hospitality business and to further amplify the quality technology can be used. Reference List Bona, M., 2011. A Walk through Combinatorics: An Introduction to Enumeration and Graph Theory. 3rd ed. New Jersey: World Scientific publishing. Edgerestaurant, 2013. Welcome to Edge Restaurant, Bournemouth. Available at: [Accessed 05 August 2013]. Edgerestaurant, 2013a. Food & Drink. [online] Available at: [Accessed 05 August 2013]. Franklin, M., 2006. Performance Gap Analysis: Tips, Tools, and Intelligence for Trainers. Arizona: American Society for Training and Development. Garrick, G., 2011. The evolution of organisational psychology in the 21st century. Journal of Organisational Research, 36(5), pp. 3-8. Gilmore, A., 2003. Services Marketing and Management. London: SAGE. Kang, H. J., 2007. South Korean Public Relations Practitioners' and Journalists' Perceptions: A Gap Analysis. Michigan: ProQuest. Lawsirirat, C., 2007. Creating Optimal Service Delivery Strategy of Long-term Service Agreements from Risk Management Perspective. Michigan: ProQuest. Mishkin, F. S. and Eakins, S. G., 2006. Financial Markets and Institutions. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc. Perry, W. E., 2006. Effective Methods for Software Testing. 3rd ed. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Tipton, H. F., 2010. Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK. Florida: CRC Press. Zeithaml, V. A., 2010. Delivering Quality Service. New York: Simon and Schuster. Appendices Read More