Service Visit Comparison between McDonalds and Starbucks - Essay Example

Service Visit Comparison between McDonalds and Starbucks Analysis of the Service Visit to Starbucks Starbucks excels in quickly serving its customers. The excellent service at Starbucks ensures that it takes about three minutes to be served and if the store is especially busy this can stretch to an average of about five minutes at the most and this aspect had a very positive influence on my perceptions as to the overall service experience at Starbucks. The baristas at Starbucks are quite friendly and quite knowledgeable on the wide array of drinks that is offered at Starbucks. During my visit, I was impressed when the friendly barista was able to quickly prepare for me a perfect cup of a rather uncommon drink, the nutella latte. As added proof of the almost excellent knowledge that Starbucks baristas have, he was able to prepare this drink without having to look up how it is mixed while all along explaining to me what went on in its making (Bussing-Burks 55). Another service aspect that I find to be particularly outstanding at Starbucks is the fact that the restaurant never sells any coffee that happens to have been sitting for more than 30 minutes. While on my visit to the shop I personally noted that the baristas would rather throw away coffee than attempt to serve anything old they deem to be old. There are however a number of aspects that left me with a negative perception during my service visit to Starbucks. The service at Starbucks can at times prove to be rude. One striking case that comes to mind is that while I was quietly seated at a corner sipping at my nutella latte while all along analyzing the service at the Starbucks store I was visiting. An incident occurred that I deemed to not be quite appropriate. During a rare lull when there were actually no customers waiting to be served at the store. The cashier started chatting with one of the barista’s, a lady walked into the store proceeded to go and stand in front of the coffee makers while awaiting to be served. Despite having noticed the presence of this customer, the cashier and barista continued with their conversation and ignored the customer who was rapidly becoming inpatient. After about two minutes of idle waiting, the customer demanded to know why she was not being served upon which the cashier rudely replied that the customer was not standing at the proper location where people order. This greatly infuriated the customer who walked out in anger and promised to file an official complaint. I found this to be quite unprofessional and it had the effect of negatively influencing my perception of the overall customer experience at the store. The green and white color scheme at the Starbucks restaurant lent it a laid back feel that encouraged customers to spend time at the restaurant. There were several groups of students at the store who were either chatting amicably or conducting study sessions created a sound that further lent emphasis that this was a social environment. The Starbucks restaurant presented other aspects of its physical evidence such as free internet connection. The free internet connection at the shop and access to electric power supply was a key factor that the restaurant used to en Analysis of the Service Visit to McDonalds During my service visit to McDonald’s, the Staff members were quite professional and used tones of voices and body languages that made me feel very welcome and appreciated. When I was placing my order, the cashier first greeted me with a pleasant hello and asked if she could kindly please take my order, and after she had finished serving me she thanked me and invited me to once more visit McDonalds. I found this customer service to be quite exceptional and inviting. While the system at McDonalds does not deliver food to customers, I was impressed when a man on crutches walked in and one of the attendants rushed to his side and proceeded to help him in securing a comfortable seat. The attendant then went on to ask the customer what he would like to have. She then walked to the service queue and waited in line with the other customers as she waited for her turn to make the purchase for the injured customer. I found this customer service to be quite impressive. During my service visit to McDonalds an incident occurred which negatively influenced my overall customer experience at McDonalds. A customer walked into the store and proceeded to request for a meal that was currently on a discounted offer. When he made the payment, the cashier asked him to pay the full amount as the offer on the food item had expired. The customer argued that this was not the case as according to the posters and advertisements, the food item was still on a discounted offer. He asked to speak to the manager who began to loudly scold the cashier for her carelessness and not knowing exactly what the store had put on offer. This resulted in the development of an embarrassing situation that I believe could have otherwise been solved amicably without raising a lot of furor. The McDonald’s shop I visited had an enticing pleasant smell to it that immediately enhanced my customer experience as it caused me to order one of the savory meals that were already being prepared for the other customers. This influenced my customer experience as it caused me to happily anticipate eating the meal that I was ordering. An aspect of McDonald’s physical differentiator that was widely used at the store was its use of efficient modern machinery in the preparation of the drinks. These machinery was able to produce different drinks at impressive speeds and at just the right mixture. This enhanced the customer experience at the shop at it helped ensure that the service delivery was quick and the drinks were mixed to perfection (Carbaugh 78). Recommendations Starbucks can improve its service by ensuring that it trains all its staff members on proper customers service. This will help in preventing the reoccurrence of incidences such as the one highlighted in this paper where a customer had a negative experience that could have easily been avoided if the staff members had received proper training (Schultz 77). I would also recommend that McDonalds periodically reviews the performance of its restaurant managers and in particularly so, the relationship that these managers have with their staff members. Managers at McDonald’s restaurants can be advised to if possible, try and attend to any customer complaints quietly from the relative privacy of their offices (Isles, 141). Works cited Bussing-Burks, Marie. Starbucks. Santa Barbara, Calif. : Greenwood Press, 2009. Print. Carbaugh, Robert. Contemporary Economics: An Applications Approach. M.E. Sharpe, 2013. Print. Isles, Nick. The Good Work Guide: How to Make Organizations Fairer and More Effective. Routledge, 2013. Print. Schultz, Howard. Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life Without Losing Its Soul. Rodale, 2011. Print. Read More