Reflective Diary of Internship at Scholar Chinese Seafood Restaurant - Example

Running Head: Reflective Diary and Internship Report in Chinese Restaurant [Name] [Professor Name] [Course] [Date] Abstract My internship experience was at the Scholar Chinese Seafood Restaurant located at 23 Woolley Street (second floor) Dickson ACT 2602. I gained much hands-on experience at a job that I had potential interest in. This opportunity allowed me to get an insight into the professional realms of a hospitality industry. Alongside work experience, I also had to record my daily experience and keep a daily log. The 10-day internship sharpened my communication, interpersonal and time management skills. Reflective Diary of Internship at Scholar Chinese Seafood Restaurant On the first day at work, I received a briefing from Richard Wong, who is the manager, on food service, offering menu advice, preparation of itemized bills, time management, handling customers, organizational culture and the general code of ethics at the company and basic code of practice such as hygiene in food handling and food preparation. The briefing basically intended to serve as my first training at the restaurant. I was introduced to the remaining three members of staff, including Dexian and Quan. Dexian is the head chef in the kitchen and cook traditional Chinese food for dinner only. Quan is head chef in the Dimsim Department and cook Yumcha for lunch. The two were later assigned the task of orientating me to my new environment. Wong also took the initiative to take me through typical tasks such as taking orders from customers, clearing empty plates, bill preparation and setting table. On the second day, I arrived at work at 9 a.m. before the restaurant was opened for the day. As a waiting staff, I had several tasks to do as my first assignment. First, I had to put on the uniform that had been assigned to me a day before. I set the tables, moved the tables around, putting table clothes, cutlery, napkins, table decorations and crockery. The cutlery had however to be polished. I also had to ensure that the tables had complete set of condiments such as salt and pepper. I also had to check that there are enough menus for the tables and equipment such as service trolleys, trays and warmers. Dexian and Quan also took me through the items on the menu and how they are prepared. Other included special drinks and wines to complement the meal. From this perspective, I noted that the hospitality industry employs the use of traditional management and practice-based theories. For instance, the restaurant seemed to concentrate on practices that benefit several aspect of the business at the same time. This included quality services and branding. For instance, by using distinguishing features such as special Cantonese food and famous guests, the restaurant seemed to make use of the theory of “unique selling elements.” Also, through the briefing and orientation, I decided that the manager was well aware of the systems theory, which allows managers to examine the different systems within an organization, their patterns and how they affect the employees. The restaurant was opened at exactly 11.30 a.m. Guests immediately streamed in as I followed the other waiting staff in busying ourselves into keeping the people comfortable. I was assigned to a group of four tables as my station. The first guests that I handled were two elderly Chinese couples. I ushered them deeper into the restaurant and helped them into the chairs. With martial promptness, I drew out the menu and asked if they might have a drink. However, noting that the couple was not showing interest in the menu, I told them what special offers were available for the day. I took the orders and called one of the waiters to help me explain unusual items on the menu. I suddenly realized that the waiting staff operated as a team. I scribbled the orders on a pad and passed it to the kitchen. Meanwhile, customers used a pen to select the steam and deep fried dumplings from a order list, then other waiters (3 to4) took the paper to the kitchen, normally serve with a pot of Chinese tea. While the guests took their meals, I carefully watched what the other waiter was doing and learnt that I had to stay alert just in case the diners asked for something. Additionally, I had to be ready to refill their drinks. Once the meal had been taken by the couple, I cleared the table and presented the guests with their bill. After they cleared the bill and left, I had to reset the table. At the end of the day, the restaurant was closed. I had to help clear the table and set the linen aside for washing. On reflection, I had really been nervous throughout the first day. A particular episode was when handling the customers on my own. In all, I realized that I had to remain confident if the customers had to have confidence in our service. Communication skills were an integral part of maintaining a good service. For instance, I had to speak both clearly, loudly and softly and noting that most of the Chinese customers who came had some problems in communicating in English, I had to confirm that they understood what we meant. I found that taking the orders from the customers very stressful. For instance, in case I served the wrong order, it would have serious implications. I therefore preferred writing the orders on my notebook. The rest of the 9 days had basically similar activities across the day. Personal Qualities and Skills Throughout the first day and on to the tenth day of my 10-day internship, my take was that working in a hospitality industry is very demanding. This is because it is a busy job that is full of pressures from all sides – from the supervisor and the customers. In some instances, customers were demanding and sometimes offensive. However, I had to maintain my cool throughout their episodic hysteria. During the briefing and orientation, I had been forewarned of such likely situations. In handling such customers, I had to remember that I was the public face of the restaurant and therefore had to act in a way that would enable the customers to come back or even recommend the place to their friends. For instance, in the second day, I was chanced to deal with an impatient customer, who was also a picky eater. The woman kept shouting over and over that her meals were delaying, and when the meal was finally brought, she demanded to know why some ingredients could not be used. Since I had no special culinary skills, I had to urge her to calm down as I called the next waiter. Indeed, this was consistent with the items of the chaos theory, which suggest that though particular events and situations can be controlled within an organization others can’t. This is because change is constant and provided that organizations will continue to grow, complexities and possibilities of vulnerable events would increase. A case in point is meeting customers with complex needs. The experience with the demanding customer showed that the hospitality industry needed tactful customer relationship building. The long hours of standing at my station or walking a lot or carrying trays and plates also indicates that the job needs energy and stamina. The incident with the impatient lady also showed that the job demanded that I had to think first as well as have a good memory. The skill I learnt from this second day experience was that it enables one to have an outgoing personality and improved communication skills. The points to note from this experience are that I had to learn aspects of my work such as food, as well as be a people person. This is because restaurant settings host different kind of people. In addition, customers are likely to ask for recommendation meaning it is critical that one should know about what is on the menu. Other important skills I learnt is that one should have an eye for details while ensuring that the tables are set appropriately and that food is served to the right table that matches the order. The achievement of which I’m most proud of is helping to review, formulate and rewrite some food service and preparation policies. I felt that had been able to put my research and writing skills into practice. It was also satisfying to learn that I would leave something behind at the end of my practice. What I found most surprising during my placement is the little time the waiting staff gets engaged in personal free time out of work. I observed that all around the week, I had to spend most hours of the day at the restaurant and into the hours of the night. I would get to my place at around 10.00pm and prepare for the next day. I perceived that if I worked in this line of work in future, I would need to apportion my time between work and my family and friends proportionately. Without this, I would not have a social life. Several areas proved a challenge during the 10 days of my placement. However, the most challenging was engaging in a face to face conversation with customers who are angry and upset about the service and trying as much as I could to maintain the smile on my face without attempting to become expressionless. I however noted some of my weaknesses. These are the areas I would like to improve. First, I noted that I had poor time management skills and stress management skills. For instance, I took long lunch breaks and sometimes forgot to serve the orders in time as I seemed to concentrate on watching the customers that getting their meals. I also noted that I became easily upset when I was ordered around by the manager, the customers or the other employees of the hotel. The pressures seemed to be overbearing and in some instance, I took things personally. In the end, I became stressed up and wished that the day would pass by fast. The areas I would focus on improving therefore include time management, stress management and building interpersonal relations. I also noted that teamwork is essential for quality productivity. Most of the tasks called for teamwork. For instance, in laying the tables, it was important to involve the other members to know their opinion. Further, in taking orders and serving food, I had to fill in for the other waiters when they went for the meals. Also, in handling overanxious and unruly customers, I had to seek the help of the older staff who had better experience in handling such people. There is however some instances when I had to apply the knowledge I used in class. For instance, the scenarios that called for application of management theories provided an opportunity of putting the theories learnt in class into practice such as Chaos Theory, Contingency Theory, Theory Y than Theory X. It seemed to me that all areas of work at the restaurant need problem-solving skills. An instance of when I had to solve a problem was on the ninth day of my placement. For instance, the manager was faced with a particular problem in understanding customer rights in the hospitality industry scenario. This came about after one customer refused to pay the meal and threatened to seek a legal action since the restaurant was unusually hot when the fan broke down. Since he had other duties that kept him busy, I had to explore when ensuring customer comfort through providing air conditioner equipment was a right or a privilege. I took an initiative to make an internet search of customer rights, compliance areas and codes of practice for the food service industry. Concerning areas where I was given a responsibility, the manager made me to play some critical roles of running the entire restaurant on day 9 of my placement. According to him, this was important as it enabled me to understand how all aspects of a restaurant operate. I was assigned different tasks such as reviewing what had happened in the previous day, suggest the immediate needs of the organization and count the cash collected during that particular day. Other essential tasks include reviewing the guests’ check-ins and check-outs, performing room assignments, handling the incoming packages and reconfirming reservations made by the customer. I was able to perform the duties with due diligence as the manager merely played a part of an oversight authority. At the end of the day, I decided that management of the hotel was the most critical area and the most challenging. Most importantly, the experience showed that the hospitality industry extensively employs neo-classical theories such as human relations theory. The theory postulates that sociology and psychology must be employed in understanding human behavior in an organization. The industry seems as advocating for human values in an organization. Through allowing me to assume the role of the manager, I felt motivated and appreciated after 8 days of working as a waiting staff. Additionally, the business is in itself a social system. The training and orientation on how to handle diverse customers also showed that the organization sought to develop social and leadership skills. Before the internship, I had planned to fit the time commitment into my academic timetable. However, what I had failed to realize is that the process would be emotionally and physically taxing. A message to future interns in the hospitality industry is that they should keep an open mind. From the outset, I never expected that I would learn so much about keeping personal warmth, building strong interpersonal and customer relationships and having good communication and time management skills. Future interns should not be picky or particular about their vocation. Instead, they should seek any opportunity that comes by as each opportunity as a unique learning experience. Internship Report in Chinese Restaurant Introduction This report aims to examine the micro and macro environments for the Scholar Chinese Seafood Restaurant in order to come up with recommendations for future strategic growth. There is however limited data available for the restaurant’s customer-base therefore an observational analysis was carried out and assumptions made on the characteristics of the customers such as age. The overall aim of the report is to gain an insight into the hospitality industry. Overview Scholar Chinese Seafood Restaurant is a small to medium sized business with 4 employees. Located in 23 Woolley St Dickson, ACT, 2602, it is a proprietary limited company with 7 to 9 shareholders. Four of the shareholders are employed on fulltime basis at the restaurant. Raymond Wong is manager (my supervisor). Lucas is a normal waiter. Dexian is the head chef in the kitchen and cook traditional Chinese food for dinner only. The restaurant serves mainly Oriental cuisine, with its signature Chinese seafood such as Mud Crab, Lobster, Live Steam Fish, soft shell crab, Yumcha.  Menus and prices are often subject to change. The restaurant attracts customers mainly of Asian origin. Quan is head chef in the Dimsim Department and cook Yumcha for lunch. Tom is the Chief Executive Officer of the company. All the four previously worked at a restaurant owned by Tom called Noble Palace at Woden Canberra. The restaurant was started in 2009 when Tom asked the four that a new restaurant be set up. The restaurant is very busy on weekend mornings and has the capacity of 150 to 200 people at one go. Market Analysis The Chinese Seafood Restaurant has three main markets. These include the people working in the downtown area during the day and who look forward for a walk-in food for lunch or dinner. Next, the neighboring businesses who look forward for a phone-in lunch for business meetings and lastly, workers with families who look forward to a family dinner at the end of the workday or over the weekends. Each of the above market segments comprises people who work in the downtown area or who flow in through Woolley St Dickson during the normal working hours of the week or over the morning hours of the weekend. There is therefore indeterminate percentage of each market that seeks for food service at the establishment who look to meet the requirements of fast service, ambient atmosphere and healthy food (Lee, Renig & Shanklin, (2007). Assel, 1985; Fraser & Hite, 1988). The restaurant caters for a growing trend of middle-class professionals mainly of Asian origin and who look forward to a Cantonese cuisine. Market Segmentation The average potential market in units is show in the chart below The business market has the capacity to offer large volume sales over the weekend during the peak hours of 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., both through the traffic of customer who visit the hotel and who make bookings. This group of customers provides the long-term vital revenue stream. Market Trends A recent market trend that has seemed to increase the revenue stream for the Scholar Chinese Seafood Restaurant is the recent rise if interest in consumption of organic foodstuff. There is a significant proportion of population in Canberra that demands for more naturally grown organic seafood. Service Business Analysis The restaurant industry in Canberra is greatly fragment and highly competitive. The Scholar Chinese Seafood Restaurant has low capital costs and low profit margins, which however means that it should be highly competitive. Suppliers seem to have a greater bargaining power in negotiating the prices of their products, particularly to small eating establishment such as the Scholar Chinese Seafood Restaurant. This means that the prices on the menu are always subject to change. The company however has cost advantage because of economies of scale. The barriers to entry or exit are almost stagnant in the industry (Harrison, 2007; Hunt, 2000; Wen-feim, 2004). The Scholar Chinese Seafood Restaurant seems to embrace the Contingency Theory of management, which postulates that the business makes decisions based on the situations at hand instead of a standard method. For instance, instead of having a definitive competitive strategy, the business takes appropriate action bases on the aspects that apply best to the current situation (Klaas, 2004; Hunt, 2000). Customer Service Customer service seems to be the major draw for the dining clientele for the Scholar Chinese Seafood Restaurant. The Cantonese cuisine and the atmosphere however out-shadow the customer service to turn new clientele into repeat customers. For instance, the service is often slow and over the weekends, customers have to stand as they wait for others to clear their food in order to get a chair. The management however demands that the wait-staff provides quality services to the clientele to ensure that are satisfied with the dining experience. Wait staff are thoroughly trained and have undergone performance appraisal over the years (Kincaid, Baloglu. Mao & Busser, 2010). This is consistent with the Systems Theory of management. Advertising and Promotion The company however has weak marketing strategy. For instance, it has no advertising plan or media schedule for target market customers. Additionally, the business has no effective advertisement forms such as flyers, publications, website, billboards, business discounts or creating a record fats deliver. Instead, it relies on a word-of-mouth marketing strategy. The management fails to acknowledge that the key to success is aggressive media promotion to accomplish its service goals as a unique midtown restaurant with eclectic atmosphere, great food, value and service (Bernhardt & Kinnear, 1983). The business however needs to adopt the Chaos Theory of management. The theory hypothesizes that change is constant and that while organizations grow, they need to advance their strategies. For instance, the restaurant needs to adopt more advanced strategies to market itself to potential customers as well as to maintain its customer base. The business should therefore transform its ideas positively as well as leverage in marketing to raise the enterprise’s operating efficiency using available resources. This will ensure that the business has long-lasting competitive advantage (Bordley & LiCalzi, 2000; Muldera et al. 2001). Sales Strategy The business has a simple sales strategy of combining its great customer service with signature foods. The strategy is aimed at getting great reviews and winning initial customers into repeat customers. Management Summary The strength of the management staff is integral to the success. The business has assembled a management team with vats experiences in the hotel industry, including culinary, restaurant management and customer service. The company CEO is Tom, the manager is Raymond Wong, Dexian, head chef in the kitchen, and Quan, the head chef in the Dimsim Department, have considerable experience in the restaurant industry. Wong acts as the day-to-day operational and hands-on manager who handles day-to-day management of the restaurant. Dexian cooks traditional Chinese food for dinner while Quan cooks Yumcha for lunch. Based on the restaurant’s portfolio of past success, the management has deep roots in the restaurant segment in building the shareholder confidence. The management seems to embrace more of Theory Y than Theory X since they believe that the waiting staff and other workers do not lack ambition although they need incentive to improve their productivity. In addition, they encourage the employs to take initiatives and responsibilities. The management also encourages participation from workers (Lynch, 2005; Vroom, 2003). Operations Facilities and Offices: The restaurant at 23 Woolley St Dickson, ACT, 2602 has the 150- to 200-person capacity on a single sitting. It however needs some minor structural modifications to allow for more customers. Services and Hours of Operation: The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner 7 days of the week. Mon. to Fri. Yumcha: 11:30 AM to 3:00 PM (customers use a pen to select the steam and deep fried dumplings from a order list, then waiter take that paper into the kitchen, normally serve with a pot of Chinese tea.) (4 to 5 waiters) Sat. to Sun. Yumcha: 10:30 AM to 3:00 PM. (3 waitresses push the trolley with all the steam dumplings in that and sale to customer in the table, 5 waiters/waitresses carry a tray with all other deep fried dumplings on tray and sale to customer, 5 to 7 waiters/waitresses serve drinks and bring customer to the table and clean up the table after used) Dinner: 5:00 PM to 10:30 PM (serving traditional Chinese food and seafood in Cantonese cuisine) Employee Training and Development Employees are trained in their specific operational fields as well as in the philosophy and application of the Cantonese cuisine concept. In this way, the management uses the Systems Theory of management, which suggests that managers should recognize how different systems affect the employees. This means the employees must be trained to be able to adapt to different systems or situations at workplace (Mishra & Bhaskar, 2010). Food Production  Most food is prepared at the restaurant premises. The kitchen is designed to facilitate high standards of sanitary efficacy. Food is made mostly to order. In conclusion, the restaurant caters for a growing trend of middle-class professionals mainly of Asian origin and who look forward to a Cantonese cuisine. The company however has weak marketing strategy. For instance, it has no advertising plan or media schedule for target market customers. Although the business seems to fully embrace the contingency theory for flexibility purposes, it however needs to adopt the Chaos Theory of management. The theory hypothesizes that change is constant and that while organizations grow, they need to advance their strategies. For instance, the restaurant needs to adopt more advanced strategies to market itself to potential customers as well as to maintain its customer base. References Assel, H. (1985). Marketing Management Strategy and Action. Boston: Kent Publishing Company. Bernhardt, L. & Kinnear, T. (1983). Principles of Marketing. 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Retrieved from [http://hortmgt.dyson.cornell.edu/pdf/smart_marketing/uva4-04.pdf pg 1,2] Accessed 30 May 2013 Zeithml, V. & Varadaja. The Contingency Approach: Its Foundations and Relevance to Theory Building and Research in Marketing. Web. accessed 25 July 2013 Read More