Mystery Shopping for McDonalds, KFC and Pizza Hut - Math Problem Example

Statistics Report on mystery shopping for McDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut Customer Inserts His/her Name Customer Inserts Name of Tutor Customer Inserts Grade/Course (June 6, 2016) Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Background 3 Purpose of conducting primary observational research 4 Methodological approach 5 EXCEL FINDINGS 5 INDIVIDUAL RESTAURANTS PERFORMANCE 9 Recommendations 11 Reference List 12 Introduction Market orientation is an integral part of any business that seeks to gain competitive advantage over other enterprises in similar market niche. Today, extraordinary competition levels exist in the modern business environment hence requiring each entity to keep up the pace. Organizations that possess sound market orientated culture have been found to perform better in terms of understanding their competitors as well as customers. ‘‘Proper market orientation culture result in better customer relationship which can enhance performance outcomes as sales, growth, market share and profits’’(Lukas & Ferrell, 20050. This paper seeks to determine the performance of three global restaurants that is McDonalds, KFC and Pizza hut. This will entail conducting a mystery shopping exercise for the aforementioned restaurants by way of carrying out a survey through observation and questionnaire manifestation. Background McDonald’s is one of the leading global companies in the food industry headquartered in the United States. Having been established back in the 1940’s the company has been in existence till today and is still recognized globally especially for its tasty hamburgers (McDonalds, p.1). Over time, the company has included other products such as salads, soft drinks, shakes, smoothies, wraps and breakfast items just to mention a few. McDonalds, holds that the core reason of being in business is customer satisfaction hence their over emphasis on quality services to their customers. Statistics indicate that the company has a retail supply chain more than 32,000 branches mainly comprised of local restaurants. Seventy percent of the retail lines globally are independently owned and locally operated. Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is yet another fast food restaurant operating globally. Its specialty is fried chicken and happens to come second after McDonald’s in terms of sales. KFC’s headquarter is in Louisville but distributes its products all over the world in more than 123 countries having a franchise network of about 372 companies distributed in different countries. The company was founded by Harland Sanders. “KFC's original product is pressure fried chicken pieces, seasoned with Sanders' recipe of 11 herbs and spices. The constituents of the recipe represent a notable trade secret. Larger portions of fried chicken are served in a cardboard "bucket", which has become a well known feature of the chain since it was first introduced by franchisee Pete Harman in 1957” (Wong, 2014). In addition to specializing in fried chicken, KFC also serves side dishes, salads, warps and chicken fillet burgers among other servings. Pizza Hut is one of the fast food restaurants under the brands of Yum! Restaurant Int. It is among KFC, Taco Bell, A&W and Long John Silver’s under the Yum! Umbrella. Pizza hut happens to be largest pizza chain in the world with over 12,500 restaurants across 91 countries. Having been established in 1958, by two brothers; Frank and Dan Carney in Wichita, Kansas, pizza hut has spread internationally. It is seemingly the first fast food restaurant to introduce food delivery service which has been adopted by many restaurants globally. Purpose of conducting primary observational research The purpose of this study is to investigate to the appearance of the restaurants in terms of cleanliness and attractiveness; the treatment offered by staff, the quality and quantity of the food offered among other miscellaneous factors. Observation is used in the data collection through filling of the secret shopper questionnaire. By doing this research, it will be possible to conclude any degree of correlation of the research questions between the three restaurants. Upon finding the results, recommendations will be made to the three restaurants in areas of excellence as well as in those that need improvements. Methodological approach The methodology applied in any research is important as it influences the outcome or results of the undertaken project. The results in turn determine whether the objectives and aims of the study are well achieved. The researcher makes a decision between quantitative and qualitative research methods or both depending on the nature of the study project. In this study, qualitative research methodology was adopted. “Qualitative research studies things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them” (Mendenhall et al., 2012). A secret shopper survey form was employed on all the three restaurants of study. Three key elements of the restaurants will be analyzed including the restaurants appearance, the staff and food. EXCEL FINDINGS Primary observational research questionnaire Restaurants Rating scale (1 = Needs improvement, 2 = Poor, 3 = Average, 4 = Good, 5 = Excellent) The secret shoppers’ questionnaires for the three restaurants are attached in the appendix. Results: Restaurant Appearance McDonalds KFC Pizza Hut 1. Was the restaurant’s outside appearance attractive? 5 5 3 2. Did the outside appear to be clean 4 4 4 3. Was the restaurant clean and attractive inside? 4 4 4 4. Was the host/hostess area attractive and spacious? 4 2 2 Restaurant Staff 1. Were you promptly greeted by the host/hostess? 5 3 4 2. Was the greeting friendly & professional? 4 2 5 3. Were you seated promptly? 4 3 1 5. Was the server knowledgeable about the menu selection? 5 4 2 6. Did the server suggest a beverage or appetizer? 5 5 3 7. Was the server’s appearance appropriate to the nature of the restaurant? 3 5 2 8. Was the greeter’s appearance appropriate to the nature of the restaurant? 3 3 3 9. Did the food arrive in a timely fashion? 4 4 1 10. Did the server check back with you during the course of your meal? 3 5 2 11. Were the plates cleared at the end of your meal? 4 3 3 12. Was the bill settled in a timely fashion? 2 1 4 13. What was your overall experience with the customer service? 3 3 2 Food 1. What is your overall impression of the menu selection? 3 3 3 2. Did your meal arrive as ordered? 4 4 2 3. How would you rate the overall food presentation? 3 4 2 4. Did the food meet expectations, i.e. quality, temperature? 4 5 3 5. Was the menu item a good value for the price? 2 5 4 Restaurants Appearance Analysis From the graph,it can be observed that McDonadals is the most excelent restaurant in terms of its apperance while Pizza Hut needs to improve on this area. The levelof cleanliness andattractiveness among the three restaurants is equal and generally good. In terms of the host/hostess area space, McDonalds is performing excellently while KFC and Pizza Hut are doing poorley hence require improvement. Restaurant’s Staff Analysis The staffs of a restaurant normally play a big role in customer attraction and retention. From the graph McDonald’s and KFC’s staff seem to have a better customer service in comparison to those of Pizza Hut. Pizza Hut staff took long to deliver food upon request by the customers something that needs serious improvement. KFC staffs have good cordial relationship with their customers as they keep on checking on them in the course of their meal just in case they (customers) might require something. Food Analysis In the food sector, KFC tops the list in terms of performance. INDIVIDUAL RESTAURANTS PERFORMANCE MODE 4 MEAN 3.714285714 MEDIAN 4 ST DEV 0.902377811 KFC Mean 3.66667 Mode 5 Median 4 Standard Deviation 1.154701 PIZZA HUT MODE 2 MEAN 2.809524 MEDIAN 3 ST DEV 1.077917 Recommendations Generally, the means of the three restaurants depict their performance in all the three areas of research. McDonalds has the highest mean followed by KFC then Pizza Hut. From the scale, McDonalds and KFC have a good performance while that of Pizza Hut is poor and needs improvement. In a nutshell Pizza hut should focus on more advertisements. In addition, the restaurant should improve on their restaurant appearance and more so their staff service delivery. Reference List Lukas, B. and Ferrell, O.C. (2000), ªThe effect of market orientation on product innovationº, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 28 No. 2, pp. 239-47. McDonalds, About Us, http://www.mcdonaldsindia.net/mcdonalds-india.aspx, Mendenhall, W., Beaver, R. and Beaver.B, (2012), Introduction to probability and statistics, 14th ed, United States: Brooks/Cole. Wong, V (November 24, 2014). "For KFC's New Look in Britain, Less Colonel and More Chipotle". Businessweek. Read More