Performance Evaluation & Competitive Benchmarking - Research Paper Example

Performance Evaluation & Competitive Benchmarking Performance Evaluation & Competitive Benchmarking Introduction Since the market is accommodative and accepts free and voluntary entrance and exit, it has become too competitive to operate and successfully run any business enterprise. The viability of the hospitality sector has made it to e too competitive. This fact can be used to justify the high level of competition in the hospitality business in San Francisco. This paper carries out an in-depth and critical evaluation of the level of services and competition between the “Trace” Restaurant and Taj Campton Place Restaurant, San Francisco. It does this by analyzing the clients’ reviews in Yelp, Trip Advisor and social media about their experiences in these facilities. The information was gathered from these sites by searching for the most appropriate and relevant key words such as hospitality, satisfaction, quality of services, accommodation, cuisine and beverages. Of all the 50 reviews, many clients seem to be content with the quality of services offered by these restaurants. However, for them to be too competitive, they need to make the necessary improvements in their specified weak areas. “Trace” Restaurant “Trace” Restaurant is part of the prestigious W Hotel SF which specializes in the provision of catering, accommodation and a wide range of services. As an established facility, “Trace” Restaurant, it is obvious that the restaurant offers a high degree of quality services. This has been evidenced in the kind of reviews it has been getting from the clients who often attest to the nostalgic and memorable experiences they had while visiting the facility. Based on my experiences and the numerous positive customer reviews, I would like to point out that this restaurant offers an exceptionally high quality service. For this reason, anyone who visits it, would not be disappointed, but would have to get a taste of delicious meals in a conducive environment worth staying on. Indeed, the reviews published in Yelp, Trip Advisor and social media platforms demonstrate that the restaurant has lots of strengths which need to be maintained for excellent services. To begin with, the restaurant is equipped with high tech modern and up-to date facilities. These include comfortable tables, chairs, beds which are used by the clients when having their meals or spending the night within the restaurant. In order to effectively accommodate all its clients, the management has supplied the facility with a total of 500 chairs and 300 tables. The other strength for “Trace” Restaurant is that it has employed a team of professionals to manage its operations and offer day to day services to the clients. A part from having highly trained and experienced managers, the restaurant boasts of recruiting competent receptionists, cleaners, cooks, chefs and supervisors. Each of these has a clearly outlined role to perform making the restaurant to offer awful breakfasts, lunches, dinners and accommodation services to the satisfaction of the customers. Despite this, the restaurant has been faulted for its weaknesses. Even if most of the clients have had pleasant and admirable experiences in the restaurant, some have not been happy with the quality of service delivered to them. One of the major weaknesses of this restaurant is that it offers high cost services. Although it offers a common cuisine, some clients said that the foods and drinks served are overpriced. Meaning, they charge fairly higher prices as compared to other hotels within the city. Thus, it appears to be exorbitant and exploitative especially to the low-income earning classes. The other weakness of this restaurant is that it does not offer special children’s menu. Even though it targets both the individual and group customers, it has not become conscious on the special needs of the young generation. Meaning, if a family is accompanied by their children to the facility, they might not be able to get specialized services for the kids. It is for this reason that Ms. Gladys Smith complained a lot during her vocation when her son Joshua could not get the type of meal he was used to consuming at home. At the same time, some of the hotel workers have been accused of incompetence. To some clients, they offer slow services and serve salty meals. This does not please some clients. It is therefore incumbent upon the management to ensure that such weak areas are appropriately adjusted. A part from building the reputation of the restaurant, it would put it in a better position of appealing to more clients, increase its revenue and overcome the high level of competition in the hotel sector in San Francisco and beyond. Such a competitive advantage is necessary for the success and uninterrupted growth of the restaurant however competitive the market is. Clients’ Level of Satisfaction Client Ratings Restaurant Opening Hours Day/Time Opening Time (am) Closing Time (pm) Monday 6:00 10:00 Tuesday 6:00 10:00 Wednesday 6:00 10:00 Thursday 6:00 10:00 Friday 6:00 11:00 Saturday 6:00 11:00 Sunday - - Taj Campton Place Restaurant I would like to categorize Taj Campton Place Restaurant as the most threatening competitor that the management of “Trace” Restaurant should be wary of. It is currently considered as one of the prominent restaurants in San Francisco which, just like its rivals, offer accommodation, catering, beverage and entertainment services to its diverse clients. However, unlike “Trace” Restaurant which mainly offers Californian cuisine, Taj Campton Place Restaurant majors on the Indian dishes consisting of meals such as yoghurt, fish, lobster, cannoli, lamb, flour noodles, fried okra and chicken pea. Rather than these, it provides a wide range of wine brands thus making it becoming one of the most magnificent and popular destinations in San Francisco. According to the information from Yelp, Trip Advisor, Facebook and Tweeter, Taj Campton Place Restaurant has definitely emerged as an outstanding facility. Most of the clients gave it a positive review since they are happy with the degree of services granted to them during their visits. This was attributed to several factors like professionalism, cleanliness, flexibility and the adoption of modern telecommunication technologies in service delivery. In terms of competition, Taj Campton Place Restaurant stands a better chance to out do “Trace” Restaurant should stern measures fail to be taken. As already highlighted, one of the reasons why it enjoys a competitive advantage is because it is properly managed by a team of highly trained, motivated and experienced professionals. It is an established organization which is affiliated to the Tata Group of Hotels whose origins date back to India in 1903. Today, the Tata Group has established hotels in Mumbai, South Africa, United Arabs Emirates, Zambia, United Kingdom and USA. At the same time, it enjoys a high status as it is one of the few members of the Leading Hotels of the World. Surely, this explains why many people consider it as a must-visit first class hotel in San Francisco. The other reason which makes Taj Campton Place Restaurant to be more competitive is that it offers exceptionally high quality services to its customers. It is credited for engaging Srijith Gopinathan as its chief chef. In fact, Gopinathan is one of the best chefs in the entire San Francisco. As an expert, he has brought his skills to organize his chefs and cooks to prepare and serve delicious, flavorful, intricate and satisfying Cal-Indian cuisine which has of course gained a lot of popularity in the city. Moreover, the restaurant has won the confidence of many clients since it has well maintained facilities. A part from having attractive, airy, light, spacious and state of the art living and bed rooms, the restaurant has large plasma HDTV screens, leather-copped writing desks and highly decorated coffee tables and lavish cotton linen sofa bed to make their clients much comfortable. Finally, the restaurant is a force to reckon with because, unlike most of its competitors in the market, it has gone beyond service provision to offer goodness. Meaning, to them, it is the satisfaction and comfort of the clients that matter a lot. Because of this, it has been using online media to market its products and access target clients. In fact, potential customers can make online inquires, view the menu and make online reservations. Mean while, it has gone a step further not only to provide rooms, but to make their facilities to be wheelchair accessible in favor of the physically impaired; and built a fully equipped and well maintained fitness centre, garage and a business centre. These have made the restaurant to be a preference of many clients in the market. Clients’ Level of Satisfaction Customers’ Ratings Read More