Customer Reviews of Oak Room Restaurant - Research Paper Example

Problem Identification of the of Assignment 3 Problem Identification Introduction Previously, research had been conducted on customer reviews through websites, such as Trip advisor, Open table and Yelp, with respect to the Oak Room Restaurant. Thereafter, the data obtained had been analyzed, in order to assess the competitive advantage of this restaurant. The following possible areas of improvement were observed with regard to the Oak Room Restaurant. 2. Possible areas of improvement 2.1 Quality of Services-Staff Attentive, efficient and innovative staff constitute the backbone of any organization, and this is especially true of restaurants. The importance of the staff emerges from the fact that they interact directly with customers. Staff, as such, are well acquainted with the preferences of returning customers, and can ensure a constant flow of customers for the restaurant. Innovative staff can resolve problems with customers, arising during their work schedule, effectively and instantly. This renders the latter confident, and generates the perception that the staff are dependable and always at their service when they visit the restaurant. The customer reviews had clearly shown that the appreciation levels of the customers, with respect to the quality of services was just 18%. This disclosed the poor appreciation of service quality by customers. This denoted a very low level of staff quality, which would adversely affect the possibility of customers returning to the restaurant. It would also act as a major impediment to endeavors to attract new customers. This dismal level of staff quality reflected the dissatisfaction of customers with the services provided. Hence, the Oak Room Restaurant has to perforce improve staff quality, substantially. Neglecting this all important area, invariably leads to a reduction in the return rate of the patrons. In addition, information regarding the poor service will spread via formal and the informal channels of information, leading to further reduction in the number of people visiting the restaurant. Consequently, restaurants have to make a genuine and sustained effort to provide the best service that they can. As such, superior service improves competitive advantage to a tremendous extent. Thus, quality of services has to be at the very top of the list of priorities of a restaurant. 2.2. Food quality Food quality is essential for ensuring a restaurant’s success. The existing economic environment, in the hotel industry, has made it very clear that customers are increasingly assessing the actual quality of the food and what has been advertised by the management. Therefore, developing and maintaining market share is necessarily dependent upon maintaining the integrity of the food. Evidently, it is indispensable to evaluate products on a continuous basis (Miller, 2014). Such assessment has to devote considerable attention to the perception of quality by customers. In the customer reviews on food quality, only 18% are positive reviews of appreciation by the customers. The other reviews on this aspect were either negative or neutral towards the food quality. This indicates the dire need for improvement of food quality in the restaurant. 3. Arguments for improvement As the target market of the Oak Room Restaurant was chiefly tourists and business people, the quality of service should have been much better. To attract more customers, the Oak Room Restaurant has to improve its weaknesses area regarding its quality of service and food quality Staff quality is central to the success of any organization, especially where customer satisfaction is crucial. Additionally, quality and integrity of food are also important elements that determine the success of the restaurant, and which cannot be ignored, at any cost. 3.1 Service flow process of weaknesses in Blue chart. An examination of the blue print disclosed that several issues could have originated with the actions of the stage at the workplace, such as while taking orders and delivering the ordered dishes to the customers. For instance, on 27 September 2014, one of the customer’s placed a review of the Oak Room Restaurant on Yelp, wherein he stated that the food items ordered by him were cold. As such, he was quite dissatisfied with the quality of the service. The difficulty with the quality of service could have occurred during the Physical Evidence stage, wherein the food appears on the delivery tray portion of the Blue Print. The primary cause for the food being served cold, could be the absence of proper supervision of the food preparation and storage system. Another customer review, on 31 July 2014, in Open Table stated that the senior waiter’s manner had been brusque and unfriendly. This could have transpired at the On Stage Visible Actions of the employees’ area of the Blue Print. Such problems can be traced to absence of innovativeness on the part of the staff who deal with customers. 4 Impact on target market Business people and travelers constitute the target market of the Oak Room Restaurant. These people, in general, prefer a restaurant that has a warm and serene ambience. Not surprisingly, this class of customer expects better service quality from the staff. An instance of superior service quality improving the business and reputation of a restaurant is provided by the Courtepaille. This restaurant group commenced operations in the year 1961, in Burgundy, France. It focused upon providing exemplary service and a friendly ambience, at affordable rates, and grew into a magnificent chain of restaurants. At present it employs 3,000 people in its 170 branches (Quality Management System the Key Ingredient in Restaurant Chains Success, 2006). As such, Quality management is essential for ensuring the success of any organization. Thus, the management should strive to improve the quality of its staff. If this is not done, then the competitors will be able to lure the dissatisfied customers, without much effort. Therefore, the management of Oak Room Restaurant should undertake initiatives, such as the provision of appropriate training to its staff, and to conduct themselves in a friendly, innovative and attentive manner, with respect to the customers. 5. Argument for improvement A hotel becomes outstanding, only when it has an efficient team of managers and front line staff. The individual members of this team have to possess instinctive people sense, responsiveness, and authenticity (Harrison, 2014). As such, the hotel staff have to make the patrons feel comfortable and important. In addition, the competitiveness of an organization is inextricably intertwined with its capacity to provide high quality service. In the absence of such competence, the organization could find it difficult to survive. With respect to the restaurant industry, it has to be realized that there has been a tremendous increase in competition, as well as customer demand for high quality service and products. The local eating behavior has changed drastically. Better information regarding products and the cut-throat competition have compelled restaurants to effect improvement to their products and the service provided by them (Ramseook-Munhurrun, 2012, p. 1). The Oak Room Restaurant has to improve in the areas of its weakness, in order to compete with its competitors. 6 Conclusion Pleasant ambience, good food, and efficient and courteous service are essential for promoting customer satisfaction with a restaurant. In the contemporary times, visiting restaurants, on a frequent basis, has become an essential part of social activity. As a consequence, customers expect good quality food and service, in neat and clean environment. The Courtepaille restaurant chain accelerated its growth and left its competitors far behind. This was the outcome of implementing a quality management system that ensured the provision of friendly, innovative and attentive service at each of its 170 restaurants. Such a strategy has to be adopted by the Oak Room Restaurant, if it is to be distinguished from its competitor the Restaurant Gary Danko. The presence of good quality of service proved to be indispensable for increasing the rate of return of customers to the restaurant. By undertaking these changes the Oak Room Restaurant can emerge as a serious contender in the target market. Fishbone Analysis – Oak Room Restaurant Service List of References Harrison, K. T. (2014). Top 10 Musts of Great Hotel Service. Retrieved October 26, 2014, from About Travel: http://luxurytravel.about.com/od/hotelandresorts/tp/Five-Star-Hotels-Great-Hospitality-Service.htm Miller, D. (2014). Getting Food Quality Precise is an Ingredient for Sustaining and Growing a Successful Restaurant. Retrieved October 26, 2014, from http://hotelexecutive.com/business_review/2795/getting-food-quality-precise-is-an-ingredient-for-sustaining-and-growing-a-successful-restaurant Quality Management System the Key Ingredient in Restaurant Chains Success. (2006, March). Retrieved October 23, 2014, from http://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0SO8zJKW0hUoFYApR5XNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzaDUzamNkBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA2dxMQR2dGlkA1ZJUDMwMV8x/RV=2/RE=1414056907/RO=10/RU=http%3a%2f%2fdownload.microsoft.com%2fdocuments%2fcustomerevidence%2f26094_Courtepaille_CS_final.doc/ Ramseook-Munhurrun, P. (2012). Perceived Service Quality in Restaurants. International Journal of Management & Marketing Research, 5(3), 1-14. Read More