The Oak Room Restaurant - Essay Example

Services Management 2 2 Overview 3 Target Market 4 Competitive Analysis 5 Performance Standards 8 Taking Orders at the Table 8 Kitchen Service 9 Data Analysis 10 Recommendations 12 Food Quality 14 Kitchen Layout 15 Appendix 1 A 17 Appendix 1 B 18 Appendix 2 A 19 Appendix 3 A 21 Appendix 4 A 22 Appendix 4 B 23 Appendix 5 A 24 Appendix 5 B 25 List of References 26 Services Management Abstract This research report consists of issues relating to the analysis and evaluation of services management and competitive effectiveness of the Oak Room Restaurant. This final report is based on the previous researches conducted with respect to the restaurant. An evaluation of the competitiveness involves its competitor Gary Danko, another famous restaurant of San Francisco. The strengths and weaknesses of the Oak Room Restaurant, in specific areas, were analyzed and evaluated before arriving at conclusions. Some of the important weaknesses identified were in the services and products of the restaurant. Finally appropriate recommendations were made. Overview Since its inauguration in 1904, the Westin St. Francis has acquired and preserved the status of a renowned landmark and destination that is much more than just a hotel. Westin St. Francis is one of the largest facilities incorporating space for conducting meetings, conferences and other functions, in the Union Square area. At present the number of rooms in Westin St. Francis are 1,195 (Lowe, 2012). This hotel crystallized from the endeavor of the guardians of the Charles Crocker family to transform San Francisco into another Paris. A meal at The Westin St. Francis San Francisco provides an olfactory and gustatory experience that refuses to be erased from memory. Moreover, the Westin St. Francis provides several dining options, such as a coffee shop or café. Since it is inception, the Oak Room Restaurant has been one of the best among the élite restaurants of San Francisco. The opulence of its décor, in combination with its extraordinary dining, wide-range of amenities and excellent service has endeared it to the discerning traveler (Magellan Luxury Hotels, n.d.). As it is centrally located in the Union Square, this restaurant is the preferred choice of businessmen and travelers. The Oak Room has been projected as an ideal location to partake of a hearty breakfast and to enjoy a complete buffet. This restaurant is renowned for its full menu of the famous and favorite dishes of the US. In addition, it provides international flavors in the menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In addition, the Oak Room Restaurant has been the proud recipient of the Open Table Diners’ Choice Award (OpenTable, 2014) In the year 1913, the Oak Room Restaurant opened as the Men’s Bar, signifying the completion of the final wing of the Landmark Building. It has been regarded as an endorsement of the Westin St. Francis Hotel and San Francisco (TravelImpressions, 2014). Some of the attractions provided by this hotel are; music and nightlife, romantic getaways, family entertainment, relaxation, outdoor sports and activities, exploration and adventure, meeting and event facilities, restaurants, local cuisine, wedding arrangements, facilities for business travelers, local attractions, historical landmarks and culture. As such, Westin St. Francis can be considered the best among the large hotels of the Union Square. Target Market In general, a hotel provided with a higher ranking in customer ratings will be a better competitor for the other hotels. These ratings depict the final choice of the customer, and the target market and other options exercised by the customer, in that situation. This enables us to evaluate the product or service that had been accorded a higher ranking. Choosing an appropriate competitor would enable the restaurant to assess its products and service values. Since Westin is located in Union Square, one of the major tourist attractions of the world, Westin St. Francis has far better opportunities for attracting guests. It has 1,950 rooms, a wide meeting area and dining services by providers, such as the superlative Oak Room Restaurant. It also has a large meeting area for catering to the needs of clients worldwide (TravelImpressions, 2014). The ambience provided is superlative, with the provision of candlelight dinners. Moreover, this hotel makes excellent arrangements for private gatherings of any size (Westin Hotels & Resorts, 2014). These are some of the unique features of this hotel. As such, the Oak Room has been recommended for enjoying lunch, dinner and alcoholic beverages. The atmosphere draws heavily upon traditional motifs and the menu is seasonal with several San Francisco favorites. This cozy restaurant has undergone a recent and comprehensive renovation (OpenTable, 2014). Data for analyzing the target market was collected through customer reviews. This data pertaining to the period of 1-2-2014 to 09- 27-2014, was collected from customer reviews on websites, such as Trip Advisor and Open table. This data disclosed that most of the customers visited the restaurant for either getting together, on business or while travelling (Appendix 1A – The Oak Room Restaurant Review). As such, 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. In view of its target market, the Oak Room Restaurant should have ensured a much better quality of service. Competitive Analysis In this work, the researcher undertook a customer centric approach, in order to analyze the competitive structure. The researcher employed reviews provided by websites, such as Yelp, Trip advisor and Open table. Around 100 reviews were accessed for the Oak Room Restaurant and the Restaurant Gary Danko. Customer ratings relating to quality of food, service, price, and environment were treated as the primary variables for comparing and evaluating competitive values. The researcher selected the Restaurant Gary Danko as the competitor because, it is located in the same region of San Francisco as the Oak Room Restaurant, and provides similar food and beverage services. The Oak Room Restaurant in The Westin St. Francis on Union Square is renowned for its full menu of the famous and favorite dishes of the US. In addition, it provides international flavors in the menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This restaurant does not neglect its minor patrons and provides additional choices for children, such as the Westin Kid’s Club items. Another important feature of this establishment is the Westin Super Foods. This provides breakfast items that are replete with phytonutrients and antioxidants (westinfrancis, 2014).As such, Westin St. Francis can be considered the best among the large hotels of the Union Square. The Restaurant Gary Danko was inaugurated in 1999 by Gary Danko. This restaurant had obtained several prestigious awards. Some of these were; the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant, and the James Beard Award for Best Chef in California. In the year 2012, Gary Danko was nominated as a finalist for the Outstanding Chef award (Trevs Bistro, 2012). The St. Francis is a hotel that is more than a hundred years old. This hotel is located in an area that boasts of some of the best shopping in the world. Thus, its location, in Union Square, the heart of business of San Francisco, has provided an added advantage to the Oak Room Restaurant (OpenTable, 2014) The Oak Room Restaurant commenced business in the year 1913, as a men’s bar. Thus, it had the competitive advantage of experience and quality, over a longer period, when compared to the Restaurant Gary Danko. In accordance with the data obtained by this researcher, appreciation for the environment quality was 14% for the Oak Room Restaurant. This indicated a higher level of environmental quality in the Oak Room Restaurant. As such, the Oak Room Restaurant was in an advantageous position, with regard to its ambience, and its target market of this restaurant was business people and travelers (Appendix 1A – The Oak Room Restaurant Review). The Gary Danko is located in the Fisherman’s Wharf area, and the tourists at this restaurant, outnumber the local residents, marginally. With respect to this restaurant, positive reviews regarding food quality are 43% whereas neutral in this regard are 50 %. Moreover negative reviews amount to 14% (Appendix 4 B – Restaurant Gary Danko Customer Review Bar Graph). This data shows that the total of neutral and negative reviews regarding the food quality is greater than the positive appreciation reviews. This indicates that food quality is not appreciated by the maximum consumers. With respect to service quality, positive reviews are 25%, neutral and negative reviews amount to 36% and 17% respectively (Appendix 5 B – Restaurant Gary Danko 2014 Customer Review Pie Chart). This data indicates that positive reviews are lesser in number than negative reviews of the service quality provided by the restaurant. Regarding staff appreciation, positive reviews are only 15%. This indicates that the quality of the staff is not up to the expectations of guests (Appendix 1 B – Restaurant Gary Denko). In addition, regarding appreciation, vis-à-vis price issues, the Restaurant Gary Danko was accorded a -1% rating, whilst the Oak Room Restaurant was accorded -10%. This indicated that the prices charged by these restaurants were not to the liking of their customers. From this it can be deduced that people were willing to pay more for quality in food, service and ambience (Appendix 4 B – Restaurant Gary Danko Customer Review Bar Graph). Moreover, the Zagat’s San Francisco guide has emphatically stated that Gary Danko is a longstanding restaurant with great popularity. A place among the Top 100 in the Bay Area has been allocated to this restaurant, by The San Francisco Chronicle. The patron finds a mix of the old and the new at this restaurant (Trevs Bistro, 2012). This discussion reveals that tourists and business people are the target market of the Restaurant Gary Danko. Nevertheless, since its inception, the Oak Room Restaurant has been one of the best among the élite restaurants of San Francisco. The opulence of its décor, in combination with its extraordinary dining, wide-range of amenities and excellent service has endeared it to the discerning traveler (Magellan Luxury Hotels, n.d.). As it is centrally located in the Union Square, this restaurant is the preferred choice of businessmen and travelers. Performance Standards The aim of performance standards is to improve the efficiency and service of employees, which in turn will improve the business. The implementation of these standards is determined by certain requirements and expectations from employees. The performance of the employees is critical to a business, despite the presence of a number of norms in that business. Establishing performance standards is indispensable for determining the manner in which employees have to interact with customers. Taking Orders at the Table 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 (Appendix 3 A – Blueprint for Oak Room Restaurant). 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. 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, per se, are well acquainted with the preferences of returning customers, and can ensure a constant clientèle 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. In addition, 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. Kitchen Service Kitchen service is the most important feature of a restaurant and deficiency in this area can seriously compromise its success. In the previous research, it was noticed that food quality was poor due to the disorganized nature of kitchen equipment placement and staff deployment. The following discussion enables one to assess the importance of kitchen layout in improving staff service quality. As such, the supply of meals constitutes a crucial sector of restaurant service. Albeit, meals are provided through physical goods, they differ considerably from other service goods. For example, they cannot be stored for longer durations, due to deterioration in their quality with time. Another difficulty experienced in restaurant service is intermittent change in the market environment. Anticipating demand becomes very difficult, due to seasonal and weather changes. With change in the seasons, orders undergo change. In addition, weather change alters the preferences of the customers (Kaihara, Fujii, Nonaka, & Shinmura, 2014, p. 204). These can be termed as the external environmental changes that affect restaurant service. Several forms of inefficiency can be identified in restaurant kitchen service. One of these is the layout of the kitchen being inefficient. From a fundamental perspective, each cook is provided with a specific working area, and he should strictly carry out the duties allotted to him, without assuming any other duties. Some of the layout kitchen structures of the past had included, baking, frying, and washing units. The design of kitchen units is aimed at adapting to maximum demands. As a consequence, worker productivity reduces with decreasing demand. It is recommended that the line system should be replaced by a cell system. The latter system will incorporate several cells, including the food stall style. With this change, adjustment can be effected to kitchen flexibility (Kaihara, Fujii, Nonaka, & Shinmura, 2014, p. 204). This can be achieved by altering the structure of the system, on the basis of changes in the number of customers and orders in the medium and long term. In the Oak Room Restaurant kitchen service was not effective, since some reviews by the customers reveal that the food is cold and on other occasions it revealed that the food supplied lately. Time perfection is an important component of successful management (Appendix 3 A – Blueprint for Oak Room Restaurant). Employee empowerment is a contemporary strategy that enables organizations to adapt to environmental changes. It also enables organizations to improve the quality of their service and service recovery initiatives (Pegg & Suh, 2006, p. 33). Data Analysis This research work is based on primary data based upon customer reviews on websites, such as yelp, Trip Advisor and Open table. More than 100 reviews were consulted, while arriving at the undermentioned conclusions. The customer reviews disclosed that appreciation for staff quality was merely 8%. 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 (Appendix 1A – The Oak Room Restaurant Review). It was noticed in the customer reviews that very few respondents had paid attention to the quality of service. 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 reduce negative opinion regarding its quality of service. Staff quality is central to the success of any organization, especially where customer satisfaction is crucial. Furthermore, 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 (Appendix 3 A – Blueprint for Oak Room Restaurant). 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. Business people and travelers, per se, 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. 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 should undertake initiatives, such as the provision of appropriate training to its staff, and to conduct themselves in a friendly, innovative and attentive manner, vis-à-vis the customers. An innovative strategy for improving the staff quality has to be adopted by the Oak Room Restaurant, if it is to be rated higher that the Restaurant Gary Danko, by the customers. The staff at the latter establishment had been recognized as being friendly by the customers. As such, quality management that adopts the proper processes will emerge with a competitive advantage in the market. By undertaking these changes the Oak Room Restaurant can emerge as a serious contender in the target market. Recommendations After analyzing the effectiveness of services of the Oak Room Restaurant, it was discerned that the staff response to customers was their main problem. There were several other related problems. Based on the Fish bone analysis and data, certain recommendations for improving their services have been provided (Appendix 2 A – Fish Bone Analysis). Staff Service Quality As such one of the chief problems identified is the ill-mannered behavior of the front room table staff, which is unacceptable. One customer review has highlighted the rude conduct of a waiter. In addition, several customer reviews have emphasized the poor response of the staff towards their demands (Appendix 4 A – Oak Room Restaurant 2014 Customer Review Bar Graph). 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. 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. Staff quality is central to the success of any organization, especially where customer satisfaction is crucial (Appendix 5A – Oak Room Restaurant 2014 Customer Review Pie Chart). 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. Food Quality The second problem identified with regard to the Oak Room Restaurant was the quality of food supplied to customers. 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 (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. Consequently, the Oak Room Restaurant should empower its staff, so that it can cope up with customer expectations and changes in the market environment. Employee training is the first step in employee empowerment. Employees should be trained to present themselves, in the best possible manner to the customers. Thus, it is essential to implement innovative policies that cater to customer requirements. Hence, it is necessary to provide employees with training in effective customer service techniques, in addition to the food handling and safety procedures required under the law. In addition, employees should be motivated to provide customer care that transcends mere basic service. It is essential to adopt the care concept. Some of the measures of this concept are; greeting customers promptly with a smile, and anticipating their needs. Furthermore, the employees should be made sufficiently familiar with the restaurant’s menus, so that they can suggest appropriate items for customers with dietary restrictions. As such, customers have to be regularly engaged in conversation, and they should be asked about their opinion regarding the service provided to them. Acting upon their reasonable suggestions can significantly improve the restaurant’s service. Kitchen Layout Another deficiency identified with respect to the Oak Room Restaurant was with regard to its kitchen layout. As such, several forms of inefficiency can be identified in restaurant kitchen service. One of these is the layout of the kitchen being inefficient. From a fundamental perspective, each cook is provided with a specific working area, and he should strictly carry out the duties allotted to him, without assuming any other duties. Some of the layout kitchen structures of the past had included, baking, frying, and washing units. The design of kitchen units is aimed at adapting to maximum demands. As a consequence, worker productivity reduces with decreasing demand. It is recommended that the line system should be replaced by a cell system. The latter system will incorporate several cells, including the food stall style. With this change, adjustment can be effected to kitchen flexibility (Kaihara, Fujii, Nonaka, & Shinmura, 2014, p. 204). This can be achieved by altering the structure of the system, on the basis of changes in the number of customers and orders in the medium and long term. Consequently, another important recommendation for the Oak Room Restaurant is that the kitchen staff layout has to be well-organized, so that customer demands will be addressed more effectively and expeditiously. In addition, the extant line system can be replaced with a cell system. This would enhance communication between kitchen staff and the front office staff. . Hence, the Oak Room Restaurant should enhance its operational costs, with regard to implementing a service staff layout plan. This is justified, as the number of staff has to be increased to cope up with customer demands. In addition, the staff should be given appropriate training to address the expectations of the customers satisfactorily. Innovative thinking and active involvement with the situation, should be encouraged and rewarded. For implementing these recommendations, a months’ time would be more than adequate for this restaurant. A reasonable cost enhancement exercise is inevitable with respect to these reforms. As such, the presence of efficient, active and innovative staff would definitely lead the restaurant to very high levels of success. Appendix 1 A Appendix 1 B Appendix 2 A Blueprint for Oak Room Restaurant Physical Evidence Restaurant parking Hostess Desk Lobby Uniform Eating Area Menu Food Appearance Delivery tray Food Clean Table Bill/Receipt Customer Actions Arrive at restaurant Reservation confirmed by hostess Seated at table Order items in the menu Receive food and drinks Eat Receive and pay bill Onstage/ Visible Contact Employee Actions Greeted by hostess, reservation confirmed Seated by hostess, provided menu Order taken Deliver the ordered items Clear dishes and leftovers Collect payment, return receipt to customer Backstage/ Invisible Contact Employee Actions Server informed of new table Order received in the Kitchen Server notified that the order is ready to be served Wash the dishes Process the bill Support Processes Reservation System Food preparation system Clean-up system Cash register system Appendix 3 A Appendix 4 A Appendix 4 B Appendix 5 A Appendix 5 B 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 Kaihara, T., Fujii, N., Nonaka, T., & Shinmura, T. (2014). A Proposal of Adaptive Restaurant Service Model with Co-creative Design. In M. Mochimaru, Serviceology for Services: Selected Papers of the 1st International Conference of Serviceology (pp. 203-212). Tokyo, Japan: Springer. Lowe, M. C. (2012). California. Meetings & Conventions, 47(10). Magellan Luxury Hotels. (n.d.). San Francisco Luxury Hotels. Retrieved October 9, 2014, from http://www.magellanluxuryhotels.com/san-francisco/westin-stfrancis-hotel-san-francisco 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 OpenTable. (2014). The Oak Room - The Westin St. Francis. Retrieved September 14, 2014, from http://www.opentable.com/restaurant/profile/7742?page=3 Pegg, S., & Suh, J. H. (2006). Issues Pertaining to Service Recovery in the Tourism and Leisure Industries. In B. Prideaux , G. Moscardo, & E. Laws, Managing Tourism and Hospitality Services: Theory and International Applications (pp. 26-37). Cambridge, MA, USA: CABI. Ramseook-Munhurrun, P. (2012). Perceived Service Quality in Restaurants. International Journal of Management & Marketing Research, 5(3), 1-14. TravelImpressions. (2014). The Westin St. Francis. Retrieved September 14, 2014, from http://www.travimp.com/hotel.php?msg=sfowsf Trevs Bistro. (2012, March 27). Restaurant Gary Danko, San Francisco. Retrieved from http://trevsbistro.com/2012/03/ Westin Hotels & Resorts. (2014). The Westin St. Francis San Francisco on Union Square. Retrieved September 14, 2014, from http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/dining/index.html?propertyID=1010&language=en_US westinfrancis. (2014). The Oak Room Restaurant. Retrieved September 14, 2014, from The Westin: http://www.westinstfrancis.com/dining/the-oak-room-restaurant Read More