Nandos Customer Service - Case Study Example

Nando’s Customer service

Background

Nando’s is an international fast-food chain specializing in the provision of Portuguese food mainly based on chicken to its customers. The restaurant began as a humble Portuguese restaurant in Rosettenville, South Africa offering succulent, spicy, flame-grilled chicken when it was bought by Duarte and Brozin for R 80000. The expansion of the restaurant began with a focus on the South African Portuguese community in Johannesburg then the rest of the country and later spread internationally to achieve the current presence of over 33 countries. The passion that accompanied the service and product provision of Nando’s forms the main basis for the success of the company internationally. Nando’s aimed at offering ‘The Nando’s Experience’ to the customers and service and quality were entrenched in five core values, pride, courage, integrity, passion, and family. Nando’s has its headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa and operates over 950 restaurants in 33 countries with 26,000 employees (Charles, 2010). Chicken is the main food offering from Nando’s to the customers, and the specialization on Portuguese food allows the company to differentiate itself from the competition in the countries the company operates. The target market for Nando’s is the younger audience in the population consisting of students and young professionals who are willing to experiment with foods from diverse origins and love an ambient environment. The focus on this target make is because they make a high majority of the population and have an influence on the restaurant choice decision-making in a family. Nando’s also believes it has the capability of fully meeting the needs of this population and ensures a loyal customer base and success in the word of mouth advertising that has been the mainstay in the company since its start in South Africa.

Identification of the components of the customer experience that the organization offers its customers including a customer journey map

One of the strengths that have allowed Nando’s to grow from humble beginnings in South Africa to the global restaurant it now has achieved. The different aspects of customer service at Nando’s forms the focus of this study. The focus on the customer is king philosophy is at the heart of Nando’s customer service, and the components of customer service to the clients evidences this inclination. The focus on creating a customer service that rivaled no other at Nando’s reflected a commitment by the management to make quality customer service provision a key aspect of the business. The component of management support in customer service provision is evident with efforts undertaken by Nando’s through Brozin and other executives to offer a non-rivaled customer service. The involvement of the head office in the selection and training of staff that embody the culture of Nando’s with the aim of ensuring they are willing and motivated to offer excellent client service is the other aspect of management influence in achieving better customer service. The focus on excellent service also ensured the management and executives were exposed to international standards through paid courses and conferences (Blois & Klein, 2000). The management commitment in the implementation and success of customer service at Nando’s has been excellent, and the firm has achieved success mostly because of the support by management to implement strategies and efforts for better customer service.

The second component of customer service that allows a firm to achieve both domestic and international success owing to high customer satisfaction and loyalty is customer insight. Nando’s continuously seek feedback from the customers and endeavor to incorporate the feedback in customer service improvement. The customers have opportunities to offer feedback and provide recommendations for improvement of customer service through the Nando’s website and while at the stores. Getting in touch with the company is easy and straight forward signifying the company’s commitment to getting feedback from the customers. The management also requires employees to seek customer feedback and continuously incorporate it in the improvement of customer experiences. Nando’s seeks to employ people with a passion and drive to achieve better and drive the culture and commitment of Nando’s allowing them to continuously provide a better customer experience and incorporate feedback in the performance of their roles. An example is a comment by a customer of the spiciest nature of the food provided by a Nando’s store resulted in the provision of free frozen yogurt and taking a close interest in the views of the customers (Trip Advisor, 2012). Offering a great customer experience is achieved by listening to the customers views and responding positively resulting in a better word of mouth relay to others and positive reviews improving customer outcomes.

The component of customer experience evident at Nando’s is a focus on the customer and achievement of a quality experience for the clients. The Nando’s management has clear objectives on offering the employees a platform to focus on the customers and ensure they achieve a great customer experience. Delivering a warm comfortable and clean environment for the customers at Nando’s also provides the efforts of the management to focus on the customers in creating a remarkable customer experience. The focus on the customer is also evident in the efforts to implement better strategies of hiring people with a similar mindset and who will allow the company to achieve the objective. An example is a shift from a paper hiring process to PeopleMatter HIRETM to allow the firm “maintain the strong culture of individuality and enjoying what you do and attracting brilliant people to the company will allow the company to maintain the culture” (Charleston, 2012). PeopleMatter offers a platform for Nando’s to “identify and onboard employees who share our passion” (Charleston, 2012). The decision reflects the lengths the firm is willing to go to achieve an environment that focuses on the customer and augments the customer experience at the restaurants.

The other component of the customer experience at Nando’s is the alignment of human resource initiatives towards the achievement of customer needs and an excellent customer experience. The company places a huge emphasis on employing people with a mindset that seeks to ensure the customer experience is great and allows for a commitment towards efficiently meeting customer needs. The shift from paper hiring processes to the utilization of talent management solutions that augment the chances of accessing employees fit and ready to achieve the set goals and objectives of Nando’s is an example of an alignment of HR strategies to achieving a great customer experience. The creation of a better environment for the achievement of a better experience for the customers is also made possible when the people within the organization receive proper training on the culture and beliefs at Nando’s.Nando’s provides all the employees an orientation and proper training on the culture they are expected to portray and maintain at every phase of their service provision. According to Jane Hume, the key challenge in the international expansion has been to keep the Nando’s culture burning as the company expanded to the global context (Blois & Klein, 2000).

Engagement and collaboration are the other components of the customer experience at Nando’s. The company has an effective training, motivation, and remuneration program that allows the employees to be engaged and collaborate with the management in achieving a memorable customer experience. The management believes in the success of the restaurant business from the effective collaboration and engagement of executive, front, and kitchen staff to achieve efficient service delivery and a great customer experience for the customers. Synergy and cross-functional collaboration especially by bank and front staff offer Nando’s an excellent platform to achieve the desired higher level of customer experience. The employee engagement program for the employees offers Nando’s a chance to have a better understanding of the employees and roll out platforms for effective customer service delivery. The company’s culture is inculcated on the employees as soon as they are employed and will be willing to achieve better customer experience in the course of their employment. These efforts have been successful evident with the success of customer service initiatives by the company especially in South Africa and Australia.

The other component in the customer experience at Nando’s is branding ensuring the promised high level of customer experience is provided to the clients. Whenever the high level of customer experience is not provided efforts by the management and the employees are undertaken to ensure the customers are happy and satisfied. A case in point is the rating on trip advisor of the great customer experience at Nando’s where after a 45 minutes delay owing to a mix up at the service station and according to the reviewer the servant was very apologetic (Trip Advisor, 2012). The order was promptly provided within five minutes, and the satisfaction of the customers on the order was asked. To protect the brand, the manager arrived seconds later, apologized for the delay and the meal was refunded in full with drinks offered ‘on the house’ and a voucher covering the value of the meal provided for the customer. The steps taken by the Nando’s management reveals the extent the company goes to protect the brand it has achieved over the years by offering the customers an unrivaled customer experience. Protecting the brand by ensuring the customers receive consistent quality service experience allows Nando’s to achieve a high level of customer loyalty and thrives on referrals and word of mouth advertising. The impact is that the company saves a lot of marketing and branding of the product to the customers improving the company’s competitiveness in the market.

The branding of Nando’s as a destination for the best customer service and quality food provision has also allowed the company to carter to the needs of celebrities. Before the performance at BRIT Awards, Kanye West had a pre-show meal at Nando’s offering the brand a huge PR win and depicting the high level of customer service and quality (). The effect is a huge impact on the brand ranking because of the huge impact celebrity endorsement has especially on the fans of the rapper and others associated with the celebrity. The case of Kanye West is not an isolated one with David Haye, Ed Sheeran, and the UK Prime Minister having been pictured at a Nando’s store. The confidence from these celebrities, sports personnel, and politicians to partake their meals at Nando’s speaks volumes of the high attention to quality and great customer experiences at the company. The attractiveness of the Nando’s restaurant to those on a budget and those with a lot of disposable income serves to show the high customer experience offered.

The other component of the customer experience at Nando’s is the innovation driven by customer experiences evident at Nando’s restaurants. Nando’s designs an emotional experience at its restaurants and the website oozes of creativity and innovation (Nussbaum, 2010). The restaurants are covered with paintings from young upcoming artists and offer a visually beautiful and conducive environment improving the customer experience of the clients in the restaurants. According to Nsehe (2012), Nando’s is the second most innovative company in Africa using the marketing adverts of the company aimed at reaching the young and hippy who form the company’s target market. The innovativeness of Nando’s in meeting customer experiences is also evident in the manufacture of sauces sold in the restaurants ensuring the customers have access to all they need for their comfort and an excellent experience. The marketing innovation at Nando’s is also touched by Olivierlehe (2013) stating that Nando’s uses provocative and witty advertisements that capture the attention of its target marker. The adverts promise a wonderful experience for the young, and this is fulfilled when a wonderful experience is provided for the customers at the Nando’s restaurants matching the promise with the result improving the brand image. An example of the commercials done by Nando’s that reflect creativity and innovation is an advert depicting President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe enjoying himself with fallen dictators Saddam Hussein and Colonel Kaddafi (Olivierlehe, 2013).

The customer experience of Nando’s also transcends the physical presence at the restaurant with communication and feedback for effective communication with the customers provided online. Nando’s effectively uses its website and the social media pages to augment the customer experience. The success of social media platforms in achieving the aims of Nando’s is evidenced by the high popularity of the restaurant chain on social media with more than double followers compared to the nearest rival. The customers use social media as a platform to offer their views and compliments and provide suggestions for improvements to increase the success of the restaurant chain in providing an excellent customer experience. The customer experience of Nando’s is also heightened by the focus on using social media and the internet considering the target population consists of youth who have a prevalence of social media and internet use. The success of Nando’s customer experience objectives is evident with the first ranking received by the restaurant chain in the UK customer experience Index (UKCEI) depicting the focus on customer feedback and incorporation in customer service as hallmarks of Nando’s customer service (CXM, 2014). According to a Nando’s spokesperson, twitter and facebook and other social media sites offer a platform to help and engage more effectively with customers augmenting the customer experience (CXM, 2014).

The consumer journey map at Nando’s involves the provision of a platform for customers to access their choice meals within a short time and conveniently. The customers accessing Nandos have the option to order standard meals or make choices on the preferred type, spice level, kind of chicken, and the combination of other different choices to make. Opportunities to order online and via mobile applications are also available for Nando’s customers creating a unique and memorable customer experience. The app mimics the exact ordering process as would have been in the restaurant. The consumer journey map goes further to the receipt of the meal in an ambient and comfortable environment with employees offering quality service and ensuring the customers have a good time and are very satisfied. High-quality meals are the other focus at Nando’s. Paying is also an easy and streamlined process with different payment methods for the client’s convenience. Providing feedback and continued communication even after leaving the Nando’s restaurant are steps in the journey map with the feedback provided used in improving the experience and developing a relationship with the customers. The social media interaction with the consumers offers Nando’s insights on how to improve and serve the consumers better improving the customer experience of Nando’s and achieve high levels of customer loyalty.

An assessment of the level of customer experience Nando’s offers to focus on two elements

Nando’s seeks to achieve a high level of customer experience allowing the firm to be distinguished from other eateries in the regions it is located. Offering the best customer experience to its customers allows Nando’s to differentiate itself from the competition and be the choice destination for customers. There are two main elements that have allowed Nando’s to achieve a high level of customer experience; cultural alignment and internal infrastructure.

Cultural alignment is the main element of customer experience that has been a major focus for Nando’s from the start and throughout the expansion process. Nando’s realized the challenge of maintaining the core values and the culture of the organization following the rapid international expansion and operation in countries with different cultures and experiences for the consumers. The need to focus on the creation of specific cultural alignment based on the original store and the subsequent stores in South Africa is evident from the actions of the company’s management. Tasked with the retaining of the company culture and values, Jane Hume stated that her key task was “to keep our culture burning within the expanding South African and global context” (Blois & Klein, 2000). Her focus on retaining the values and culture of Nando’s is evident in the statement, “we must retain our close family-centered culture, our core values, in the process of globalization, yet adapt to very different cultures” (Blois & Klein, 2000). The alignment of the core values and close family-centered culture by Nando’s acted as an important tool for the company to achieve high levels of customer satisfaction and experience. Each customer is treated as a member of the Nando’s family, and every employee has a role to play in augmenting the customer experience at the restaurants. The culture improves the overall performance of Nando’s regarding the provision of an excellent customer experience for the customers.

The training of employees on the desired cultures and the imparting of company core values is the other mechanism utilized by Nando’s in achieving a culturally aligned high level of customer service. The focus on achieving customer service excellence is imparted on the employees as soon as they are employed in the company via training and seminars allowing the company to meet customer needs. The training also ensures the employees have an understanding of the procedures and decisions to make whenever customer complaints and differences arise in the service delivery. The impact is that the customer is more satisfied and willing to come back despite complaints owing to the nature in which these complaints are handled, and the customers go back happy and satisfied.

Internal infrastructure is the second major element of Nando’s customer experience entailing the use of internal structures to achieve high levels of customer satisfaction and unrivaled experience. The internal infrastructures utilized in the achievement of high customer experience objectives by Nando’s include the enlightenment of the employees on the desired level of service at the company. Training of employees on communication and excellent service delivery provides Nando’s a platform to ensure a high level of customer experience is offered to the customers. The employees also understand what is required of them and the expectations of the company considering the culture and the core values of Nando’s. The management has also provided adequate resources to ensure the customer experience at Nando’s is excellent including providing funding for app development, training of employees, and supporting customer service initiatives fully. Making customer service as an important strategy at Nando’s also highlights the role of customer service in improving the experience of the customers. Making excellent customer service experience a strategy for Nando’s also, ensure trust is developed by the consumers who continuously receive high levels of customer service and an excellent experience (Rosenbaum-Elliott et al., 2015).

Recommendations on how Nando's could improve the experience relating to those two elements

Recommendations for improvement of customer experience based on cultural alignment and internal infrastructure include offering a contextualized customer experience to the country and locality the restaurant operates. Nando’s should seek to have a clear understanding of the culture and beliefs in the new regions it expands to and allow the culture to be adapted to the company. This will allow the company to have an easier time meeting the needs of the customers in the new region and allow for personalized cultural experiences for the customers allowing Nando’s to have a better relation and present a better experience for consumers. Nando’s culture should also consider the difficulties that could be faced by employees in delivering better service experience for consumers. Accessing the employee training requirements, cultural orientation, experience levels, and fear of failure will allow Nando’s employees to provide better cultural outcomes and offering chances of reducing these challenges. The impact will be confident employees with a deep understanding and respect to the core values of the company improving their position to offer a better customer experience for the Nando’s customers.

The customer experience can be improved about the internal structures by focusing on utilizing the available internal structures to improve customer experiences. An example is using resources to offer more training on communication and better customer service skills for the employees. The other recommendation is the improvement of technology use and other fast-changing platforms that improve customer experience. Nando’s can also use internal structures in assessing changing customer attitudes and preferences to allow the company to be better prepared for changes in customer attitudes and improve customer service to achieve a better customer experience. The internal structures can also be used to enhance the customer experience by focusing on data mining to allow for a better understanding of the changing consumer demand and allow Nando’s to forecast changes in customer likes. The impact will be an ability of the company to correctly determine customer preferences according to their purchases and determine demand levels expected in a given period improving responsiveness.

Nando’s excellently provide great customer experiences for its customer by focusing on offering quality food and employees proving excellent service. The global success of the company is mainly because of culture and core values that view the customer as key in driving the growth of the company. The internal structures and cultural alignment are the two main elements of Nando’s customer experience and form the mechanism for the improvement of customer experience for the consumers. Customer experience is an important consideration for success in the global economy and forms the main reason for the continued success of Nando’s from the humble beginnings in South Africa.