Discuss about the Customer Service in Restaurant Management.
1. Identify the possible causes for the complaint and how it impacts on the customer Possible Cause Impact on Customer
Undesirable service in spite of being a regular in the restaurant.
The customer was before-handedly dissatisfied with the service as because they frequently visited the restaurant and didn’t get served with the desired service, so they needed a major reason to make their complaint strong. So with the non-availability of the seat for some time made their complaint more substantiated.
On the other hand, not every customer demand service worth of money, but they at least demand some good treatment for their money. So with the waiter who let them the space being blasé and not apologetic gave them the chance to make their complaint more credible (Akroush et al. 2013). It was not a major reason but still to some customers it does matter.
The impact of such a service often lets down the customer. Every customer demands a good service where he can enjoy it whenever he wants. The level of satisfaction is never complete but still to some extent it needs to be fulfilled. This was not so done in this case, and hence the customer demands a reply for such a service. This type of service also destroys the image of the restaurant in the eyes of the customer (Moreira and Silva 2016).
Blasé and not unapologetic behavior on the part of staffs of the restaurant.
The customers did not have the desired dish they ordered, but the order which arrived eventually was not upto the mark.
Non-availability of side sauce with the dish which did not appear at the time of service. This was also a major reason for their complaint.
2. Describe a communication technique that would be most appropriate for this situation
Communication Technique
Reason for Appropriateness
Immediate response and communication to be performed from the end of restaurant.
The communication technique which would be more appropriate in this would be as follows. The waiter must be responsive as soon as the customer arrives. May be the seats are not available, but if the waiter continuously talks with the customer and make him comfortable, that would put a good impression on the face of the restaurants. Moreover, the waiter needs to be alert and well responsive as soon as space becomes available because this would make the customer feel that he is given a level of importance which is a most important item when you want to satisfy your customer. The waiter should also be well-mannered and polite in his replies as because this would hide the faults in the eyes of the customer even if he commits one (Siu et al. 2013). Lastly, the waiter must be interactive about the dish provided to the customer and ask for any changes required in the future. This would put a better impression about the restaurant’s feedback details.
3. Describe 3 strategies organizations can employ to reduce the severity and number of complaints
Record and organizing meaningful complaints and grievances:
More often than not one would see customers are always in a hurry. They may place an order in the eleventh hour and want the restaurant to deliver in a jiffy. The factual reality is frequent such requests often turn into demands. Helping customers are right in the context but haphazardly following their demands may not be a good idea (Marinkovic et al. 2014). Multiple messages from multiple clients with recurring concerns in somewhat challenging as far as the organization is concerned. The volume of complaints not only raises problems but also makes things tough for the management about what to do next. The organization needs to sort this type of feedback. The key is to prioritize the complaints according to the degree. The management should offer its team a meaningful way to take stock of meaningful complaints and take corrective actions over those. The rest may seem to be futile; hence those should be managed with less precedence (Llach et al. 2013).
A useful method of dealing with upset clients can be best practices which are termed as CARP method. The CARP theory consists of C (Control), A (Acknowledge), R (Refocus), P (Problem solving). In other words, the management should take control stock of the situation with revealing measures that discloses the management’s intention that they are willing to address the client concerns and grievances and resolve those. Acknowledge would mean that the administration perceives the client concerns and not washing hand off from the issue. Refocus is something that the firm should contemplate. It means that the management should refocus away from client’s emotions to the doable solution at hand (Laperrière et al. 2016). In fine, solving the problem should be done, confirming that everything had been taken care of.
This is where most of the entities falter. The management should learn to deal with client complaints or for that matter grievance. The team should maintain a professional approach when it comes to customer support. On the other hand, support may require support. It must be accepted that not all customers may be made happy. So the bottom-line is upholding a positive outlook which would ensure pleasant times to come by (Kokkinou and Cranage 2013).
4. What is the importance of organizations having a Customer Service Policy?
The customer service policy should determine the relationship the entity may have which in turn would help the firm to retain the valued clients and function properly. Customer service departments require various ways to measure their success. Policies lay down service guidelines and train staffers to accomplish the set guidelines (Liang and Zhang 2012).
Clients like to be treated like their money matters. Thus having a policy is imperative in this case. A service client policy is a way to formulate a standard that surpasses beyond expectations. A customer service policy is an effective tool to impart valuable guidance to the resources of the organization on how to implore information from clients aimed to improve services. Thus framing a customer policy would have the company in consideration to detect the problems that the firm may have missed and to resolve those problems before it escalates to a level where clients are lost due to derisory services.
The firm should train its staffers to be problem-solvers and take into consideration various tactics required for retention of customers and improve word-of-mouth. The firms should involve all the employees as they interact with the customers more than the management. Hence, they would have a fair idea of what the clients expect from their experiences with the firm (Choi and Choi 2014).
· Need of feedback:
Firstly, every restaurant needs feedback from the customer so that they can improve their customer satisfaction skills on their part. So that’s the reason the restaurants needs to welcome the complaints because if they don’t, they will not find ways to improve their skills.
· Improvement in Branding:
The major reason why the restaurants should welcome the complaint is that this would put a better branding in the face of the customer (Hudson and Hudson 2013). Customer handling complaints are the major merit for restaurants to have a long run future in the market and would enable them to earn more profits.
· Enhancement of business:
The restaurant should welcome the complaint because that would bring him more customers which are so much required for his business. If the customer gets his complaint satisfied in his next visit, then that would enable the customer to bring his relatives as well as his friends on his next visit and would thus enable the restaurants to earn more customers.
6. As a manager how would you train your staff to best deal with customer complaints?
Client complaints are a reality in food and beverage business. The manager of the firm should devise various plans of training the staffs to best deal with customer complaints. At the outset, the management should form a protocol that addresses common complaints and forms procedures to resolve the complaints (Dabholkar 2015). Staff members should be provided with copies of etiquette, and a training session may be conducted to facilitate them to respond appropriately to various complaints. Exercises may be conducted by the managers by asking the waiters and other staffs to collaborate with supervisors who would act as an unhappy client. Regular weekly meetings should be held to discuss client complaints and issues and concerns that the client servicing team may have encountered (Zhang et al. 2013).
7. As the Customer Relations Manager, draft a reply to this complaint
29/08/2016
Dear Mr. Smith,
Thank you for taking time out to contact us for explaining the issues that you have encountered recently. We earnestly regret the inconvenience you have experienced and please be informed that we are sincere to retain you as our valued client. Based on our compliant and feedback our customer relations team is reviewing the information you have sent us. We vouch that our designated team is conducting a thorough investigation for resolving this issue.
We are aware that you had to wait for as much as fifteen minutes for a table to be vacated. Secondly, our waitress offered blasé behavior while serving the salmon dish you had ordered for. Also, the deserts and coffee were not offered which is a signature complimentary service on our end. Moreover, you were charged with a double bill for the salmon dish. We have taken cognizance of your issues and assure you of best services in your next visit.
In fine, once our investigation gets over, please allow us to contact you and apprise you of the findings. We look forward to serving you in the coming months. Once again, thank you for reporting this incident.
Yours’ Sincerely,
Robert Dawson
(Customer Relations Manager)
Reference List
Akroush, M.N., Abu-ElSamen, A.A., Samawi, G.A. and Odetallah, A.L., 2013. Internal marketing and service quality in restaurants. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 31(4), pp.304-336.
Choi, B. and Choi, B.J., 2014. The effects of perceived service recovery justice on customer affection, loyalty, and word-of-mouth. European Journal of Marketing, 48(1/2), pp.108-131.
Dabholkar, P.A., 2015. How to improve perceived service quality by increasing customer participation. In Proceedings of the 1990 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference (pp. 483-487). Springer International Publishing.
Hudson, S. and Hudson, L., 2013. Customer service for hospitality and tourism. Goodfellow Publishers.
Kokkinou, A. and Cranage, D.A., 2013. Using self-service technology to reduce customer waiting times. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 33, pp.435-445.
Laperrière, È., Messing, K. and Bourbonnais, R., 2017. Work activity in food service: The significance of customer relations, tipping practices and gender for preventing musculoskeletal disorders. Applied Ergonomics, 58, pp.89-101.
Liang, R.D. and Zhang, J.S., 2012. The effect of service interaction orientation on customer satisfaction and behavioral intention: The moderating effect of dining frequency. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 24(1), pp.153-170.
Llach, J., Perramon, J., del Mar Alonso-Almeida, M. and Bagur-Femenias, L., 2013. Joint impact of quality and environmental practices on firm performance in small service businesses: an empirical study of restaurants. Journal of Cleaner Production, 44, pp.96-104.
Marinkovic, V., Senic, V., Ivkov, D., Dimitrovski, D. and Bjelic, M., 2014. The antecedents of satisfaction and revisit intentions for full-service restaurants. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 32(3), pp.311-327.
Moreira, A.C. and Silva, P.M.F.D., 2016. Complaint behaviour by third parties: exploring service quality, customer satisfaction and word-of-mouth in health clubs. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 16(3-6), pp.152-171.
Siu, N.Y.M., Zhang, T.J.F. and Yau, C.Y.J., 2013. The roles of justice and customer satisfaction in customer retention: A lesson from service recovery. Journal of business ethics, 114(4), pp.675-686.
Zhang, Z., Zhang, Z. and Law, R., 2013. Regional effects on customer satisfaction with restaurants. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 25(5), pp.705-722.
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