Using reading 8 and reading 9 the major underlying themes are customer satisfaction and providing quality service respectively. In this activity I am going to use these two major themes as they outlined in the readings and see how implementing the discussed ideas will impact the Ichban Tasty restaurant that is located near Southern Cross Station and specializes in Japanese cuisine.
Customer satisfaction is very essential for the survival and success of any business organization and especially in the hospitality and tourism industries. The Ichban Tasty restaurant will have greater chances of success if they implement the customer satisfaction measurement strategies. Customer satisfaction is very important in retaining customers thus increasing the sales of the restaurant. There are several ways of measuring customer satisfaction such as conducting simple questionnaire surveys, (Abraham, Valeriya, and Taylor, 2016). The restaurant is can establish a simple questionnaire where willing customers are requested to sign and rate their satisfaction based on the service they received. This will help the customer to analyze the rate of customer satisfaction by the organization and also help in understanding the customer needs and expectation from the restaurant. Understanding customer needs will help the restaurant come up with a creative and innovative menu that will cater to these needs and expectations, (Abraham, 2016). The Ichban Tasty restaurant can make customer satisfaction to be among its organizational objectives and this will ensure that the services they offer are customers oriented. Therefore, ensuring and measuring customer satisfaction will enable the restaurant to retain its customers.
Reading 9 talks about the importance of offering quality services to customers in the service and hospitality industry. Building and maintaining service quality is among the factors that help in retaining customers in any organization, (Catherine, 2013). The reading shows that there is a relationship between service quality and customer loyalty. The Ichban Tasty restaurant should ensure that they provide quality service to their customers as this is one way of establishing and maintaining a competitive advantage over their competitors. Customer loyalty is an important asset to an organization and thus the restaurant should focus on giving quality service to its customer so as to create a strong brand reputation. The restaurant should use fresh and quality ingredients when preparing the meals, as well as the servants, should be friendly to the customers. Therefore, providing quality service to customers will help the customer retain its customers.
Productivity and quality are both key facets of the service process. However, an organization has to successfully balance the quality of its service whilst maximizing its productivity. This balance is very important to ensure that the restaurant does not put too much concentration of providing quality at the expense of attaining the maximum productivity of the restaurant. This section is going to discuss articles that talk about how organizations can attain this balance.
According to the article, The Balance of Efficiency and Quality by Ray Field 9th March 2013, in order to excel in any business the business owner should appreciate that efficiency is essential in attaining maximum revenue although the quality of service should not be sacrificed to attain efficiency. It is very important to balance efficiency and quality of service offered to customers in order for the restaurant to achieve success. Too much focus on quality services increases the cost of the product and this will eventually reduce the possible maximum productivity of the restaurant. Acquiring the appropriate balance between quality and productivity ensures that quality services are offered to the customers and at the same time the organization is making enough profits to survive and grow in the industry.
Balancing Customer Expectations and Business Needs by Emily Newman Jan 22, 2016, also talks about the importance of balance between the budget and customer satisfaction. The article quotes Scott Straubhar who said “Ultimately it comes down to balancing their needs with the budget. It’s just a constant process of giving and take”. Unless the restaurant management learns how to attain the balance between quality and productivity, it will either cause losses or displease its customers. Since the quality of service is highly related to customer satisfaction in the service industry, the restaurant has no option but to strive to maintain high-quality standards to gain customer loyalty. Quality service has been one of the factors that promote customer satisfaction and retention as well as a way of attracting new customers through referrals. However, the restaurant should strive to achieve these high-quality levels at a cost that allow smooth operation of the organization, that is, without losses.
The maintaining the balance between quality of service offered and the productivity of an organization is a collective responsibility for all members of the organization. According to the article Balance the Competing Demands of Your Customers and Your Business by Esteban Kolsky, increasing the customer experience through quality services will increase their loyalty as well as the customer wallet-share with the organization. In order to improve the experience the restaurant will deliver to its customers, it has to balance the organizational needs as well as the expectation of their customers at the same time. To achieve this, the organization should be innovative and creative as well as apply the available technology. The restaurant can ensure that the online reservation of table is so efficient and even encourage customers by offering some promotional campaign such as discounts for attaining a certain number of bookings.
According to reading 11 managing capacity and demand is a challenge that is faced by so many business organizations. Service organizations such as the Ichiban Tasty restaurant continually face the challenge of maintaining a manageable balance between fluctuations in demands and a fixed level of capacity, (Christopher, Paul, and Rhett, 1998). This restaurant, for instance, it has 120 seats meaning that it can only serve 120 customers art a one moment. The available physical space does not only determine the capacity of the restaurant but also the number of workers available to serve these customers. Increasing the number of seats but maintaining the same number of employees then the customers are going to experience a decrease in the quality of services offered. One way the restaurant can manage this challenge is by creating a flexible capacity through scheduling down during low demand periods, cross-train employees, rent or share extra facilities as well as use part-time employees to help during busiest periods. In order for the restaurant to successfully manage this challenge, it has to understand the patterns and determinants of demands so as to formulate creative demand management strategies.
Reading 12 explains how technology impacts innovation on the extent of outreach of hospitality services to customers. Technological innovations lead to the emergence of new services. Services move from direct to indirect delivery in both service and service process innovation as the technology advances, (Maryam and Mahmood, 2009). Therefore it is important for a business organization to use technology to enhance the services they offer to their customers. One of the rapidly growing technologies currently is social media marketing, (Saravanakumar and SuganthaLakshmi, 2012). This is a marketing tool that is overcoming the traditional conventional media advertisements and the restaurant should use this technology to attract new potential customers. Social media platforms will provide the restaurant with the opportunity to reach out to a large population of potential customers, (Tuten and Solomon, 2017). Also, online booking can make it possible for the restaurant to introduce delivery services for customers who would want to enjoy the Japanese cuisine from the comfort of their seating rooms. Technology is changing continuously and the ability of the restaurant to adapt them may be one way of creating and maintain a competitive advantage over its competitors. Technology really has a huge impact on the service industry especially in helping to reach a target market.
The service industry is an important economic sector in most countries all over the world. However, like any other business, there are changes that occur in the context in which the service sector operates and these changes impact its ability to create wealth in the economy. There several current issues that would really affect the operation of our restaurant. One of the challenges is identifying a unique selling point. The restaurant should come up with an original aspect that customers will positively associate it with the restaurant, (Miller and Henthorne, 2007). Having a unique selling point makes an organization to stand out among its competitors and this will increase revenue. The second current challenge the service industry is facing is the changing customer preferences and expectations. The Ichiban Tasty restaurant should be aware that the customer preferences and expectations change continuously and the organization should strive to understand these changes in order to maintain customer satisfaction.
The third current issue in the service industry is brand management. Public reputation is very crucial in determining the success of the restaurant thus the restaurant should ensure that it safeguards its reputation well. The last but not least is mobile ordering. The mobile ordering of food has gained popularity and the preference is associated with brand loyalty. Therefore, the restaurant should consider these current issues and determine how to overcome these challenges.
References
Abraham Pizam, Valeriya Shapoval, and Taylor Ellis, 2015. Measuring service quality in mid-scale hotels, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 27, Issue: 1, pp 87-106
Abraham Pizam, Valeriya Shapoval, and Taylor Ellis, 2016. Customer satisfaction and its measurement in hospitality enterprises: a revisit update, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol.28 Issue: 1, pp 2-35
Catherine Prentice, 2013. Service quality perceptions and customer loyalty in casinos, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 25, Issue: 1, pp 49-64
Christopher Lovelock, Paul Patterson, and Rhett Walker, 1998. Service Marketing; Australia and New Zealand (1998), Prentice Hall.
Emily Newman Jan 22, 2016. Balancing Customer Expectations and Business Needs. London Press
Esteban Kolsky , 2015. Balance the Competing Demands of Your Customers and Your Business , Prentice Hall.
Maryam Khan and Mahmood A. Khan, 2009. How technological innovations extend services outreach to customers: The changing shape of hospitality service taxonomy, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 21, Issue: 5, pp 509-522
Miller, M.M. and Henthorne, T.L., 2007. In search of competitive advantage in Caribbean tourism websites: Revisiting the unique selling proposition. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 21(2-3), pp.49-62.
Ray Field 9th March ,2013. The Balance of Efficiency and Quality. Sage
Saravanakumar, M. and SuganthaLakshmi, T., 2012. Social media marketing. Life Science Journal, 9(4), pp.4444-4451.
Tuten, T.L. and Solomon, M.R., 2017. Social media marketing. Sage.
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