Applicationof Theory to a Live Operation: Service Standards and Procedures
Applicationof Theory to a Live Operation: Service Standards and Procedures
Therestaurant industry is quite competitive and investors applydifferent strategies to differentiate their operations and give thebest experience to their guests. The restaurant operations ensurethat they deliver the same level of service to all guests byestablishing a set of service standards as well as procedures thatneed to be followed to servers (Szende, 2013). Daigo Sushi is arestaurant that is located in San Francisco. Although the Daigooffers several classic dishes, its main specialty has been varioustypes of sushi since 2012 when the restaurant was established (DaigoSushi, 2016). The application of service standards as well as theprocedures by Daigo Sushi Restaurant will be addressed in this paper.This will be accomplished by analyzing an interview with the managerof Daigo Sushi, whose name is Jesse Sun.
Measurementand control of key processes
DaigoSushi has an established sequence of activities that guide employeeson how to deliver each type of service. However, the restaurant’smanagements require employees to understand these sequences off-head,instead of reading them one by one in the presence of clients. Thisis achieved by ensuring that all employees go through a thoroughtraining before they can start working with Daigo Sushi restaurant.Variations from the standard sequence of service occur during thepeak hours, which reduce the satisfaction of guests. The restaurantsmay employ part-time servers to work during the peak hours in orderto increase the possibility of observing the standard sequence ofactivities at all times.
Themanagement of Daigo Sushi understands that the success of therestaurants and its capacity to compete with others Sushi stores inSan Francisco depends on quality of procedures and the human factorsof its workforce. A standard procedures set by the management ensurethat servers deliver meals to guests in the most appealing way, thusincreasing the customers’ experience with the services offered bythe restaurant. In addition, the management ensures that itsworkforce possesses the best human factors (including the attitudesand verbal skills) by recruiting employees who have goodcommunication skills and training the existing workers in order toincrease their competence. This is a best practice that has helpedDaigo differentiate itself from the rest of sushi restaurants, sincethey help employees determine the guest requirements.
TheDaigo Sushi restaurant uses a combination of service as well asproduct standards to ensure the needs of all guests are met. Examplesof these standards are shown in Table 1. From the interview, it isclear that most of the standards used by Daigo Sushi are soft.
Table1: Service standards
Customer expectation
Standard
Timely delivery of services
Customer should be served at the earliest time possible since their entry into the restaurant.
Effective communication
Employees should never use slang when addressing the clients.
Special treatment for unusual guests
Employees should make the necessary adjustments in order to accommodate the unusual guests.
Feel welcomed
Hosts are expected to greet guests and tell them “welcome” before asking them what they want.
Feeling comfortable
Hosts should allow guests to select where they want to sit and make adjustments to the seat and the table arrangements in order to make the guests comfortable.
Effective handling of guest complaints
Each server and hosts should resolve guest complaints as soon as they receive them and request for the help of the management when issues are beyond their abilities.
DaigoSushi does not keep a record of the above standards as they arearranged in the table, but they are included in the staff trainingprogram. Employees are trained on what the customers expect from themand the overall experience that the restaurant wishes to give to itsguests.
Integrationof control standards
DaigoSushi integrates its control standards using three strategies. First,the training of new employees on all standards before they startworking in the restaurants ensures that the entire workforce deliversthe services of the same level of quality. Secondly, the managementcommunicates the expectations of the restaurants and guests to itsemployees every morning before operations commence. This remindsemployees that they have a responsibility to help Daigo Sushi meetits goal of delivering the highest level of quality services toresidents of San Francisco. The third strategy involves themonitoring of employees` compliance with the standards set by therestaurants when delivering services to guests. The supervisor maysummon the server or the hosts and correct them when they notice thatthe treatment given to guests does not meet the standards set by theDaigo Sushi restaurant.
Protocolsobserved in different stages of service encounters
Thesequence of service is a common concept in the restaurant industry,which is a phrase used to describe specific steps that are consideredwhen delivering services to guests. The Daigo Sushi restaurantattracts guests by giving a good impression. This impression isprovided through an excellent arrangement of the future and hygiene,which is part of the restaurant’s efforts to manage the pre-arrivalphase of the service sequence.
Therestaurant manages the arrival as well as the post-arrival stages byensuring that the hosts start engaging the guests even before theysit down. These hosts reduce the perception of waiting by issuing theguests with menus, which keeps them busy for a while. Daigo Sushidoes not have a record of unexplained waits. According to Daigo’sprocedures, hosts do not ask guests their names. These hosts wearname tags and only greet the guests before giving them a warm welcometo the restaurant. During the peak time, the hosts play an importantrole of directing and escorting the incoming guests to vacant tables.The guests are allowed to select the convenient place where they wantto sit. Hosts are instructed to provide extra seats when a group ofguests wants to sit together, but the tables they have selected havea less number of seats. Therefore, the sitting procedure set byDaigo’s management prioritizes the preferences of clients.
Duringthe pre-process stage, Daigo’s servers are trained to approach theseated guests by giving an impression that they are interested inserving them. The servers also guide the guests in reading throughthe menus, especially when these clients do not understand differenttypes of products offered by the restaurant. This is quite commonwith the first time guests. Orders are taken on the order taking padand prepared as per the guests’ request. Expecting guests to orderproducts that are listed in the menu limit the capacity of the DaigoSushi to increase its sales through suggestive selling (Murphy,2011). However, Daigo’s protocol does not allow servers to adjustthe table in order the match the type of foot that the guest ordersbefore serving the foods. This is a best practice that is omitted andit might lower the satisfaction of clients who have seen it beingexercised in other restaurants.
Duringthe in-process stage, servers tell their guests to enjoy the meal asthey place the food on the table. However, the protocols set by therestaurant do not require the servers to ask the guests whether theyare satisfied before leaving the table. This is a quality checkpractice that lacks at Daigo. Although most of the guests make a fullorder, servers are instructed to keep in check in order to addressfurther needs of their guests.
Serversat Daigo manage the post-process stage by issuing the check when theguests are almost finishing their meal. Although this is the commonpractice in the restaurant industry, it is better to give the checkupon the guests’ request. This would ensure that the client doesnot intend to order an additional product. Although the bestpractices require guests to remove items as the meal progresses,Daigo requires its servers to remove items from the table immediatelyafter the meal.
Serversmanage the table turnaround phase by wiping the tables andrearranging the seats immediately the guests leave. This is one ofthe best practices that signify that the table is ready for anothergroup of guests. This reduces the guest wait, especially during thepeak hours.
Conclusion
Fromthe interview, it is evident that the management of the Daigo Sushirestaurant applies the concepts of service as well as productstandards as considered in the class, but with a few exemptions. Thisis confirmed by the fact that the restaurant has established a set ofprotocols for the measurement as well as control of the keyprocesses. The restaurant also trains and informs employees on whatis expected of them at different stages of service encounters. Theramification of this compliance has been the increase in therestaurant’s capacity to deliver quality services and productsconstantly. However, the protocols set by the restaurant’smanagement do not require hosts to ask guests their names. Inaddition, the lack of a set of hard service standards, coupled withthe low compliance with the service delivery procedures during thepeak hours limits the capacity of the restaurant to give all guests aconstant experience throughout the day. The ramification ofestablishing a set of hard service standards and employing part-timeemployees to work during the peak hours will allow Daigo Sushi todifferentiate its services and products from those offered by itscompetitors.
References
DaigoSushi (2016). About us. DaigoSushi Restaurant.Retrieved May 16, 2016, from http://www.daigosushisf.com/aboutus.aspx
Murphy,S. (2011). Using service blueprint to analyze restaurant serviceefficiency. CornellHospitality Quarterly,52, 265-272.
Szende,P. (2013). Diningroom operations: Standards and procedures (5thed.).Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc.
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