Jose’s Authentic Mexican Restaurant free essay sample

Waiting?Case Study Jose’s Authentic Mexican Restaurant Section1: Introduction Jose’s Authentic Mexican Restaurant is identified by its authentic style in terms of food and environment. It is proud to offer considerate services, and high quality food which makes with qualified fresh materials. So the overall quality of this restaurant is creditable. However, it is not yet perfect. I would say Jose’s has a great potential to be successful after it fixed all its problems, since it has a large number of loyal customers, which can be observed from its prosperity on Friday and Saturday. The problems that Jose’s always have include imperfect location, material supply, and waiting period. Since no recent changes have been mentioned in the article, the problems have always been there. Section2: Problem Statement The problem Jose’s facing is a decrease in tips, from where managers can notice that customers are losing satisfaction and patience. We will write a custom essay sample on Jose’s Authentic Mexican Restaurant or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In other words, patrons are no longer as satisfied as they did before. Section3: Key Factors/Issues First, the location of the restaurant, which is a mature business district, seems to be its advantage. However, limited off-street parking will restrain customers who are just passing by. Second, poor ingredients will affect not only the taste of dishes, it seems they will also irritate and frustrate the cook, and most importantly, extend the preparation time in this case. Third, waiting period, concerning both waiting time and waiting experience, are now the prior concerns for Jose’s performance. Section4: Decision Criteria/Measure of Effectiveness The decision criteria in this case would be the number of customers, average waiting time, and the amount of average tips. From these three measures, Jose’s managers can evaluate how good the restaurant does, and how customers react. Alternatives and Analysis Although there is actually nothing the manager can do about the restaurant’s location, he can still find valuable information in analyzing it. Since we already know that the restaurant is not a convenient spot for new customers to stop by, the manager should pay more attention to retain patrons by maintaining and improving dining experience. Currently, Jose’s superficial problem is that tips are decreasing. It is a dangerous signal, because the next stage will be a decreasing in patrons, which will hurt Jose’s business fundamentally. To retain loyal customers, the restaurant needs to further improve its overall quality. Jose’s needs to ensure that its material suppliers can always provide qualified ingredients on time wilted lettuce and tough meats are not acceptable. I would deem it as a micro supply chain management. Delicious food guarantees Jose’s profitability. Therefore, the failure of this process will make it suffer in terms of overall performance. The solution is obvious: press current supplier for qualified ingredients by applying a punishing plan, or shift to other suppliers who have decent reputation in the industry. When it comes to waiting period, first of all, the restaurant has no separate waiting area. This will definitely worsen waiting experience, especially during busy hours such as Friday and Saturday nights when waiting time could be 45 minutes. In addition, it is intolerable to let customers waiting outside the store for that long. On one hand, it is glad to know that customers are willing to stand there so long to get the foods in Jose’s; On the other hand, customers will remember the anxiety and even anger generated while they are waiting, and may never come back. Then, the article also mentions it does not take reservations. This action is wise when the restaurant is full, but not in usual days. Jose’s should take proper amount of reservations to increase its business. At last, the overly long waiting time may also due to the lack of waiters and cooks, since the owner of the restaurant is also busy helping food preparation sometimes. Mentioned in the article, it could take 20 minutes to prepare a meal during specific time period. To sum up, it takes various efforts to shorten waiting time and improve waiting experience. First, put several benches in and out of the store for those who are waiting, and offer waters for them. Second, make reservations available during common business days to lure more businesses. Third, hire several part-time waiters during busy hours, and another cook if necessary. Section6: Recommendation Visual observation is not a scientific way to find out existing problem. A well-organized customer survey is necessary to determine a business’s weakness. Jose’s survey proves that the problems displayed in previous section are true, so the solutions should work very well. Section7: Plan of Action Referring to the details of the solutions, Jose’s should put 4 benches in and out of the store, foldaway ones preferred. To serve its customers better, it needs 2 more waiters, probably part-time, to deliver water to waiting customers and work more efficient inside the restaurant. Another cook is in need to shorten 20 minutes cooking time during busy hours. Exhibits Pareto Chart of Survey Cause-and-Effect (Fishbone) Diagram