Case Study Synopsis (Final)

Title: How to manage customers’ long waiting time at restaurants

1.    Introduction

This report will address a service delivery issue within Singapore’s Food and Beverage (F&B) industry. The team will explore the usage of a training framework to further enhance the service standards of employees.

a.     Workplace Context

Singapore is ranked as the top Asia country with the greatest developed food markets (Enterprisecanadanetwork, n.d). According to the Singapore Statistics Household Expenditure Survey, average monthly per capita food expenditure is $220, due to the high disposable income (Department of Statistics Singapore, 2014).  With the convenience and availability of food selection, household expenditure of eating out rose in a monthly average from $470 in 2003 to $760 in 2013. Zooming into the expenditure on food services in restaurants, the number of cafes and pubs have also increased from 22 percent in 2003 to 27 percent in 2013 (Statistic Singapore, 2013). The F&B industry in Singapore will be experiencing a sturdy growth with the promising per capita consumption growth rate.

Food plays an important role in the success of F&B businesses. However, good customer service drives the loyalty of customers, and this is what sets each restaurant apart from the abundance of competitors (Benbria, 2018). Research by ReviewTrackers has shown that out of 331,925 reviews made online, “service” was the most mentioned keyword with “good food” placed second (Wenzl, 2017). Thus, the importance of customer service is prominently critical to the current F&B context.

However, achieving improvements in customer service is recognised as a challenge (Garavan, 1997). One of the ways is to develop good interpersonal skills in the employees. Being the faces of the company, the employees’ words and actions essentially reflect the image of the company. Therefore, good interpersonal skill is required to communicate effectively with the customers.

b.    Thematic Focus

The focus of the case study synopsis is managing customers long wait time at the restaurant. Most of the members in the group have worked as a host at a restaurant. They found it difficult to handle demanding customers, answer calls, take in reservations and at the same time, provide exemplary customer service. The main cause is due to the labour crunch in the F&B industry (AsiaHospitalityCareers, 2018). Due to the high employee turnover rate, less emphasis is placed on manpower training.

The team has identified HaiDiLao Hotpot as the ideal restaurant for providing exceptional customer services from pre-dining to post-dining (Cao, 2015). It was awarded Certificate of Excellence in 2018 and has a 4.5/5 rating on Tripadvisor (TripAdvisor, n.d.).

On the other hand, Din Tai Fung’s long queue is not well managed, with customers having to wait up to an hour during peak periods. The notion was confirmed during the site visit to the restaurant. Customers’ waiting experiences are known to affect their overall satisfaction negatively (Kalawani & Dada, 1997; Lachmandas, 2018). Thus, the synopsis focuses on the pre-dining services, which builds up the first impression of the restaurant on the customers.

c.     Problem Statement

Long queues can have positive or negative associations. Even though long queues may signify the product for being popular or good, sources of unpleasantness from the customers can be derived from the boredom with the wait (Stevenson, 2012). Customers are upset when waits are longer than expected (Hwang, & Lambert, 2008), As both service quality and customer satisfaction have a linear relationship, it is essential for the management to adopt a framework that can eliminate the wait and enhance the customers’ experience at the same time (Weiss, & Tucker, 2018). By managing the customers’ expectations, it helps the restaurant to establish its own brand image and position in the industry (Chow, Lau, Lo, Sha, & Yun, 2007). This closes the service gap as the restaurant works towards the customers’ expectations with the services provided.

d.    Purpose Statement

The purpose of the synopsis is to propose both reactive and anticipatory solutions to the upper management of Din Tai Fung. This includes the implementation of a training programme for employees in the delivery of service standards and on-site additional non-food services to enhance the customers’ waiting experience. In addition, the proposed solution aims to alleviate the pressure on employees when dealing with disgruntled customers. Hence, this ensures a pleasant experience for both employees and customers, ultimately generating good sales for the restaurant.

2.    Implementation of Potential Solution

To curb the identified gap, the team have proposed to implement the REACTA service delivery framework. In a case of customer dissatisfaction, REACT will be put in place to effectively respond to the upset customer. To prevent cases of dissatisfaction from even happening, the activities will be implemented as a form of anticipatory action.

a.     React

Despite the long queue and waiting time, customers are still flocking in for Din Tai Fung’s high-quality food. In order to capture their loyalty, the host must stay alert to the customer’s needs. This is to prevent grumpy customers from being displeased with both waiting time and their service standards. The host should approach the customers with sincerity and update their waiting duration from time to time to reassure that the service staff are aware of their needs.

b.    Empathise

Din Tai Fung’s employees should practice and show empathy towards their customers. It is important for them to be well-trained in handling complaints. They should know how to address the concerns made, by genuinely listening to the customer’s frustration. Non-verbal communication also takes up a big role in showing empathy. Customers can identify easily if the employees are insincere with their actions and this can eventually result in a perception of poor services provided.

c.     Apology

In the hospitality industry, one of the worst customer encounters is the negative word-of-mouth publicity on social media after an unpleasant incident. Thus, it is critical for restaurants to apologize immediately and personally to the customers to avoid the lapse of time to rectify the problem.

d.    Communicate

There is a need to speak clearly and effectively with the customers.  Customers will want a concise explanation of the situation and possible solutions that they can take. By speaking effectively, it leaves no room for error as both parties understand the issue. Din Tai Fung’s employees can inform the customer of the waiting time and the cause behind it. The host may offer the customer to come back another day if he or she is unable to wait, and the decision is left to the customer to decide. A well-articulated solution will leave a good impression on the customers.

e.     Training

Issues that arise from managing of customers can be raised to the managers. The managers can use the morning briefing to share and clarify the issues. This is to expose employees to possible situations and for them to learn on how to deal with customers in these situations. In this case, a training video is made to educate Din Tai Fung’s employees on managing future queue issues. This ensures brand consistency during pre-dining service. 

f.      Activities

Taking reference from HaiDiLao, Din Tai Fung can offer a range of activities to keep customers occupied. For example, board games, origami, colouring templates and the rubix cube (Chim, 2019). The customers’ attention will be diverted to the activities, distracting their focus away from the long waiting time (Kuklin, 2013). The engagement also enhances their experience prior to entering the restaurant (Suhaily & Nor, 2016).

3.    Benefits

The successful implementation of REACTA will bring benefits to both Din Tai Fung’s employees and customers. By placing the customers as the top priority, it emphasises that the restaurant cares about its customers. This leads to a healthy relationship with the customers, building customer loyalty with the restaurant (Raouf, Shehnaz & Shakir, 2018).  In addition, proper training are proven to raise employees’ productivity and performance (Amir & Amen, 2013). This ultimately leads to a higher return on investment for the restaurant with an increase in satisfied and return customers.

4.    Proposed Research Methodology

Both primary and secondary research were conducted for this case study.

Primary research was done by going on-site to Din Tai Fung at Northpoint City Mall to observe the situation during weekday dinner period between 1900 and 2000 hours. Observations made from the site visit were incorporated into the report.

Secondary research materials such as journal articles, books and articles were also utilized to substantiate this report.

5.    Conclusion

With the increase in competition among the F&B industry, restaurants need to be able to differentiate themselves based on service benefits. Hence, the training aims to place more employees’ focus on the customers’ emotions and needs. The goal is to reduce the service gap to win back the customers’ heart and resolve their complaints for the restaurant to grow in the industry.

6.    References

Amir, E., & Amen, I. (2013). The effect of training on employee performance. European  Journal of Business and Management, 5(4), 2222-2839.

AsiaHospitalityCareers. (2018, September 14). Managing Labour Shortages in Singapore’s Booming Hospitality Industry. Retrieved from https://www.asiahospitalitycareers.com/news/377/Managing-Labour-Shortages-in-Singapore%E2%80%99s-Booming-Hospitality-Industry.html

Benbria. (2018, August 28). 10 Stats On The Importance Of Customer Experience in Restaurants. Retrieved from https://www.benbria.com/10-stats-on-the-importance-of-customer-experience-in-restaurants/

Cai, CY. (2015, December 07). Haidilao: Services Beyond Imagination. Retrieved from https://rctom.hbs.org/submission/hai-di-lao-service-beyond-imaginations/

Chim, J. (2019, March 18). 13 freebies at Hai Di Lao Singapore to take advantage of during your next hotpot feast. TheSmartLocal. Retrieved from https://thesmartlocal.com/read/hai-di-lao-freebies

Chow, I. H., Lau, V. P., Lo, T. W., & Yun, H. (2007). Service quality in restaurant operations in China: Decision- and experiential-oriented perspectives. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 26(3), 698-710.

Department of Statistics Singapore. (2014). Report on the Household Expenditure Survey 2012/13 [PDF File]. Retrieved from https://www.singstat.gov.sg/-/media/files/publications/households/hes1213.pdf

Enterprisecanadanetwork. (n.d.). The Food and Beverage market sector in Singapore [PDF File]. Retrieved from https://www.enterprisecanadanetwork.ca/_uploads/resources/The-Food-Beverage-Market-Sector-in-Singapore.pdf

Hwang, J., & Lambert, C. U. (2008). The interaction of major resources and their influence on waiting times in a multi-stage restaurant. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 27(4), 541-551.

Kuklin, P. (2013, December 03). Five ways to make waiting in line a better experience. Retailcustomerexperience. Retrieved from https://www.retailcustomerexperience.com/articles/five-ways-to-make-waiting-in-line-a-better-experience/

Kumar, P., Kalwani, M. U., & Dada. M. (1997, November 01). The Impact of Waiting Time Guarantees Customers’ Waiting Experiences. Marketing Science, 16(4), 295-391.

Lachmandas, N. (2018, February 09). Lower satisfaction and loyalty amongst Singaporeans who encounter long waiting times. Singapore Business Review. Retrieved from https://sbr.com.sg/food-beverage/commentary/lower-satisfaction-and-loyalty-amongst-singaporeans-who-encounter-long-wait

Raouf, A. R., Shehnaz, T., & Shakir, H. P. (2018, September 18). Promoting customer brand engagement and brand loyalty through customer brand identification and value congruity. Spanish Journal of Marketing, 22(3), 321-339.

Stevenson, S. (2012, June 01). What You Hate Most About Waiting In Line. Slate. Retrieved from https://slate.com/business/2012/06/queueing-theory-what-people-hate-most-about-waiting-in-line.html

Suhaily, M-R., & Nor, A. O. (2017, July 07). Exploring the influence of store attributes on customer experience and customer engagement. International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, 45(11), 1138-1158.

Thomas N. Garavan, (1997) "Interpersonal skills training for quality service interactions", Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 29 Issue: 3, pp.70-77, https://doi.org/10.1108/00197859710165056

Tripadvisor. (n.d.) Hai Di Lao. Retrieved from https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/Restaurant_Review-g294265-d11728888-Reviews-Hai_Di_Lao-Singapore.html

Weiss, E. N., & Tucker, C. (2018). Queue management: Elimination, expectation and enhancement. Business Horizons, 61(5), 671-678

Wenzl, M. (2017, March 23). Restaurant Guests More Likely to Leave Positive Reviews on Facebook. ReviewTrackers. Retrieved from https://www.reviewtrackers.com/online-reviews-restaurants/