Welcome

Quality and Customer Service in Restaurants is a professional blog written by Alberto Pelayo, Verónica Rojo and Fernanda Viñas, all students at University of Europe. It constitutes the final project of the 4^th year’s subject: Quality Management and Customer Service lectured by Federico Soto.   

As the authors are very enthusiastic about food, restoration and restaurants the topic was easily chosen by consensus. We believe that hygiene and security in food is full of controversy and it is also a trendy topic, daily we watch news about poor quality management in restaurants, untruthful practices and bad customer service so we wanted to share objective knowledge with the readers to improve their management skills and quality processes.

The blog is structured as follows: firstly, we wrote several introductory posts about the sector, the importance of quality and customer service, examples of good practices and the main mistakes of restaurants in this field. Secondly, we become more objective writing about quality systems and quality monitoring tools, as well as about customer service and tools to measure and improve it. Thirdly, we will present you some of the most important quality certifications in restaurants and relevant information about it. Finally, we got in contact with three top restaurants to include real opinions and practices about quality and customer service management.

About the authors:

Alberto Pelayo – Alberto is from Castilla-La Mancha (Spain) and he is doing his last year of Business Administration. He does not have any professional experience but he is looking forward to join a company after graduating. Alberto thinks quality is a source of competitive advantage: “Companies should invest in quality and customer service to differentiate themselves from the crowd”.

Verónica Rojo – Verónica is from Canary Islands (Spain). She is doing her last year of Business Administration after starting her bachelor in Tenerife and moving to London. Verónica has professional experience in banking, marketing and advertising; she likes strategy and brand management. Verónica thinks quality is not a matter of quantity: “It is the result of intelligent and efficient thinking”.

Fernanda Viñas – Fernanda is from Veracruz (Mexico). She is doing an exchange programme in Madrid while studying Business Administration in Mexico. After graduating, she aims to have her own company as well as travel and know new places. Fernanda thinks quality is very personal and relative: “There are three subjective things in life: beauty, art and quality”.

Universidad Europea de Madrid, Front Facade of Building B

A Brief Introduction to Restaurants

A restaurant is a business which prepares and serves food and drinks to customers in exchange for money; a place where people pay to sit and eat meals. The modern culture of food was invented by Parisians in the 18th Century during the French Revolution when a new kind of eating establishment – with separate tables, a menu and specialized range of food – was opened near the Louvre. It was the first public place where people went to be private and to show a kind of aristocratic greed as it created and validated social and cultural distinctions.

'In a restaurant in the Bois de Boulogne in Paris', late 19th century

The 19th Century brought huge changes in travel and eating became and art as gourmet dining went global. While luxury tourism grew the French Restaurant went global: in Spain it was restaurante, in Italy ristorante and in Great Britain and the United States remained restaurant. It became part of the landscape for the wealthy aristocratic Europeans and upper class Americans. However, the United States would introduce to the world in the 20th Century the concept of franchise restaurants and chain restaurants.

Nowadays, the field has hugely evolved and there are millions of businesses worldwide involved in “food services” with many different types of offers. Some interesting facts and figures about the sector are:

- The United States, China and Japan generate the greatest investment of the sector with an expenditure value of 514.600€, 485.600€ and 234.500€ millions (respectively).

- The habitants of these countries are the ones who spend the most, over 1.100€.

- In Spain the value of the sector is estimated in 20.125€.

References:

Spang, Rebecca L. (2000). 'The Invention of the Restaurant'. Harvard University Press. Available from: https://goo.gl/xLeJM5

DBK (2015). 'El Sector de la Restauración Cerrará 2015 con un Crecimiento del 3%'. Hosteltur. Available from: https://goo.gl/Bwe5Yh

Mealy, L. (2016). 'The History of the Restaurant'. The Balance. Available from: https://goo.gl/Ji2sN7

A General Overview of Quality in Services

Nowadays, competition is huge and the range of products offered in the market is rising up. Therefore, consumers’ expectation about the product, the service delivery and its quality is also increasing so managing relations with clients is a primordial activity because it can help us to differentiate our business from the rest.

Quality in services is perceived through customer service which is the way a company manages relationships with the customers when they visit the company´s establishment, purchase the product, receive the service, complaint and suggest. If the client can find what he is looking for but is also receives an exceptional attention from the staff, the level of satisfaction will increase and he will spread a good feedback. Several factors influence customer service, according to CreceNegocios.com the most important ones are:

- Kindness: friendly, useful and helpful interactions with the clients.

- Personalized Attention: direct and personal; taking in consideration the necessities, likes and preferences of the client. 

- Time: amount of time taken to meet the client´s wants and needs, deliver the product or to answer his or her complaints. 

- Pleasant Environment: the establishment must be cozy, a place where the client can feel comfort. 

- Security: in-site client protection and risk prevention.  

- Hygiene: cleanliness related to the establishment and the personnel. 

Waiter serving happy customers in a restaurant

But customer service continues after the purchasing moment, this is call post-purchase service and is equally important in order to deliver an integral experience to the consumer. Post-purchase services could be:

- Promotional: services related with sales, for example, offering special sales and discounts. 

- Psychological: services related with client’s motivation, for example, sending samples, cards, etc. 

- Protectionist: services related with security in the use of the product, for example, warrants, money refunds, etc. 

- Maintenance: services that include maintenance services or technical support, for example, product installation or training. 

References:

Ardila, J. et al (2011). '¿Cómo generar una buena atención en el usuario?'. Blogspot. Available from: http://servicioalclienteadministrativo.blogspot.com.es/2011/03/la-importancia-de-brindar-un-buen.html

Crece Negocios (2016). '¿Qué es el servicio al cliente y cuál es su importancia?' Available from: http://www.crecenegocios.com/que-es-el-servicio-al-cliente-y-cual-es-su-importancia/

Scarilli, J. (2015). 'La importancia de un excelente servicio al cliente'. Marketing Directo. Available from: https://www.marketingdirecto.com/punto-de-vista/la-columna/la-importancia-de-un-excelente-servicio-al-cliente-y-las-encuestas-de-satisfaccion-juan-manuel-scarilli

Learning the Importance of Quality and Customer Service in Restaurants

Running a restaurant is complicated due to the nature of the business (serving food) but the market conditions only contribute to make it more difficult. Restaurants that want to flourish should learn the importance of quality, with independence of how tasty your menu, how fashion your place, or how famous your clients, customers will not come back if they perceive bad quality and have bad experience with your service. People can get food anywhere so what will differentiate your restaurant from the others? These little quality and customer service practices could give you a place above the competition.

On one hand, to deliver a good customer service:

1. FIX PROBLEMS INMEDIATELY – It is important to deal properly with customer problems because having dissatisfied customers is a cost for your business. Good problem solving people and correct interactions between clients and staff are mandatory to avoid losing a client and also future guests. Train your front-line staff to deal with problems and succeed at it, remember that a non-satisfied customer will spread a bad experience more than four times a satisfied customer does.

2. BE FRIENDLY AND PROMPT – Training employees to offer a good customer service will help you but in order to offer great customer service you must hire people who love to serve, who are friendly, cheerful and share the values of your restaurant. For example, waiters and hosts who ask customers about their day could make the service look exceptional. Also, staff must learn to take care of customers´needs in a right time frame this could be encourage by asking them to keep lists of customer needs or to care for one customer before moving on to the next.

3. TALK TO YOUR CUSTOMERS – Look for constructive feedback and ask questions about the food, the service, and their expectations (this action can be rewarded with free drinks, desserts, discounts, etc.). By doing so you will contribute to make them feel valued and your business will easily obtain keys to success.

Happy waiter

On the other hand, good quality in restaurants can be shown if you:

4. MAINTAIN CONTINUOS IMPROVEMENT – By paying attention to what the competitors are doing, customers´reviews or in-site observations you will be able to identify potential areas for improvement and your restaurant will be a reference of quality. Also, track mistakes and unnecessary waste and find the reasons why they occur and how you can avoid them. Mistakes and waste cost money to the company so improve also means save money for your business.

5. SET CONFORMITIES AND NON-CONFORMITIES – This can be applied to food but also to employees. Train your staff with clear guidelines in order to make sure that the defined service is being delivered according to the standards. Do the same with the cooking method and the final presentation of your meals; never accept a service or a product that mismatch your own expectations.

6. ORGANIZE QUALITY CIRCLES – These are groups of voluntary employees who are in charge of making a business better. In order to make effective quality circles, let them pursue their own agenda, analysis, goals and just schedule a time to present their findings. The purpose of this activity is not to solve a particular problem but to create engagement around the process of finding concerns.

Main course in a restaurant

References:

Morley, M. (2016), What Are Examples of Good Service in the Restaurant Industry? Chron. Available from: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-good-service-restaurant-industry-38058.html

Thompson, M. (2016) How to Improve Customer Service in a Restaurant. Chron. Available from: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/improve-customer-service-restaurant-40461.html

Inc. Staff (2016) 5 Ways to Improve Quality. Inc. Available from: http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/09/5-ways-to-improve-quality.html

Most Common Quality and Customer Service Mistakes in Restaurants

According to Chef Rocco in his reality television program titled “The Restaurant” nine out of ten new restaurants fail in their first year. Lack of quality management and poor customer service are among the reasons as also these two factors determine the restaurant´s level of success.

In restaurants quality means “to satisfy the clients´expectations”, it implies that the features of our products and service must be aligned with the client´s desires. As a business, restaurants design the way they will deliver the service and the product according to established standards but sometimes what is designed is not delivered.

If you pay attention to these common mistakes and avoid them, your business will be able to provide an outstanding product and customer service:

1. TAKE QUALITY FOR GRANTED – Although it sounds unbelievable many businessmen take quality for granted, they think it is a waste of time paying attention to product and service details and only care about the “numbers” and offer top products. However, quality does not mean “the best”, the idea of quality as a lux is old-fashioned and now it has to do with technical and economic measures to have the right impact on customers. Do not take quality for granted and dedicate time to define, communicate and rethink quality and customer service standards.

2. IGNORE WHO YOUR CUSTOMER IS – Quoting Tapan K. Bose “quality must bring in prosperity and raise the standard of living”; how can a business achieve this goal without knowing who are they selling to and why? Listen to your customer if you want to know where to move next because it is a great opportunity for the company’s improvement but also for success. Many businesses act in their own self-interest ignoring their client’s needs and complaints hence creating a negative perception about their product or service.

3. POOR COMMUNICATION – Effective teams are characterized by professional communication. In restaurants everything must be integrated and coordinated so to communicate plays an important role on determining success since any failure on this area will lead to detrimental effects on the company´s efficiency, customer satisfaction, profits and market share. We can avoid it by ensuring that our employees are kept up to date, fully understanding of their roles and work within the company guidelines. Each of them is a pillar to achieve goals and to make customer satisfied so let’s talk continually.

4. INADEQUATE EMPHASIS ON HIRING AND TRAINING – A restaurant is a team, a group of people and they must work towards the business goal. Quality should involve all the organization and it requires putting time and effort into hiring and training, these two actions will be translated into profitability and your current and future customer database will also gain.

5. LACK OF COMMITMENT – A restaurant employs people and work directly with them; some may want to do things on their own way so it is important to maintain control of the staff, set values, guidelines, objectives and standards. If this happen employees must be able to respond to any inconvenient in line with the organization and small incidents will not escalate and jeopardize financial viability.

References:

Abu-Yousef, R. (2008). Top Ten Reason Restaurants Fail. Restaurant Innovations. Availbale from: http://www.r-innovations.com/ReasonsRestaurantsFail.html

Sidney, G (2016). Restaurant Failure Rates. Restaurant Owner. Available from:

Bose, T. (2011) Total Quality of Management, Chapter 1: Perspective of Total Quality. Available from: https://goo.gl/Qm77mP

Kalb, I. (2012) Here’s What Happens When You Don’t Listen to your Customers’ Complaints. Available from: http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-what-happens-when-you-dont-listen-to-your-customers-compiants-2012-1

Quality Systems in Restaurants

Lately, businesses are being more committed to implement systems of quality management, whether the promoted by the public administration or the ones created by the initiative of companies. In our country, ICTE, ISO 22000 and EFQM are the most popular ones.

In restaurants we manipulate raw materials under certain conditions to obtain meals with certain characteristics and with the main objective of satisfying our clients. That process can be framed according to the quality criteria of a quality system to do it in the most efficient possible way, with the elimination of risks and hazards, and with the aim that the costumer is satisfied and that our business is profitable. That is why any quality system will be based on: business profitability, effective and efficient performance and customer satisfaction.

Due to the characteristics of the environment, offering a good product or service are the main objectives but this can only be achieved if the business integrates quality systems and standards to its organizational structure.

References:

Codó, L. (2007) La adopción de un sistema de calidad en un restaurante. Gestión Restaurantes. Available from: http://www.gestionrestaurantes.com/la-adopcion-de-un-sistema-de-calidad-en-un-restaurante/

Codó, L. (2007) La implementación de un sistema de calidad en un restaurante. Gestión Restaurante. Available from: http://www.gestionrestaurantes.com/la-implementacion-de-un-sistema-de-calidad-en-un-restaurante/

TQM

Total Quality Management has begun to receive more attention in the restoration industry. It first was implemented in manufacturing companies (as Toyota and IBM) but service companies quickly realized that they could benefit from the system.

In comparison with goods, a service cannot be held, felt or stored; neither failures nor defects can be tracked or easily measured so quality management in services must focus on employee performance: how quickly, correctly and pleasantly employees are able to provide service. The goal of the system is to collect data using tools, procedures and forms to assure that customer needs are satisfied and also that the standards set are maintained. In order to implement TQM correctly one must understand that this management system involves all employees and the organization in continual improvement using strategy, data and communication, so the following 8 elements should rule it:

1.      Customer-focused.

2.      Total employee involvement.

3.      Process-centered.

4.      Integrated system.

5.      Strategic and Systematic approach.

6.      Continual improvement.

7.      Fact-based decision making.

8.      Communication.

Also, there are some basic steps to implement TQM system which are: design, build, deploy, control, measure, review and improve. As a strategic choice this structure is based and can be better understood using the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle. 

Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle

Furthermore, as the goal of the system is to document processes, procedures and responsibilities for achieving quality policies we consider that some useful tools that can be applied to services and will improve your quality system are:  

1.      Cause and Effect Diagram: it identifies many possible causes for an effect or problem sorting ideas into useful categories.

2.      Check Sheet: a structured form for collecting and analyzing data.

3.      Histogram: it shows how often each different value (e.g. problem) occurs in a set of data.

4.      Pareto Chart: it shows on a graph frequency and determines which factors are more significant to solve. 

References:

Mojonnier, T. (2012). 'Total Quality Management Tools at Restaurants'. Business Theory. Available from: https://goo.gl/h24NYc

ASQ (2016). 'What is Total Quality Management?' Available from: https://goo.gl/NwFjqY