Services Marketing Midterm
READ CAREFULLY! Read several
times before you start to write! Use
grammar check to make sure you are writing clearly, and use your books and
notes to make sure you are using service marketing terms and concepts
correctly. Errors in writing or
application of concepts will cause you to lose points, so use the tools you
have available.
Elias Farmington owns a relaxed, comfort food restaurant in
downtown Busyville, NH. He serves
breakfast, lunch and dinner, and is open from 6am to 9pm. His restaurant is very busy from 7-9am,
11am-1pm, and 4-7pm. Sometimes there are
lines outside and a packed lobby, which changes the “relaxed” atmosphere he
works hard to maintain. He wants his
customers to be served in a timely manner, and to enjoy their experience there,
but the busy times stress his staff and the slow times are not productive,
since he only makes money through “table turnover” and “average check” per
turnover.
He is considering the following options:
1.
The space next door to his restaurant is
available and he could expand into that space, but it is very expensive, would
need to be a long term lease, and would require extensive renovations (also
very expensive). Should Elias take the
chance and invest? Explain your thinking by discussing the pros and cons.
2.
Elias’ staff works 8 hour shifts, with one 30
minute and two (2) 15 minutes breaks, meaning 7 hours of productivity per shift. He is considering adding some additional
kitchen and waitstaff, and shortening the shifts to 4 hours. He needs to figure out how to schedule the
newly configured staff to cover the busy times and cleanup/setup in
between. What might a new schedule look
like and why/how will it help Elias with productivity? Explain your thinkingby
discussing the pros and cons.
3.
Elias’ daughter wants to extend the business by
starting up a food truck which will go on breakfast and lunch schedules to a
local industrial park and 2 other areas of the city where a large number of
their customers work. She wants to take
orders ahead of time and use the food truck as a delivery method, and also let
customers place ordersand get them to go right from the truck.Will this smooth
demand in the restaurant so it is less busy at peak hours, while maintaining
Elias’ customer base? Or will the cost
of the truck, staff and service outweigh the sales potential? How will he know how many customers will come
in rather than use the truck service on any given day? How would he schedule the kitchen and wait
staff to be sure he could manage demand in the restaurant? Explain your thinkingby discussing the pros
and cons.
4.
Elias’ son has come up with some promotional
ideas to help smooth demand, such as early bird specials with senior citizen
discounts to bring some dinner folks in early, and brunch specials to bridge
the hours between breakfast and lunch.
These would minimize the rush periods somewhat, while increasing the
table turn over the course of the day. However,
there might be some minimizing of the average check, also. Elias wonders, will this be offset by
increased volume at off peak times? Will
it also make it difficult to clean up and setup between busy times, adding
stress to his staff? What would it take
to pull this off successfully and affordably? Explain your thinkingby
discussing the pros and cons.
5.
Elias’s brother says that Elias should raise his
prices and “thin the herd” of breakfast and lunch customers. Will the increase in check amount per table
balance the lost income from customers not willing or able to pay the higher
prices? Is there another way to incorporate pricing
into the solution? Explain your
thinkingby discussing the pros and cons.
What should Elias do?
The downside of success can sometimes be having too many options, and
not knowing which will fail and which will succeed. The key is understanding customers and
services marketing. After you discuss
the pros and cons of each of the above suggestions, choose the best option or
blend of options and explain IN GREAT DETAIL WHY YOU BELIEVE IT WILL BE
SUCCESSFUL!
Your midterm shouldbe 2-3pages, 1.5 spaced with 1 “ margins
in 11 point Arial or Times New Roman type.
Itshould take the following format:
1.
List the important components and considerations
in the case.
2.
For each option, describe and discuss the pros
and cons thoroughly(minimum of 1 fully developed paragraph for each pro and
each con).
3.
List and discuss the constraints for each option
in detail.
4.
Thoroughly discuss the options, including
relating the pros, cons and constraints to the components and considerations
you listed.
5.
Select the best option or blend of options, and
explain in great detail how it will address the issues in the case and why it
is the best way to do so.
Grading will be as
follows:
Pro’s, cons,
constraints – 15 points for each option, (total 75)based on depth of analysis,
use of services marketing concepts, writing, and organization of thinking in
your paragraphs.
Relating option choice
to components and considerations – 10 points, based on thoroughness of
discussion, ability to make and describe connections among services marketing
concepts and the analysis of available options. As always, writing and
organization is expected so that your thinking is clearly understood.
Explanation of how
chosen option addresses issues best – 15 points, based on thoroughness and
depth of discussion, writing and organization, use of services marketing
concepts and terminology.
Submit your midterm through Blackboard /Assignments and MAKE
SURE YOUR NAME IS ON IT! Due Monday at
5pm in BBD.
