Strategies for Improving Services in a Local Restaurant (Coursework Sample)

Strategies for Improving Services in a Local Restaurant
(Author’s name)
(Class)
(Date)
(Course Title)
(Instructor's Name)
Service quality has considerable effects on the sustainable development of service outlets Therefore, the following positioning strategies are important in assisting the restaurant to carve a niche while fine-tuning service to meet the needs of their particular target market segment
Building Customer Loyalty and Retention
For a foundation of loyalty to be built, the restaurant should segment the market to understand what customers desire so as to gain a competitive edge. The restaurant should be selective in acquisition by assessing each of its customers on a personal level. A strategic approach to upgrading, retaining and even terminating relationships with customers should be adopted (Wirtz & Lovelock, 2005). Since different customers display different service needs and expectations, tiering the service will enable the restaurant to deliver different service levels to various customer groups. Additionally, service quality and customer satisfaction are a prerequisite for loyalty, given that defections occur with low satisfaction levels. Unless there are high switching costs, customers are always ready to switch when a better choice is found. Various strategies should be employed for developing loyalty bonds with its customers. This may achieved by deepening relationships through bundling and introducing loyalty rewards, and creating higher-level bonds such as customization, social and structural bonds. Lastly, the restaurant should address general churn drivers by reducing inconvenience, delivering quality service and having fair pricing. The restaurant may employ call center staff to retain customers.
Service Recovery Considerations after Failure
All service entities experience scenarios where their customer is not satisfied with service outcomes, the service process or both. As such, service recovery strategies illustrate the steps taken by service providers in response to failures or defects in their system. These steps may range from doing nothing to doing whatever it takes to fix the problem. In this respect, the most frequently employed actions include an apology, providing solace to the customer, compensation or providing responsive service. Effectiveness of the recovery strategies will often depend on the situation and is determined by factors like the importance and type of service. Effectiveness also depends on the manner in which the service giver handles the problem. Therefore, both what is done and how it is done will contribute to effectiveness in the recovery strategy. To realize customer satisfaction and regain trust the service provider should provide cognitive control. They sh...