Services Offered By Each of the Service Providers
The two service providers offer various types of fast foods such as hamburgers, chicken, chips, sausages, pizzas, kebabs, and a variety of drinks. The Blue Springs Fast Food Store had superior services when it came to drinks, especially the fresh juice. Their fresh juice has a very good taste, and the mode of service is also very pleasant. On the other hand, the Blue Garden Restaurant has good services when it comes to fries. Their fries are always prepared with as little oil as possible, and it has a unique taste that make it different from that of other stores in the region. The accompaniments to these fries are also favored by many customers who visit this outlet.
Aspects of the Services that Influence the Perceptions of the Overall Service Experience
At the Blue Springs Fast Food Stores, there are some aspects of the services they render that has a positive influence on my perception about the overall service experience. One such factor is how the juice is prepared. The facility uses fresh fruits and does not add any preservatives to their juices. The juice is also not sugared, giving it a natural taste. The juice is prepared on demand. I also noted the level of cleanliness that employees of this facility maintained when preparing the fruits. There is a clear demonstration that they are not taking the health of their customers for granted. The facility itself is very clean, a fact that made me very comfortable while taking the snack. It convinced me that this fast-food store is very serious when it comes to offering high-quality products to its customers. However, there are some issues that needed to be addressed. The speed of their service delivery is slow, something I considered to be a negative factor.
At the Blue Gardens Restaurant, one factor that stood out in their service delivery is the quality of their fries. They are concerned about the health of their clients when they take their products. The facility is also well-maintained. The attendants are quick to deliver customers’ orders as soon as possible. They are also easily accessed by the customers. Despite these positive aspects of their service delivery, I noted that all their attendants knew no other language than English. I noticed a Frenchman who walked into the facility walk away sad because there was a complete breakdown in communication.
Characteristics of the Service Providers That May Influence Customer Experience
At the Blue Springs Fast Food Store, there is a beautiful décor that is very pleasant to the eye. The lighting is moderated to give the facility a unique ambiance, and the color of the walls is also very attractive. The attendants controlled the aroma, and it is difficult to determine what is being prepared in the kitchen. There is a cool sound of jazz music in the background, and the tables and chairs have an oval shape, making them very unique. Music is one of the most important factors that can be used to attract customers (Hoffman and Bateson, 56).
At the Blue Gardens Restaurant, décor is a little different. The shape of the facility is round, but it is given a design in its interior that created an impression that the facility is oval-shaped. All the tables are oval, but the chairs are of different shapes based on their position within the facility. The facility has a blue light that created a serene environment once one is inside the restaurant. Unlike the Blue Gardens, where the aroma is tightly controlled, at the Blue Gardens, it is possible to see and get the aroma of the fries as they are being prepared. The kitchen is strategically located to enable customers to see how their meals are prepared. On the background is soft country music playing, creating beautiful entertainment for the clients. The blue color dominated most of the interior decorations, including the lighting.
Other Aspects of the Physical Evidence Present
At the Blue Springs, there are other physical decorations that are meant to improve the ambiance of the facility. One such physical evidence is the type of carpet that is used. The floor had a beautiful red carpet that created a sense of royalty to the customers. There are also beautiful paintings of flowers, animals, some of the American heroes, and celebrities on the walls. Small but very attractive fans also helped in regulating the temperatures inside the facility.
On the other hand, one unique feature that cannot be ignored at the Blue Gardens is the number of beautiful aquariums located at strategic positions within the facility. Each of the aquariums has different colors and with different sizes of fish. There are also beautiful flower pots within and outside the facility. This creates the impression of being close to nature (Zeithaml, Bitner, and Gremler 19). From the beautiful flowers all over the place to the lovely fish in the aquariums, one could easily imagine being at the beach.
Using the Physical Evidence as a Differentiator
Each of the service providers is keen on using the physical evidence as a differentiator. Both used the name blue and valued this color a lot in their physical evidence. However, the shape of the facility, the kind of music they played, the lighting, and the aroma within the facility easily differentiated the two facilities. While both had the color blue dominating their decorations, they use different music to attract their customers. While both are keen to maintain beautiful décor, the two service providers use different approaches in their interior designs. The Blue Springs emphasized on paintings, while the Blue Gardens invested more on the aquariums. The manner of services offered by the attendants at the two facilities is also different. While at the Blue Springs emphasis is laid on the quality of the service, at the Blue Gardens, the emphasis is laid on the speed.
Recommendations
The two fast-food outlets have been keen on offering high-quality services to their customers. However, some issues should be addressed to improve the quality of their services. The following recommendations can help improve the service delivery at these two facilities.
- The attendants at the Blue Springs should improve the speed of their service delivery process.
- Blue Springs should consider changing the color of its internal décor to avoid monotony.
- The management of Blue Springs should consider investing more on animated decorations.
- At the Blue Gardens, there should be an improvement in the decorations on the floor because the current one looks neglected.
The management of the Blue Gardens should consider introducing paintings to its animated decorations.
Works Cited
Hoffman, Kennedy, and John Bateson. Services Marketing: Concepts, Strategies & Cases. New York: Cengage Learning Services, 2009. Print.
Zeithaml, Valarie, Mary Bitner and Dwayne Gremler. Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus Across the Firm. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013. Print.