Sunshine Enterprises Case Study
Cause and effect diagram
A restaurant like Sunshine Enterprises is dedicated to providing explicit services to its worthy clients, and any discrepancy that would put this mission in jeopardy must be tackled with a lot of precision and expertise. Complaints from clients are addressed comprehensively inconsiderate of their magnitude. This is done in a bid to enhance much-needed customer satisfaction. In the case of Sunshine Enterprises, a client complained of an additional tip that was included in his bill without his consent. The $25 tip upset is most definitely human-instigated, and the manager must evaluate the root cause of the problem and find a rational way of fixing it. Additionally, it is the manager’s obligation to device long term strategies to evade such occurrences in the future.
There are quite a several possible causes of the discrepancy. According to my opinion, the customer’s handwriting was the cause of the misunderstanding. As a result of its illegibility, the waiter who made the transaction details could not determine the value of the tip. However, there are minor assumptions that could also have resulted in the error. For instance, the waiter failed to clarify the digits from the customer.
He then went ahead and entered $25 as the tip amount, which was not the intended bill. In investigating this root cause, I would first delve into the bills voucher book and obtain the true, and original copy of the handwritten bill. I would examine the same to determine the amount of tip indicated by the customer, being keen to establish the legibility of the handwriting so as not to prejudice the employee’s probable honest mistake.
After determining the correct amount, I would call the client and confirm the amount he intended as a tip. If the amount stated corresponds to that on the bill copy, I would question the employee to determine whether the error was done by honest mistake or whether he had intentionally over-tipped. It is an outrageous crime for waiters to overprice receipts or coax their clients to give them tips as per the rules that govern the hospitality industry. It is an implication that waiters should, at all times, countercheck with their guests to ensure that the bills are correctly entered. During my investigation, I will have it in mind that either of the two parties involved is to be blamed for the mistake.
I would not incriminate someone until viable and conclusive evidence is brought forward for my examination. In either case, I would issue the waiter responsible with a warning so that he is either more diligent as to clarify illegible handwriting or to cease from attempting to steal from customers. The same warning would be conferred on all other employees. I would then take steps in correspondence with the credit card company to make certain that the client is duly refunded. If, however, the amount of tip as indicated by the client is $25, this would imply that the waiter concerned is exonerated. If it is verifiable that the customer wrote $25 as the tip, I would politely communicate it to him. I would make him understand that it was entirely his fault that the error occurred.
Recommendations
Customer satisfaction is one of the most important virtues in a hospitality outlet. It is because it is only through this that guests will be willing to make return visits. Additionally, the absolute satisfaction of a client when served in a hotel may compel him or her to recommend the hotel to a friend. Therefore, a hotel must promote absolute customer satisfaction in a bid to keep its clients and attract more at the same time.
Hotel managers should come up with the long term and short term strategies and policies meant to uphold the integrity of their outlets. In this quest, a manager should be in a position to identify, analyze, and evaluate certain customer complaints that might play an imperative role in degrading the integrity of the hotel. Short term strategies are aimed at providing immediate solutions to existing problems.
In the case of Sunshine Enterprises, its existing problem was the discrepancy that occurred on the bill of a client. As pertains to the short-term recommendations, I would recommend that Sunshine Enterprises establishes certain standards of service that the hotel can be uniquely identified with. For instance, it should be customary that waiters countercheck the tips written by their clients in a bid to verify whether what they see as the tip is the intended amount.
It will be crucial in fostering the provision of correct values each time a bill is charged on a guest account or portfolio. When this is done, it will ensure that the current loyal customers are retained. As if that is not enough, this also ensures that the neutral and vulnerable customers do not begin to form improper perceptions concerning the hotel as this will eventually derail the loyalty they already created.
In addition to the short term recommendations, Sunshine Enterprises also needs long term recommendations. These are aimed at offering rather permanent solutions to both existing and prospective complications. While devising these strategies, a manager should be vigilant to ensure that these recommendations do not end up jeopardizing the sole mission of the hospitality outlet. A good manager must forecast the possible risks for implementing certain policies and strategies. Additionally, he should be aware of the immediate positive and negative effects his proposals would have on the overall performance of the hotel.
For long term recommendations, Abby must embrace a dissimilar mode of running the business effectively. It is because it would be difficult for her to exercise effective control over a fiercely growing business unless rational decisions are made to counter the diversified market. Therefore, she must be ready to abandon the traditional model of running a family business. Franchising, for instance, would be an effective mode as it would give her ample time to focus on quality assurance issues and derive substantial income from the investments of other investors. It is my best choice for long term effects.
As a long term strategy, franchising would make Sunshine Enterprises have standard and widely acceptable procedures for addressing issues. In addition to that, this would open the hotel to external assistance in terms of specialized recommendations from experts in the field of the hospitality industry.
Conclusion
In addition to décor, ambiance, and excellent service delivery, Sunshine Enterprises, just like every other hotel, needs to ensure utter customer satisfaction in a bid to keep its existing clients and make new customers. The success of a hotel is measured by the positive feedback from its guests. The number of guest complaints also plays an imperative role in determining the success of such a business. It is the sole duty of the manager, through his policies and strategies, to ensure that clients are always satisfied with the services offered. These are the appropriate short-term and long-term recommendations for Sunshine Enterprises.