Russels Model of Affect in Sizzler Restaurants - Case Study Example

 Is it worth the wait? Sizzler restaurants Question 1: Use the servicescape model (Fig. 10.7 p.258) and Russel’s Model of Affect (fig. 10.6 p.257) to explain Zoe’s and Carol’s responses to their Sizzler service encounter experience. Servicescape model Described by Bitner in 1992, Servicescape aims at describing an organization’s overall appearance through analyzing the physical characteristics or features within the establishment.1 The various dimensions in relation to Sizzler are as discussed below: Perceived quality: The perceived quality of service within an establishment is bound to promote excitement and satisfaction.2 In this case, Zoe did not find the quality at Sizzler particularly good. This was as a result of the dirty tables and the long queues that they had to undergo.3 On the other hand, Carol tagged the quality on the supposedly good food that was being sold for so little. While Zoe may not have been satisfied, Carol seemed comfortable with the restaurant. Perceived crowding: This feature reduces perceived quality and excitement.4 In Zoe’s view, the crowded restaurant was not appealing and she found it rather uncomfortable. Carol was used to this kind of setting and therefore the crowding at the hotel did not affect her perception of the hotel. While she seemed excited, Zoe would have been more comfortable in other restaurant where there were no queues and where it was less crowded. Repatronage intentions: Once a customer is satisfied, he is likely to come again for the same service. Carol definitely had repatronage intentions. For her, the experience was satisfying and she wished to repeat the same again.5 Zoe did not wish to go through the same ordeal. Her satisfaction level was low and repatronage intentions were therefore inexistent. Enduring involvement: This factor increases excitement and enhances future patronage intentions. Carol’s interest in the hotel played a significant role in how she viewed the hotel such that she was highly excited and wanted to come back. For Zoe, there was no interest in the hotel and she could have changed the venue if she had the opportunity. Excitement: Excitement is triggered by perceived quality and enduring involvement. The experience was not exciting for Zoe who had just come from China and was used to less crowded places. Queuing was not exciting for her and she did not like the way the hotel was maintained. Carol was however very exited due to the discounts and large quantities of food available at the restaurant. The quality of the hotel did not matter so much. Satisfaction: Satisfaction is jointly dependent on a combination of perceived quality, excitement and enduring involvement.6 Zoe’s experiences and observations definitely did not amount to satisfaction. She did not like the quality of the restaurant and thus did not feel considerable excitement to make her come back. For Carol, the whole experience was very exciting; given that she could take all the food and drinks that she could manage for a small fee. The quality of service did not matter so much and she was willing to queue for a long period of time to get to the restaurant. Russel’s Model of Affect Russel’s model consists of two emotional dimensions: core affect and attributed affect. Core affect consists of two dimensions where emotions balance between pleasant and unpleasant; and activation and deactivation.7 This occurs naturally. Attributed affect may occur as a result of changes in core affect and involves expressive and physiological changes. Zoe’s reaction about the restaurant can be considered unpleasant and deactivated. She appears uneasy and dislikes the quality of the hotel. From the beginning she does not like the queues and even the snacks that are offered at the queue.8 This is further alleviated by her view of the manner in which people eat and behave at the hotel. She is irritated, disappointed and bored and does not show any signs of going back to the hotel. On the other hand, Carol’s reaction is attitude is pleasant and activated. She is fascinated, excited and is full of admiration for the hotel. The food and service satisfy her and she is very eager to go back to the hotel for another meal. Question 2: Identify the boundary spanning employees (frontline staff) at Sizzler. What sources of conflict are they likely to experience and how can management assure they are kept to a reasonable level? The boundary spanning employees at Sizzler include waiters, cashiers and customer service attendants. These employees are responsible for welcoming customers into the restaurant and serving them. As a result, they are best placed in collecting useful information and later transferring it to the organization’s management. Sources of conflict Natural competition Conflicts tend to occur as a result of natural competition between two or more individuals.9 As they compete for recognition and the need to perform certain duties that are considered valuable, employees may end up in conflicts that could easily disrupt their jobs. In order to eliminate such competition, duties should be properly aligned such that each employee is allocated duties in which he or she is best qualified. Personality clashes It is highly possible for people working in the same organization to have different personalities such that they may not get along well. Such differences lead to the development of negative attitudes towards each other and employees may not work together effectively.10 A manager should be able to identify visible differences in personality and where possible separate such people. Alternatively however, the manager should help the two employees to understand each other’s personality so that they can work together in harmony. Sharing of duties Employees are likely to encounter conflicts in the process of sharing duties. This mostly occurs where one duty is performed by more than one person.11 Some people may feel that others are not exerting enough effort towards completion of the job. This could bring conflict between employees. In order to keep this source of conflict to a manageable level, it is important for the management to employ supervisors to manage the front office staff. Supervision ensures that each person performs their duties as expected. Poor communication: Efficiency in an organization is highly determined by the clarity in communication channels.12 Accordingly, front line employees at Sizzler are likely to get into conflicts if they do not communicate effectively. For example, if a service attendant promises a customer that a certain type of food is available; the cashier may have difficulties convincing the customer that it is unavailable. This could later cause conflicts as the cashier could blame the attendant for the confusion which could have been avoided if he or she had inquired. Communication channels can be improved by training employees on how to work together and by emphasizing the importance of maintaining proper communication lines.13 They should be taught to always consult whenever they are not sure in order to avoid conflicts. Question 3: Draw a blueprint for the service process at Sizzler. Show the average acceptable timing of each principle activity. Clearly indicate the bottlenecks (points of waiting) in your blueprint. Use the different forms of productive capacity to explain why these bottlenecks are occurring. See drawing on page 7 Using the forms of productive capacity to explain bottlenecks Productive capacity encompasses three forms: Potential capacity, effective capacity and immediate capacity. Potential capacity denotes the capacity that is required by the senior management to make important decisions regarding the business.14 Immediate capacity refers to the production amount that can be provided in the short-term.15 Effective capacity on the other hand refers to the maximum achievable capacity within a firm.16 These can be used to explain the bottlenecks identified above as follows: The fact that people have to wait in the queue for 40 minutes symbolizes a situation in which effective capacity is not given adequate attention. Clearly, this capacity cannot be handled efficiently and there is need to open new restaurants to contain the volume of customers. In the event where complimentary snacks are not enough for the customers on the queue, immediate capacity may be applied. This is because the restaurant could have used its maximum potential to ensure that all customers get a share of the snacks everyday. The form of production capacity that can be used to explain the bottleneck where the desired food is not available is potential capacity. The restaurant should be in a position to assess the daily intake of various foods and hence plan on the capacity required to satisfy their customers. Question 4: Briefly describe three different types of jaycustomers (misbehaving customers) Sizzler’s frontline employees may have to deal with. Discuss how the service process can be designed to minimize or control the behaviour of Sizzler’s jaycustomers.  The Thief       These are customers who do not intend to pay for the services offered. They design clever schemes to avoid payment or to pay less for services utilized.17 Sizzler’s frontline employees may experience customers who pretend to have paid and thus demand tickets to enter the restaurant. It is also possible to find customers who enter the restaurant and claim that they had paid but the cashier forgot to give them a receipt for their payment. Some customers may also try to ask for more change while pretending that they gave the staff more money than they actually did.       In order to control thieves, the management should come up with highly efficient payment procedures where tickets are only given once the money has been paid. This could be computerized such that the receipt is only dispensed once the cashier enters the amount of money paid by the customer. The management can also write a clear signboard outside the hotel notifying customers that they must have a ticket in order to be served; failure to which they will be required to purchase new ones. Accordingly, they must always ensure the cashier gives them a ticket. This way, the management will not bear the responsibility for anyone who claims that they did not get a ticket. The Rule breaker       This type of jaycustomer does not wish to follow the rules and often portrays rebellious behavior even where rules are clearly set.18 It is possible for Sizzler’s frontline staff to experience these kinds of customers. Such customers may attempt to avoid queues and go straight to the cashiers thus leading to commotion at the restaurants. They may feign strict deadlines that they have to meet in order to be served before other people even though they came before them. Once they are inside the restaurant, these customers could refuse to follow the required order and opt to do things in a manner that suits their interests thus causing confusion.       Rules aimed at guiding customers through the service procedure need to be tightened in order to counter such customers. Furthermore, this could even protect other customers from potentially destructive behavior from such individuals. The restaurants need to hire security personnel to deal with rule breakers. Such personnel should be responsible for maintaining order during the service process and to ensure that every customer follows the provided guidelines. Warnings could also be given to regular rule breakers telling them that they may be barred from the premises if they continue exhibiting rebellious behavior. The Belligerent       This is a jaycustomer who always finds reasons to express resentment and is likely to abuse service providers verbally of physically.19 They tend to pick confrontations at every opportunity and they can be quite destructive. Sizzler’s front line staff may meet these kinds of customers especially where expectations are not met or where customers want to receive more than what their payment allow. When staff members fail to grant these customers their wishes, they could end up in serious confrontations leading to emotional turmoil and physical injury.       In order to avoid situations where staff members are hurt by belligerent customers, the restaurants need to ensure that they only hire staff members who are able to deal with difficult situations. In the same context, the management should conduct constant service trainings that equip employees with skills to deal with this kind of jaycustomers. Employing security personnel to deal with violent people is also advisable in order to protect members of staff from injury. Bibliography Capon, Noel, Capon's marketing framework, London: Wessex Publishing, 2009. Hilles, Peter, management, London: SAGE, 2004. Hung, george, K. & Ciuffreda, kenneth, J, Models of the visual system, London: Springer, 2002 Knapp, Duane, The Brandmindset. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2000. Lovelock, Christopher H., Principles of service marketing and management, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University, 2002. Nicolaides, Angelo, Conflict Management – the role of Hotel Managers, International Research Symposium in Service Management, Le Meridien Hotel, Mauritius, August, 2010. Omika Rout, Corporate Conflict Management: Concepts And Skills, Englewood Cliffs, N.J: PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd., 2007 Osborne, Zhao & Yusof (2003 ) In “Is Sizzler worth the wait?” McColl-Kennedy, Services marketing: A managerial approach. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Pp. 554-558. Rosenbaum, Mark S. (2005), “The Symbolic Servicescape: Your Kind is Welcomed Here,” Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 4, 257-267. Valarie A. Zeithaml and Mary Jo Bitner, Services Marketing. New York: Tata McGraw Hill, 2003. Read More