My interviewee was my general manger at Wendy's. She was able to give me a great overview of how the store is run at different times of the day and her responsibilities as a store manager. Many on my questions gave me a look into what she has to do everyday. A lot of this was repetitive for me since i am an insider in this community. However, i was able to see things through a managers eyes rather than through an employees or researchers eyes.
A manger not only has to work as if they are an employee, but at the same time must think ahead and plan accordingly. Food that takes a while to cook must start cooking early enough to be ready for when a rush hits. They must also deal with unsatisfied customers and try to fix whatever problem they have.
She also pointed out the importance of keeping the customer happy. When a customer comes in with a complaint, she always tries her hardest to make them leave happy. While the problem is being taken care of she apologizes to the customer and talks to them, trying to make them more comfortable with her. When this doesn't work, she pulls out some manager techniques like giving refunds and coupons for future orders.
My manger is 100% an insider in this community. She runs the store with confidence and is able to fix many problems within the store. Her techniques used to run the store make her a great leader and she gives the store stability.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Final Research Question Proposal
I have decided to stick with the same question i presented in my "Tentative Research Topic Proposal": What aspects of fast-casual restaurants make them more appealing to customers when compared to fast food and casual dining restaurants? Because this week is our break, i will be able to put more time into studying fast-casual restaurants and i will hopefully be able to make a CRJ for 2 different fast-casual restaurants. I understand that i must focus more on the fast casual restaurants and less on the pros and cons of the fast food and casual dining restaurants. I will still take that into consideration though when comparing them to fast-casual restaurants.
Annotated Bibliography #3
Thorn, Bret. "Good service for bad guests." Nation's Restaurant News. 42.4 (January 28 2008): 86.
This article talked about the importance of good customer service in the casual dining restaurant community. The author incorporates several interviews with restaurant workers. These restaurant workers tell their stories of how they showed good customer service to those who did not show the same respect back. Most of these stories had positive outcomes, showing the importance of good customer service.
The is a informative piece but is also an opinionated one. The author seems to be trying to show that good customer service is important. While this is arguably the view of many restaurant workers out there, i am sure there are many out there who do not believe in customer service. This article could be focused towards both restaurant owners and workers. Customer service is especially important in casual dining restaurants. For a waiter or waitress, customer service could be the difference between a 5 dollar tip and a 1 dollar tip.
The author protrays this all in a smooth, gently flowing tone. The author i believe is trying to persuade the reader that good customer service is important but is not forcing the idea upon them. I found this reading useful because it shows the level of importance customer service has in the casual dining community. The interviews give a great overview of how restaurant workers dealt with their customer issues.
---
York, Emily Bryson. "Double cheeseburgers working triple time at fast feeders." Advertising Age. 79.1 (January 7 2008): 1, 25.
This article talks about the ever growing popularity of the 1 dollar double cheese burger popping up everywhere. Mcdonald's has been the head runner in the race for the best valued items. Wendy's has recently took a stab at the double cheese burger market, trying to compete with Micky D's. The author interviews franchise owners on the success of the double cheese burger and finds that the price the Wendy's burger is being sold for is less than what many believe it is worth. The franchise owner also goes on to say that the price of this burger will eventually go up to cut losses.
This article is an informative piece taking a look at the battle for the best value in the fast food market. This is directed to those who are interested in the sales of the fast food restaurants and those interested in the success of the new Wendy's product.
I did not find this as useful as i though it would be. It talks about a the fight going on between fast food restaurants for the better value in food. But my research is not studying the competition between different restaurants within the fast food business, rather it is studying the competition between different kinds of restaurants (fast food, casual dining, and fast-casual).
This article talked about the importance of good customer service in the casual dining restaurant community. The author incorporates several interviews with restaurant workers. These restaurant workers tell their stories of how they showed good customer service to those who did not show the same respect back. Most of these stories had positive outcomes, showing the importance of good customer service.
The is a informative piece but is also an opinionated one. The author seems to be trying to show that good customer service is important. While this is arguably the view of many restaurant workers out there, i am sure there are many out there who do not believe in customer service. This article could be focused towards both restaurant owners and workers. Customer service is especially important in casual dining restaurants. For a waiter or waitress, customer service could be the difference between a 5 dollar tip and a 1 dollar tip.
The author protrays this all in a smooth, gently flowing tone. The author i believe is trying to persuade the reader that good customer service is important but is not forcing the idea upon them. I found this reading useful because it shows the level of importance customer service has in the casual dining community. The interviews give a great overview of how restaurant workers dealt with their customer issues.
---
York, Emily Bryson. "Double cheeseburgers working triple time at fast feeders." Advertising Age. 79.1 (January 7 2008): 1, 25.
This article talks about the ever growing popularity of the 1 dollar double cheese burger popping up everywhere. Mcdonald's has been the head runner in the race for the best valued items. Wendy's has recently took a stab at the double cheese burger market, trying to compete with Micky D's. The author interviews franchise owners on the success of the double cheese burger and finds that the price the Wendy's burger is being sold for is less than what many believe it is worth. The franchise owner also goes on to say that the price of this burger will eventually go up to cut losses.
This article is an informative piece taking a look at the battle for the best value in the fast food market. This is directed to those who are interested in the sales of the fast food restaurants and those interested in the success of the new Wendy's product.
I did not find this as useful as i though it would be. It talks about a the fight going on between fast food restaurants for the better value in food. But my research is not studying the competition between different restaurants within the fast food business, rather it is studying the competition between different kinds of restaurants (fast food, casual dining, and fast-casual).
Sunday, February 24, 2008
CRJ #2
Overall Time: 4 pm - 6:15 pm
Left Side of Paper: Observations = "-"
Right Side of Paper: Thoughts and Questions = "*"
Location: Rio Grande - restaurant
Time: 4 pm - 5:30 pm
- we are seated in a 4 person booth. There are 4 place mats, 4 sets of silverware, condiments, and specials menu. Table is clean.
*At fast food restaurants you must grab all your own condiments from a condiment stand. Tables are not always clean.
-There is Spanish music playing. It sounds like polka music with Spanish lyrics.
*Does the music ever get to the employees? They work 6+ hour shifts and must listen to this "theme" music the whole time.
-Our waitress brings out chips and salsa. There are 2 kinds of salsa. one kind is in a red cup and the other in a white cup. The red cup holds the hotter of the two salsas.
*These chips and salsa are free, something that is not offered at fast food restaurants.
-The restaurant is nicely decorated with objects of Mexican culture. This makes the restaurant more inviting and adds a sort of fun factor to the place.
*This is another thing usually found in only sit down restaurants, for the most part. Many Macdonald's are taking on themes of their own. This is determined by the owner. Could decoration and atmosphere be a major condition customers look at when choosing a place to eat?
-There are numerous fliers hanging from the ceiling advertising different Mexican made beers.
*This type of advertisement can also be seen in many fast food restaurants.
-The food is brought out fairly quickly. The different parts of the meal are neatly placed on the plate.
*This is very different from fast food. Fast food items are individually wrapped and placed on a tray. When the food is open and presented properly it just seems more appetizing. However it took about 10 mins longer to get our food than it would at a fast food restaurant.
-Bill is brought out to us. The cost is $11.
*This amount is about double what I would pay at a fast food restaurant. I wonder if i can write off the dinner to my teacher, it was kind of like a business diner.
Location: Rio Grande - kitchen
Time: 5:30 - 6:15
-They are short staffed. There is one cook and the owner making the food.
*Why are they short staffed? Is it harder working short staffed at a fast food restaurant or at a sit down restaurant?
-As one order goes out another comes in. The owner and cook are moving fairly quickly.
*This is a lot like how a fast food restaurant works.
-There is one dish washing cleaning incoming dishes. I over hear a waitress say it is the dish washers first day working.
*This would explain why he seems to be moving so slow.
-As orders are filled, they are brought out to the customers by the waitresses.
*Fast food requires that you wait while your food is put onto a tray and then the customer carries their own food out and finds a table.
-The owner is losing her temper from the stress of the moment. She yells at the cook and throws lettuce at him.
*There is also a lot of stress in the sit down restaurant business. Its time for me to cut my observations short.
Left Side of Paper: Observations = "-"
Right Side of Paper: Thoughts and Questions = "*"
Location: Rio Grande - restaurant
Time: 4 pm - 5:30 pm
- we are seated in a 4 person booth. There are 4 place mats, 4 sets of silverware, condiments, and specials menu. Table is clean.
*At fast food restaurants you must grab all your own condiments from a condiment stand. Tables are not always clean.
-There is Spanish music playing. It sounds like polka music with Spanish lyrics.
*Does the music ever get to the employees? They work 6+ hour shifts and must listen to this "theme" music the whole time.
-Our waitress brings out chips and salsa. There are 2 kinds of salsa. one kind is in a red cup and the other in a white cup. The red cup holds the hotter of the two salsas.
*These chips and salsa are free, something that is not offered at fast food restaurants.
-The restaurant is nicely decorated with objects of Mexican culture. This makes the restaurant more inviting and adds a sort of fun factor to the place.
*This is another thing usually found in only sit down restaurants, for the most part. Many Macdonald's are taking on themes of their own. This is determined by the owner. Could decoration and atmosphere be a major condition customers look at when choosing a place to eat?
-There are numerous fliers hanging from the ceiling advertising different Mexican made beers.
*This type of advertisement can also be seen in many fast food restaurants.
-The food is brought out fairly quickly. The different parts of the meal are neatly placed on the plate.
*This is very different from fast food. Fast food items are individually wrapped and placed on a tray. When the food is open and presented properly it just seems more appetizing. However it took about 10 mins longer to get our food than it would at a fast food restaurant.
-Bill is brought out to us. The cost is $11.
*This amount is about double what I would pay at a fast food restaurant. I wonder if i can write off the dinner to my teacher, it was kind of like a business diner.
Location: Rio Grande - kitchen
Time: 5:30 - 6:15
-They are short staffed. There is one cook and the owner making the food.
*Why are they short staffed? Is it harder working short staffed at a fast food restaurant or at a sit down restaurant?
-As one order goes out another comes in. The owner and cook are moving fairly quickly.
*This is a lot like how a fast food restaurant works.
-There is one dish washing cleaning incoming dishes. I over hear a waitress say it is the dish washers first day working.
*This would explain why he seems to be moving so slow.
-As orders are filled, they are brought out to the customers by the waitresses.
*Fast food requires that you wait while your food is put onto a tray and then the customer carries their own food out and finds a table.
-The owner is losing her temper from the stress of the moment. She yells at the cook and throws lettuce at him.
*There is also a lot of stress in the sit down restaurant business. Its time for me to cut my observations short.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Tentative Research Topic Proposal
As my research narrows towards one topic, my research elements seem to keep on growing. After reading the two articles that i recently annotated, I came up with a few questions that led me to my main question: What aspects of fast-casual restaurants make them more appealing to customers when compared to fast food and casual dining restaurants? Statistics have shown that the growth of some casual dining restaurants and all the fast food restaurants have been declining over the past few years. In contrast to this, many fast-casual restaurants are booming and new locations are popping up everywhere.
I was initially going to compare fast food restaurants and casual dining restaurants and compare the pros and cons of each. When researching them, the first fast-casual restaurant i came across was Chipotle. This opened up a whole new view on the prepared food industry. By adding this 3rd aspect to the research, i will have to do double time and research a fast-casual restaurant such as Panera Bread. Good thing i love food.
CRJ #1
Overall Time: 7 pm - 10 pm
Left side of paper: Observations = "-"
Right side of paper: Thought and questions = "*"
Location: Dining Room
Time: 7 pm - 830 pm
-Dinner rush is starting up
*I'm happy I'm not working tonight.
-People come in the doors, mostly the north door. They look cold, blowing into their hands trying to recover from the cold winter night. They scan the menu looking for something to eat.
*These are the lazy people who either can't cook or don't want to cook.
-They stomp their feet on the tile floor rather then on the floor mats in the vestibules.
*Assholes, an employee will have to clean that up later. This makes closing the store take longer.
-People order food and the cashier takes their money, then gets their food together on the tray. A little girl yells "mommy i want this one!" as she points to a toy in the display case.
*The mom is looking kinda edgy, that kid better cool it.
-People in the dining room talk. laugh, and eat.
*I'll just observe and try not to eavesdrop.
-After completing their meals, the groups throw away their trash.
*These are good people, some people believe it is the employees job to take care of their trash.
-Some hooligans throw away their trash... along with the trays.
*I should go chase them down... i could take um.
-A man walks in to use the bathroom. He then leaves without ordering anything.
*Moocher...
Location: Kitchen/ Back room
Time: 8:30 pm - 10 pm
-Things seem to be slowing down. The sandwich maker is restocking his station.
*Making sandwiches, the one thing i never really do.
-Grill operator is cleaning the meat staging area. He is getting ready to "cook to order".
*He's late, i would have done that a half hour ago.
-Same process is repeated: person takes order over head set, customer pulls up to 1st window, employee takes money, people in the kitchen make the food as the customer is ordering it making it to the customers specifications.
*Wow, i need a new job...
-Food is handed out the window. The whole process takes and average of 100 secs.
*It better be an average of 100 secs, otherwise the manger will wig out.
-Cashier working up front moves out into the dining room to start cleaning it. This is so the dining room is ready to be closed at 10 pm.
*I'm happy I'm not working tonight, otherwise i would be the one out there cleaning the dining room.
-Cashier turns off lights in dinning room, the manger goes outside to lock the doors into the dining room.
*The employees only have 2 hours left until they get to close the whole store!!!
Left side of paper: Observations = "-"
Right side of paper: Thought and questions = "*"
Location: Dining Room
Time: 7 pm - 830 pm
-Dinner rush is starting up
*I'm happy I'm not working tonight.
-People come in the doors, mostly the north door. They look cold, blowing into their hands trying to recover from the cold winter night. They scan the menu looking for something to eat.
*These are the lazy people who either can't cook or don't want to cook.
-They stomp their feet on the tile floor rather then on the floor mats in the vestibules.
*Assholes, an employee will have to clean that up later. This makes closing the store take longer.
-People order food and the cashier takes their money, then gets their food together on the tray. A little girl yells "mommy i want this one!" as she points to a toy in the display case.
*The mom is looking kinda edgy, that kid better cool it.
-People in the dining room talk. laugh, and eat.
*I'll just observe and try not to eavesdrop.
-After completing their meals, the groups throw away their trash.
*These are good people, some people believe it is the employees job to take care of their trash.
-Some hooligans throw away their trash... along with the trays.
*I should go chase them down... i could take um.
-A man walks in to use the bathroom. He then leaves without ordering anything.
*Moocher...
Location: Kitchen/ Back room
Time: 8:30 pm - 10 pm
-Things seem to be slowing down. The sandwich maker is restocking his station.
*Making sandwiches, the one thing i never really do.
-Grill operator is cleaning the meat staging area. He is getting ready to "cook to order".
*He's late, i would have done that a half hour ago.
-Same process is repeated: person takes order over head set, customer pulls up to 1st window, employee takes money, people in the kitchen make the food as the customer is ordering it making it to the customers specifications.
*Wow, i need a new job...
-Food is handed out the window. The whole process takes and average of 100 secs.
*It better be an average of 100 secs, otherwise the manger will wig out.
-Cashier working up front moves out into the dining room to start cleaning it. This is so the dining room is ready to be closed at 10 pm.
*I'm happy I'm not working tonight, otherwise i would be the one out there cleaning the dining room.
-Cashier turns off lights in dinning room, the manger goes outside to lock the doors into the dining room.
*The employees only have 2 hours left until they get to close the whole store!!!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Annotated Bibilography #2
Ruggless, Ron, "Mexican dinnerhouses lose heat as fast-casual segment's sales sizzle." Nation's Restaurant News. 37.33 (Aug 18 2003): 3, 110.
This article discussed the battle for sales between casual dining and fast-casual Mexican food restaurants. The sales of these fast-casual restaurants are steadily growing along with the growth of the companies. Restaurants such as Chipotle and Baja Fresh are thriving and and the number of new locations is rapidly increasing. Cozymel's Coastal Grill, a casual dining restaurant owned by Brinker International Inc., was speculated to prosper as a upscale Mexican food restaurant. By the end of 2003, there were only 16 Cozymel's in existence and they showed no sign of rapid or even moderate growth.
This article is meant to be informative to the reader showing the increase in demand for fast-casual Mexican food restaurants and a decrease in the growth of the casual dining restaurants. The audience being targeted are those who are interested in the growth of these different types of food chains and those who are involved in the prepared Mexican food business.
This poses interesting questions that would be valuable to my research. It would be beneficial to look at why the fast-casual restaurants are able to thrive while the casual dining restaurants are on a downwards slope. By weighing the pros and cons of each style restaurant, i can determine and make an educated guess as to why these markets are performing the way they are.
---
Pethokoukis, James M. "Bye-Bye, Burgers." U.S News & World Report. 133.21 (Dec. 2 2002): 36-7.
This article also deals with the ever growing "fast-casual" food chains, but compares them to many of the popular fast food restaurants. These fast-casual restaurants are made to offer the quickness of a fast food restaurants and the food quality of a casual dining restaurants. While most all fast-casual restaurants are flourishing and growing exponentially, fast foods industry leader, McDonald's, is struggling to keep stores sales up. In 2002, Micky D's closed 175 under performing restaurants. Chipotle Mexican Grill however saw a 116 percent increase in sales.
The author pulls his information from different fast food and restaurant analyst companies and quotes many of these analysts. This article is an informative article that compares the decrease in fast food sales compared to the booming business of the fast-casual food chains. It gives a great overview of how this new fast-casual type of restaurant is taking over the prepared food industry. The article is towards those with interest in the prepared food business and the increased performance of the fast-casual restaurants.
This is another interesting aritcle because not only are those in the casual dining industry feeling the increasing success of the fast-casual food industry. This will allow me to think more critically of the pros can cons of the fast food restaurants as well. I can compare both fast food and casual dinning restaurants to fast-casual restaurants to see if there is a commonality as to why fast-casual is preferred over the other two.
This article discussed the battle for sales between casual dining and fast-casual Mexican food restaurants. The sales of these fast-casual restaurants are steadily growing along with the growth of the companies. Restaurants such as Chipotle and Baja Fresh are thriving and and the number of new locations is rapidly increasing. Cozymel's Coastal Grill, a casual dining restaurant owned by Brinker International Inc., was speculated to prosper as a upscale Mexican food restaurant. By the end of 2003, there were only 16 Cozymel's in existence and they showed no sign of rapid or even moderate growth.
This article is meant to be informative to the reader showing the increase in demand for fast-casual Mexican food restaurants and a decrease in the growth of the casual dining restaurants. The audience being targeted are those who are interested in the growth of these different types of food chains and those who are involved in the prepared Mexican food business.
This poses interesting questions that would be valuable to my research. It would be beneficial to look at why the fast-casual restaurants are able to thrive while the casual dining restaurants are on a downwards slope. By weighing the pros and cons of each style restaurant, i can determine and make an educated guess as to why these markets are performing the way they are.
---
Pethokoukis, James M. "Bye-Bye, Burgers." U.S News & World Report. 133.21 (Dec. 2 2002): 36-7.
This article also deals with the ever growing "fast-casual" food chains, but compares them to many of the popular fast food restaurants. These fast-casual restaurants are made to offer the quickness of a fast food restaurants and the food quality of a casual dining restaurants. While most all fast-casual restaurants are flourishing and growing exponentially, fast foods industry leader, McDonald's, is struggling to keep stores sales up. In 2002, Micky D's closed 175 under performing restaurants. Chipotle Mexican Grill however saw a 116 percent increase in sales.
The author pulls his information from different fast food and restaurant analyst companies and quotes many of these analysts. This article is an informative article that compares the decrease in fast food sales compared to the booming business of the fast-casual food chains. It gives a great overview of how this new fast-casual type of restaurant is taking over the prepared food industry. The article is towards those with interest in the prepared food business and the increased performance of the fast-casual restaurants.
This is another interesting aritcle because not only are those in the casual dining industry feeling the increasing success of the fast-casual food industry. This will allow me to think more critically of the pros can cons of the fast food restaurants as well. I can compare both fast food and casual dinning restaurants to fast-casual restaurants to see if there is a commonality as to why fast-casual is preferred over the other two.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Citation & CRJ
York, Emily Bryson. "Double cheeseburgers working triple time at fast feeders." Advertising Age. 79.1 (January 7 2008): 1, 25.
Ruggless, Ron. "Mexican dinnerhouses lose heat as fast-casual segment's sales sizzle." Nation's Restaurant News. 37.33 (Aug. 18 2003): 3, 110.
Due to my surgery last week, i was unable to make the observations i wanted to. I am planning on putting in 3 hrs for the the next two weeks.
Ruggless, Ron. "Mexican dinnerhouses lose heat as fast-casual segment's sales sizzle." Nation's Restaurant News. 37.33 (Aug. 18 2003): 3, 110.
Due to my surgery last week, i was unable to make the observations i wanted to. I am planning on putting in 3 hrs for the the next two weeks.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Super Bowl Reading Response
I read the article on the media and the Super Bowl. Never have I seen someone that was so upset by such a beautiful thing. The Super Bowl is a one of America's greatest sporting events, an event that brings friends and family together to watch a match between the year’s arguably two greatest professional football teams. The author calls out the Super Bowl as the biggest media event of the year which is blatantly apparent. The author’s over analysis of the event is what lost me. Because of the events immense popularity, the media has taken advantage of this to hit as many potential customers as possible. As a result, the expenses the businesses must pay to be apart of this media festival are very great. The author criticizes the Super Bowl saying only a select few get to photograph the event. This is the simple principal of supply and demand. If every mediocre photographer could be there taking pictures, there would be no room for the players to play the game. Its funny to see that the less privileged are always the ones complaining. The author states that she is an outsider because of her limited view on the event and the fact that she is a woman. I find this to be unacceptable and ignorant. Though it true that there are more male football fans than female, I know many females that are die hard football fans that can not only keep up with the game but comprehend it as well. I believe that her limited knowledge of the game is what gives her a cloudy view of the event itself. Her views do raise a good point however. There are more and more people watching the Super Bowl not for the game itself, but for the ads displayed between game time. I believe the true meaning of the event has been obscured through out the years but the true fans watch it for what it really is; a game between two great football teams to determine who has had the most luck, and worked the hardest throughout the year to call themselves the Super Bowl champions.
Research Tutorial
A. 1. Cullen, Lisa Takeuchi. "When Eat Meets West." Time. 171.4 (January 28 2008): 44-6.
-I used the WilsonSelectPlus database.
2. Pettersson, Anette, and Christina Fjellström. "Original Article: Restaurants As Friends of
the Family: Functions of Restaurant Visits in Everyday Life." Journal of Foodservice. 18.6
(2007): 207-217.
-I used the FirstSearch database
B. I could look at reviews by food critics and see their notes on the food, service, and clenslyness of the different restaurants.
C. I could look in magazines on restaurants that discuss the food, service etc. Im not sure what i could look in for fast food because im am not aware of any fast food magazines.
D. I could compare the nutrition of the food from both sit down restaurants and fast food. There are numerous websites that hold these facts for different fast food places and im sure there are restaurants that post there nutrition facts. I could also look at reviews from different food critics and see what they have to say about the different restaurants.
-I used the WilsonSelectPlus database.
2. Pettersson, Anette, and Christina Fjellström. "Original Article: Restaurants As Friends of
the Family: Functions of Restaurant Visits in Everyday Life." Journal of Foodservice. 18.6
(2007): 207-217.
-I used the FirstSearch database
B. I could look at reviews by food critics and see their notes on the food, service, and clenslyness of the different restaurants.
C. I could look in magazines on restaurants that discuss the food, service etc. Im not sure what i could look in for fast food because im am not aware of any fast food magazines.
D. I could compare the nutrition of the food from both sit down restaurants and fast food. There are numerous websites that hold these facts for different fast food places and im sure there are restaurants that post there nutrition facts. I could also look at reviews from different food critics and see what they have to say about the different restaurants.
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