by a Guru
I am supposed to start with my Part 2 of business orientation towards the market place, however, I would like to dwell on an experience I had with one of the more popular and well-patronized restaurants in Davao City. This particular establishment has received several favorable commentaries in local newspapers and, in fact, had received a marketing excellence award. I like their product concept on affordable prices, tasty food. It has also put up branches in the city. They have an acceptable cost control measure by having to serve delectable food without the need to buy ingredients using the more popular brands.
I, together with my wife and family, have been patronizing the establishment for seven times already.
Some thoughts to ponder, however: Is this restaurant practicing the Marketing concept for real, despite the awards received? Or, was the Marketing award received purely on the basis of achieving outstanding sales? Production orientation shows that consumers will buy products that are widely available and inexpensive. Their being inexpensive in price was due to the fast table “turn around” (as much as three to four times per table during peak hours). There are shortfalls for this concept and if management is myopic regarding this problem, it is bound to fall. I know of a BBQ restaurant which was so much in demand that management overlooked the sanitation factor (rats fattened by scraps and morsels of left-overs occasionally seen scampering across the floor and climbing up tables where stuff were being made ready for grilling). Today, the establishment is struggling to survive.
What are the issues that this food establishment must therefore address? (1) The waiters were “over-promising” but “under-delivering”. One waiter got our order, repeated it aloud and promised to serve it in 15 to 20 minutes. He served it — in 30 minutes. The soft drinks ordered as part of meal were served after we had taken the meal despite being reminded several times. (2) The customer-queuing system is faulty. They are led to the back portion of the place only having to find out that they can no longer be accommodated there. (3) Because of the high demand during peak hours, some special orders are not cooked properly. If this happened to our orders this may also be true to others. (4) Inventory management is also in question. Despite knowing that Sunday is usually a peak day, they sometimes run out of stock. Imagine being told that the reason for it is that it is a Sunday.
Production orientation anchored on a short term strategy may result only in temporary prosperity. This is perhaps one of the reasons why many such businesses in Davao do not survive for long. I wonder how the awards committee on Marketing excellence assessed the establishment in uestion. I hear that such “recognition” is for sale, only to deceive prospective clients as to the real score. Being marketing oriented goes beyond having to sell at popular prices for the sake of achieving high sales for huge profit profit….Marketers ought not to rest on their laurels. They need to delight their customers, make them want to return again and again.
What can therefore be done under such circumstances? Because of the establishment’s earlier tremendous earnings, it should have considered being ISO processed. Total quality management (TQM) systems training must be given priority before it is too late. It must invest in better strategies for delighting its customers. The establishment must be wary of accepting dubious awards.
