Week 10 EOC: Top Restaurants in Vegas

WHAT RESTAURANT AND FOODSERVICE CUSTOMERS SEEK

Restaurant and foodservice customers buy products, service, and an overall dining experience. To provide excellent service, managers must understand the elements all customers seek when they make restaurant and foodservice purchases:

• • Quality products

We had a wonderful time, the restaurant was pretty busy, they have their 3 course offering and we had the primerib, each tried a different appetizer, and salad and soup. All of it very nicely presented. The server very attentive and not rushed. Portion size is very ample. The prime rib was very good and one just how we like it. We'll be back.

• • Quality service

No disappointments here
And the staff is fabulous!!

• • Cleanliness

Both the food and the service were very good. The prices are moderate and the restaurant is clean and quite.

• • Value

Fine Dining @ Reasonable Price

It seems like a whole different world. A very classy operation.

My honest opinion: You are better than Ruth Crisps.

Your prices are very reasonable.

My wife and I think you are the best in all of Las Vegas, period!

• • Total experience

wow..what a great dining experience.....food ,service and atmosphere all perfect...steaks,chops,appetizers and the service ...5 stars.....our server J P ...WAS JUST THAT ...PERFECT....thank you for a great time

Week 9 EOC: Why Tipping is Wrong

Though most wait staff basically "live" off of their tips, the reason why they say that is because their boss doesn't pay them enough. Sometimes wait staff gets paid below minimum wage. "... tipping, Jayaraman says, isn't merely problematic in its current, contemporary context. The practice is abhorrent from a historical perspective, too" (Jayaraman).  Tipping was based on not fully paying employees the minimum wage. The national average for tipping is $2.15 per hour. It greats a two-tiered system. "of the seven lowest paying jobs in America, four are tipped occupations. So even including tips, restaurant workers make up four of the ten lowest paying jobs in America" (Jayaraman).

When rich Americans traveled to Europe, they wanted to show off just how much they had learned from the country. Back in the 1850s and 1860s, they tipped 15-20% for restaurant workers, which make up 75% of the workforce when it came to employees that were tipped. The other 25% were employees of nail salons and valet. "... that freedom to exercise discretion, to leave as little or as much as you wish--is why tipping has flourished as a social institution." (Surowiecki). As someone who loves tips for gas, In-n-Out, or getting coffee from Starbucks, tipping should be banned because no one should be making below minimum wage. We should follow California and the other 7 states that have banned being paid below minimum wage, especially for tipped workers.

There are some systems of tipping where employees are paid $4.00 per hour plus tips.  If their tips don't match up to the minimum wage that is set at $8.25, then every hour they work is $4.00 per hour. That's a crappy way to work. Getting rid of tipping can help everyone legally and makes sure everyone gets paid.

Week 8 EOC: First Three Quotes

"Deals or specials: Short-term price reductions are offered on a certain product for a specific period of time. Restaurant and foodservice deals or specials often consist of a free meal with the purchase of a select entrée." (158)

"Media professionals are always looking for good news stories. Many of them will be interested in developing a good relationship with a local restaurant or foodservice operator. But, as with all of their marketing efforts, managers need to focus their efforts on reaching their target market." (167)

"An entertainment district is a collection of restaurant or foodservice establishments, nightclubs, and music venues grouped in one geographic area that attracts a large number of customers. When an establishment is located in an entertainment district, the district itself can become an integral part of the PR campaign." (173)

EOC Week 6: Setting Menu Prices

"Secondary information provided from external sources may also be of value as managers research current and relevant information that may help them shed light on the marketing issues they seek to address." (51) When it comes to setting up a price, it helps to figure out what people are willing to pay for certain menu items. You would never charge someone $30 just for a steak at a casual diner. A full steak meal, consisting of starch and a serving of vegetables, should cost around $15-$20, not including drinks. Customers are always looking for good value when it comes to eating out. "Value is the difference between what customers get when they buy a product or service and what they pay to get it. All customers desire good value. But good value is ot the same as low price. In fact, when products or services are sold at prices so low it is not possible to deliver good quality, it is usually not possible to deliver good value." (7)

When it comes to selling items at low prices, I can see that as both good and bad. I mainly think this because the world isn't as black and white as we want it to be. "... if an owner plans to open a quick-service restaurant (QSR) featuring hamburgers, he or she should explain whether the proposed restaurant's pricing structure will place it in the lower, middle, or higher range of its competitors' pricing structures." (101)The world is depressing because of all the gray spots in it. The good part from selling at low prices is that you can bring in customers because of the low prices and good quality of food, rather than having it at a high price and feel that it was worth it. The bad thing about having to sell items at a low cost is that you need to keep he customers rolling.

Week 4 EOC: Chipotle Come Back Recommendations

"Because restaurant and foodservice establishments sell both services and products, sometimes it can be a challenge for managers to determine why consumers choose one establishment over another.(76)" Being a personal consumer of Chipotle, the only reason I go there is for the oversized burritos. I only ever get the oversized burrito, that spills out the bottom because the tortilla can't completely contain the delicious insides of the burrito, because it has completely redefined what it means to be a burrito. Burrito is basically a protein, beans, rice, pico, and whatever else you want. They've just kept adding more filling beyond what expectations are supposed to be. "If an operation has succeeded in creating a high level of name recognition among its target market, it has achieved a significant goal. However, the operation must do much more. (131)" 

If it came to a recommendation for Chipotle for making a comeback from their downfall with the foodborne illness scare, I'd have to suggest a completely different name. When you have a scare such as that, you've completely destroyed your customers. "It is important to recognize that people forget things easily. Names, places, and dates are among the things most easily forgotten, which means that building name recognition is a constant process. (131)" 

It may sound extreme, but giving up the name is probably the best choice. You can make all the promises you want about being more careful about cross-contamination with your meats, but when it happens twice -- we all know that saying "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." and you'll completely lose all your customers. It's hard to build up your customers. They were successful with that, but now they'd have to build it up all over again, which will probably be the biggest risk. 

Week 3 EOC:Psychographic Stadium Food

When doing a psychographic analyses, it can be tough to tell what your customers can want. "One useful definition states that lifestyle is the patterns in which people live and spend time and money. This definition is helpful because it sees guests in terms of how and what they buy. (65)" Doing a little research, I've seen that a crazy food item in ballparks are fried bull testicles. Not that it sounds appetizing, but it does sound something worth trying at least once, especially when being with friends who get a few drinks in and double dog dare you to try it.

A famous ballpark food is hotdogs. Which ball park doesn't sell hotdogs/corndogs? Something that's convenient, and nothing too daring. "Managers should determine whether customers eat at their establishment because it is convenient for them or because dining at their establishment is the reason they go out. (67)" convenience is key in today's society of getting from point A to point B in minutes because there just isn't enough hours in the day. In this situation, you're at a ball park game so there's no need to rush, just get to your seat with your snacks and you'll be fine, but being comfortable with what you get keeps people happy.

"Are customers returning? If not, managers must ask why, and then take actions to correct this problem." On the topic of bull testicles, some people may not want that. It may go down the toilet, might bite back because no one would dare try something so disgusting and unappetizing. Sometimes it may be wise to only sell those kinds of dishes when you anticipate a huge turnout during finals so that you know you may sell a few dozen of bull testicles and hope someone might be crazy enough to try it.

Week 2 EOC: Themed Restaurant

"One way to better understand the power of pricing is to examine the concept of consumer rationality. Consumer rationality is the tendency of buyers to make their buying decisions based on their belief that the purchase will be of direct benefit to them."  When making a concept that is completely new, innovative, or unique, having potential customers to come in can be very difficult. To some people, it may seem like something that they might be interested it. "The process of selecting a target market can be thought of as a series of decisions that focus on markets with the most potential." For example, eating sushi off naked women. I love sushi, and I love naked women, so I'd want to eat there without hesitation. Eating from a toilet may not sound appetizing, but people go there because of its interesting concept. Toilet seats, toilet dish bowls you eat from, all that may sound fun, something to talk about, an experience you may not forget. When it comes to something different, it's difficult to think of that. One idea is to not dine on the ground, but to dine in the sky because it's completely different. You're not used to dining outside 50 feet above ground strapped to your seat while you eat a full course meal, or launching a flaming chicken in the air while a waiter catches the flaming chicken with a spiked helmet... while riding a unicycle. "In the French establishment example, a manager probably could not have targeted people who like French food and a formal dining service in a very small, isolated town because the number of potential customers in this market segment is too small to be profitable."All crazy ideas that make us think what is truly innovative and new to our perception of dining. Eating with the dead, not literally, but wherever this is, they dine in a graveyard. Whoever thought that up must've been a psycho, but it's something some people might like to try. 

Week 1 EOC: My Voice

Cooking came easy to me as soon as I read my first recipe: Chili. Seeing all the other cohorts struggle, I looked at them and questioned “how and why is this so difficult.” Seeing as how cooking came natural to me and how I breezed through the recipe, I knew at that moment that this is going to be my passion and something that I can make my profession. Over the years I have been cooking, I’ve truly escalated through the skills after starting from little to none. What I see coming into the culinary world is a lot of stress, screaming, anger, and many barriers to go over. This is something I can do and I look forward to it. As a culinarian of the future, and technology advances, there might be even more challenges, or make the job even easier to perform, but when it comes down to what will actually be used in the kitchen might be a different story. Sometimes technology can’t perform what humans can, or machines will take our duties, making finding a job that much more difficult. All of that, to me, just means I have to work that much harder to combat the unknown. We have to push ourselves beyond the limit, break down, and try harder next time. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Week 1 EOC: My Voice

Cooking came easy to me as soon as I read my first recipe: Chili. Seeing all the other cohorts struggle, I looked at them and questioned “how and why is this so difficult.” Seeing as how cooking came natural to me and how I breezed through the recipe, I knew at that moment that this is going to be my passion and something that I can make my profession. Over the years I have been cooking, I’ve truly escalated through the skills after starting from little to none. What I see coming into the culinary world is a lot of stress, screaming, anger, and many barriers to go over. This is something I can do and I look forward to it. As a culinarian of the future, and technology advances, there might be even more challenges, or make the job even easier to perform, but when it comes down to what will actually be used in the kitchen might be a different story. Sometimes technology can’t perform what humans can, or machines will take our duties, making finding a job that much more difficult. All of that, to me, just means I have to work that much harder to combat the unknown. We have to push ourselves beyond the limit, break down, and try harder next time. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Week 1 EOC: My Voice

Cooking came easy to me as soon as I read my first recipe: Chili. Seeing all the other cohorts struggle, I looked at them and questioned “how and why is this so difficult.” Seeing as how cooking came natural to me and how I breezed through the recipe, I knew at that moment that this is going to be my passion and something that I can make my profession. Over the years I have been cooking, I’ve truly escalated through the skills after starting from little to none. What I see coming into the culinary world is a lot of stress, screaming, anger, and many barriers to go over. This is something I can do and I look forward to it. As a culinarian of the future, and technology advances, there might be even more challenges, or make the job even easier to perform, but when it comes down to what will actually be used in the kitchen might be a different story. Sometimes technology can’t perform what humans can, or machines will take our duties, making finding a job that much more difficult. All of that, to me, just means I have to work that much harder to combat the unknown. We have to push ourselves beyond the limit, break down, and try harder next time. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Week 1 EOC: Great Customer Service

Most great customer services might come from a restaurant or a clothing retail store from the employees from either establishment. My customer service experience comes from the Henderson Auto Mall. I drove my sister there to get her oil changed and I sat in the parking lot while waiting for her to finish up. I got bored, walked around, looked at the Scion car selections and the Director of Sales came up to me and asked if I was looking for anything in particular. I told him "Oh, I'm just waiting for my sister for her oil change, I'm just looking around to pass the time," and he replied "Well if you wanted to pass the time, why don't we test drive something?" he went in through the doors, came out with keys in his hand, stood next to the Scion XD's passenger door, and he handed me the keys. First of all, who would trust a 20 year old with a performance car, second, it's a standard transmission. He said not to worry, just get in the car and I'll teach you. I learned how to drive a manual transmission, and bought a car that very same day. I was just waiting for my sister to get her oil changed and I bought a car. Maybe I was sucked into buying a car with his marketing strategy, but whatever strategy he used, it worked. "Ineffective salespeople may jump too quickly into a sales pitch, but the best performers are patient and wait until they understand the customer’s needs before presenting their operation’s features and benefits." (Human Resources, Quality Service & Training, Hospitality & Restaurant Marketing p.141) Patience was this guy's game. Three hours of test driving and I was sucked into buying a car and the service was just amazing. I got a free oil change, topped off on the fuel I used, windshield wiping fluid, coolant, and any problems I have, I can always ask the director of sales and he will cover any small expense. It wasn't just a service I received, I received a bond.