operations management

“Whiskey. Wine. Bistro. Friends.”

The East End is a bar and restaurant located at 244 Wickenden St. in Providence, RI. The menu features an extensive whiskey selection, a carefully curated wine and beer list, inventive cocktails, and food options that include shareable bistro fare, elevated bar snacks, and seasonal Rhode Island ingredients. Inside, one will find the newly-renovated space to be inviting and intimate with a nostalgic feel, while the outdoor seating (weather permitting) offers a lush, urban patio lined with potted herbs, succulents and ambient lighting.

Although the dessert items on the menu remain consistent, in theory, during the month the menu is running, there is a discrepancy between the style and specifications of the final product depending on who the baker is on a particular day. For example, the gallette features a rustic house pastry baked with apples, accompanied by vanilla ice cream. On one occasion, the pastry was thick, somewhat dry, and disproportionate to the apple filling and ice cream. However, on a second occasion, the pastry was delicate, tender, and fitting with the overall flavor and size of the dish. By standardizing the pastry dough, The East End could accomplish two desirable results. First, creating an agreed upon pastry formula for both bakers to use allows management to arrive at a consistent, predictable recipe cost and food cost for the dish. Doing so eliminates a fluctuating food cost that may be the result of one employee perhaps over utilizing more expensive ingredients, such as butter or lard. Second, by standardizing the ingredients and method of preparation (MOP), staff can ensure an unfailing, satisfactory guest experience. It eliminates the possibility that guests may have an unpalatable experience that is inconsistent with past visits. Furthermore, future staff walking into the position as baker can feel confident that there are MOPs in place which will guide them in meeting the expectations of guests. This is just one overt example where standardization is needed. Through standardization of components (i.e. pastry dough as a component) management would succeed at stabilizing food costs and assuring quality to guests on any and all days.

The quality of the menu offerings as a whole reveals an area that is slightly off target. The platter section that appears in some fashion every month misses the mark price wise, and generally what the typical guest is coming in for. Although the platters themselves may be of good quality, they are out of place in the urban bistro setting of the East End. Therefore, it would likely be beneficial to hone in on the more popular upscale snack fare and shareable dishes. Although the restaurant has only been open for a few months at this point, there should be useable data to ascertain the most frequently ordered menu items. Additionally, the kitchen staff are also familiar with the items they prepare more than others.

Quality Loss Function

The first failure point has the potential to occur as soon as the guest arrives. Sightlines to the door from the bar and hostess station are clear, but better signage would assist the guest by informing them to wait to be seated. Otherwise, they could possibly assume they must seat themselves. The limited seating at The East End, especially when the patio is closed, could result in the second and third failure points. Often times, guests loiter at their table long after cashing out. This requires savvy staff training that will keep the flow of guests moving on a busy evening. Otherwise, the result may be guests leaving or guests waiting for tables when the space does not permit virtually any standing room by the doorway.

Service Blue Print – Beverage/Bar Order

East End service is very good as customer perspective. They always start with hostess who welcomes with warm welcome greetings and let you in to the restaurants and seats you at the table, handovers the menu, then the server will take care of customer. So here it takes some time of waiting if the table is vacant already. The server is taking order from another table which usually take 5 minutes and that time the new table of customer is waiting for him but still the server is taking the order and punching it into machine that add time in to waiting to take other table order. And after punching, the server will take new table order, and which take same period of time and this time takes with the new table and till that time another new table is waiting for him. At East End there are bartenders assigned for their huge bar and they make drinks for customer. Depending upon the time the server takes to write down the order and he or she is not called to another table, he/she might go ahead and record it into the system, so the bartenders will start making the drinks. The following Blue print is for the current state of the Beverage service and it has some flaws which is very easily managed. The blue print for Future state will exactly say where the time can be saved for an efficient service.

3 M

1 M

2M

4M

2M

15M

5-7 M

30S

10S

Order Placed

Current State

Future State

Here in the future state of beverage service blue print, I would like to add some feature. Likewise, on the host counter, East End should provide the service of vacant and busy table status on computer screen and every table has some kind of order machine which provide all type of information with allergies and information about food and drink. All kind of ingredient data with taste and available special kind of food per requested. Every server should be given an electronic order touch pad so it’s easy to place order from the table where they are standing. They can save the time during this activity. So, there are two types of order like, customer can order to server or they can go with table order pad for their favorite dishes. When the customer having their meal, server should go to table and check everything is fine or they want to something more often. East End service is good but adding this feature, their service would be better and smooth. Here in future state, East End have a very good opportunity to develop themselves for far better status. The East End can also include in technology and a mobile or Computer app where customers can put in their order of Drinks and food before they arrive in the restaurant.

1 M

1M

2 M

15M

1 M

10S

Future State

Order Placed

Process Strategy