Essay

Service Blueprint Assignment #1

Team members (list)

(paste a photo of your group and the organization)

1. Identify the service provider (name, location of the company)

Red Lobster Restaurant

3200 Dufferin Street, Toronto, ON M6A2T3

2. Identify the service process that you chose

Food service delivery and the process of waiting

3. Identify the type of customer (“customer segment”) that the company typically targets for this service process

Generally, the type of consumers who visit Red Lobster are those of a higher income. Red Lobster consumers are African Americans and those of senior age. Consumers at Red Lobster are those who are more likely to buy from the company during larger pantry stocking trips. Red Lobster also targets companies such as Betty Crocker, Blue Bonnet, Ro-Tel among others who tend to make purchases on the same trip.

4. Explain your experience in this service interaction using a sequential (numbered) list of actions / events

1 At Red Lobster, the food is average in appearance

2 Service delivery is terrible because while at the restaurant, it took about 20 minutes before a server walked to us to take our order. Most of the staff worked and moved as though they never wanted to work at the place and some were even served cold food.

3 Their food prices are not so bad although compared to the last time I visited the place, the prices have gone up slightly.

4 The front desk and kitchen area is well organized and clean with minimum complaints at the customer care desk because once the server has taken your order, there will pretty much good service delivery.

5 All in all I can really recommend Red Lobster to anyone who wishes to try exceptional seafood.

5. What support systems (i.e. technology, automated or manual tools or software) were used in providing the service?

Manual options of work life balance have been created to increase employee motivation. Because restaurants operate 24 hours, Red Lobster has designed a shift system that divides day shifts from night shifts. This improved employee morale, motivation and ultimate service delivery.

Salary and bonus potentials are also a different set of support systems that have been presented to Red Lobster employees.

A new system of listening and appreciating staff is a different support system introduced at Lobster. In listening and appreciating staff, Red Lobster has created employee hiring and training programs that improve on communication skills, customer-staff etiquette and rewards.

Technology is another high level support system that has been used to simplify and speed up service delivery. The best management system that has been developed at Red Lobster is that that transmits orders taken at customer-staff level directly into the kitchen and fostered an immediate display or print on screen. This technology does not only make service delivery fast but also reduces the risk in error during delivery because accurate information is transferred to the kitchen. This has helped in instances of complex orders or modified demands.

Red Lobster has also adopted the technology of arming waiters with points of sale thus making them readily available to take orders, pull up checks and cause an increase in table turn.

6. Using a software tool of your choice, create a blueprint of the service process and present it here.

NOTE: You can paste an image or screen capture in this box (if there is enough space) or include it as another page of this document. Make sure that the blueprint is clearly visible.

This blueprint image is a perfect illustration of the screen technology for submitting orders in the kitchen.