Service Quality Analysis: A Comparative Study of Two KFC Stores

This report presents a comparative analysis of two KFC stores in Melbourne, focusing on their service encounters. A mystery shopping technique was employed to assess various aspects, including staff appearance, speed of service, cleanliness, and product quality. The study reveals similarities in cordial greetings and staff presentation but highlights differences in cleanliness, service speed, and menu variety. The KFC store on Bourke Street demonstrated better cleanliness and faster service compared to the Melbourne Central Food Court location. Recommendations are made for the Melbourne Central Food Court store to improve staff efficiency through training, address billing counter technical errors, and expand menu options to enhance customer satisfaction. The report concludes that prioritizing service quality, promptness, and product quality are crucial for customer retention in the competitive hospitality sector. Desklib provides various study tools and solved assignments for students.

Running head: MANAGEMENT IN SERVICE SECTOR
Management in Service Sector
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

1MANAGEMENT IN SERVICE SECTOR
Executive Summary
The hospitality industry is growing significantly along with the passing time. As the
demand of these industries are growing, the competition amongst the industries involved in this
sector are also increasing. Hence, it is easily understandable that delivering constant and high
quality service is highly important in order to sustain in the competitive market. In addition to
that, in order to excel these industries need to take up constant changes and upgrades. In the
present report, a thorough and comparative study has been doneregarding the differences
between two similar hospitality businesses that are offering similar products. The chosen
business for this report is KFC. A thorough comparison of two KFC stores has been done. The
similarities and differences are then analyzed and proper recommendations have been given for
the betterment of the store that is lacking in customer service.

2MANAGEMENT IN SERVICE SECTOR
Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................3
Overview of the Company...................................................................................................3
Description of Service Encounter........................................................................................4
Comparison (size, location, layout, physical characteristics)..............................................5
Analysis...............................................................................................................................6
Recommendation.................................................................................................................7
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................8

3MANAGEMENT IN SERVICE SECTOR
Introduction
In the hospitality industry, the relationship between consumer satisfaction and consumer
retention is regardedas having highest importance (Hennig Thurau, 2013). The factors that
influences customer satisfactions arehave been subjects of multiple researches for a long time.In
the resent scenario, satisfying ad retaining customers are becoming highly important due to the
ever increasing competition (Sun, Wilcox & Zhu, 2014). It has been noticed that along with
passing time, the hospitality industry is growing significantly and the consumer base for these
industries are ever increasing. Hence, these industries are trying to excel in their service
providing, innovation and maintenance (Torres & Kline, 2013). It has also been noticed that the
hospitality sectors that are capable of attracting, maintaining and satisfying their customers are
more likely to survive and succeed in the cutthroat competitive market. In addition to this, it has
also been noticed that the organizations involved into the dynamic hospitality sectors are in need
of maintaining consistency in their services (Zhang, Zhang & Law, 2013). The present report
will hence focus the two different stores of a leading hospitality business. The chosen food chain
is KFC, and the study will observe and compare two stores of KFC located in Melbourne.
Overview of the Company
Kentuky Fried Chicken, popularly known as KFC is a fast food serving restaurant chain
that has its specialization in fried chicken. Initially, started operating in the United States, KFC
has become one of the leading fast food chain in the global market. In the Australia, the brand
has more than thousand outlets. The giant fast food chain thrives to deliver consistent and quality

4MANAGEMENT IN SERVICE SECTOR
products to its consumers. The mission statement of the company specify their motto of selling
fast food in a friendly environment and to appeal to the consumers who are pride conscious as
well as being health conscious. Hence, it can easily be understood that the fast food giant not
only aims to capture the consumer base who are health conscious, but also the consumers who
are aware of their status. However, by analyzing the mission statement of the company it can be
said that the organization has set up its primary focus on the products itself and does not focus on
the market, technology, self-concept as essential component of the company’s mission. Hence, it
is clearly understandable that KFC is more focused on product quality and uses it as their
marketing tool. The offered menu consists of a variety range of fried chicken, sandwiches,
wraps, bucket meals, desserts and beverages.
Description of Service Encounter
The present study hence will focus on the difference in service in two of the prominent
stores of KFC located in Melbourne. To perform the research a group of five people has been
made, who has opted for mystery shopping technique in order to perform service encounter of
both of the locations. In both of the cases, the group has visited the outlets on two consecutive
Wednesdays, during the lunch hours.The group has visited theKFC Bourke Street Melbourne on
first Wednesday and on the second Wednesday; they have visited KFC Melbourne Central Food
Court.In both of the stores, the group has ordered three Zinger and Chicken Big meal boxes, two
Honey BBQ Chicken, one double crunch sandwich, one KFC Shrimp burger, three Oreo
Milkshakes, one strawberry milkshake and one blue berry ice cream. In order to perform the
research effectively and avoid any discrepancy, both of the visits have been kept similar.
However, at KFC Melbourne Central Food Court, they were served with blueberry milkshakedue

5MANAGEMENT IN SERVICE SECTOR
to unavailability of strawberry milkshake. As they fast food chain offers discounts on
Wednesdays, the group has decided to opt for that day to monitor if these offers differs from one
store to another. Another reason behind visiting these stores on Wednesdays is to monitor the
services of both these stores during rush hours.
Comparison (size, location, layout, physical characteristics)
Both of the KFC stores that the group has visited are located in the prime location of
Melbourne. As a result, both of the stores enjoy huge crowd both on weekends and on weekdays.
During the Wednesdays, the stores witness huge crowd during the lunch hours. The discounts
offered by the stores are also being helpful in crowd pulling. In addition to that, the location of
these two stores are also being helpful in the business. However, the primary difference between
these two stores, which is noticeable even before visiting, is the difference between their working
hours. The KFC store located in Bourke Street Melbourneremains open for a shorter span of
time, if compared to the other one. The Melbourne central food store opens at 11 a.m. in the
morning and closes within 8 p.m. whereas, the store at Bourke Street remains opens at 10 a.m. in
the morning and remains open nightlong in the weekends and for the weekdays it remains open
until 10 p.m. at night. This flexible timing of the Bourke Streetmakes it easier for the customers
to opt for the store. In addition to this, the store at Bourke Street comes with the better parking
facilities than the one at the central food store. However, it is noticeable that the Central food
store, in spite of being smaller in size, has a good floor plan. In both of the stores, the entrance is

6MANAGEMENT IN SERVICE SECTOR
wide and the counter for placing order and billing is near to the entrance. Both of the stores are
spacious and the tables are placed keeping ample space for free movement.
Bourke Street Store Central Food Store
First service encounter The staff members cordially
greeted immediately after
entering the store
The group was greeted cordially
after entering
Staff appearance The appearance of the staff
members were professional and
they were well dressed with neat
and clean uniforms
The staff members were wearing
neat and clean uniforms and had
professional approaches.
Speed of service The group was provided with a
prompt service
Service took a long time
Taste of product The food items were served hot
and tasted good
The taste of the food items were
good
Ability of staff to answer set
question
The staff members were able to
answer most of the questions
Staff members were able to
answer all questions that have
been asked
Cleanliness The waste baskets were
overflowing
The store has maintained
cleanliness. However, the
tableclearance took time.
Billing Prompt billing facilities Took time due to
malfunctioning of card punching
machines
Attentiveness The staffs were attentive. Took
orders for food promptly and
efficiently.
Attentive staff members.
Immediate response to
customers’ needs.
Product Quality Maintained good product quality Maintained good product quality
Product variation Greater variety in menu Lesser variety in menu.

7MANAGEMENT IN SERVICE SECTOR
Analysis
Based on the above survey, a thorough analysis of these two KFC stores can be done.
From the above comparison, it can be said that the service encounters of these two stores are
satisfactory and do not differ much from one another. By entering in both of the stores, the staffs
greeted the group members cordially. Along with that, in both of the stores, the staffs were well
dressed and the uniforms they were wearing wee neat and clean. It has also been noticed that the
staffs maintained the necessary cleanliness while making the foods and delivering them. In order
to nullify any chances of contamination, the staffs were wearing gloves and head masks.
However, the Bourke Street food court could not maintain the cleanliness. After entering the
store, the group has noticed that the waste baskets at Bourke Street Food outlet are overflowing.
On the other hand, the Melbourne Central Food Court has maintained the cleanliness of the store.
Though the group has noticed that at the Melbourne Central Food Court the staff members took
time while cleaning the tables, it can be overlookedas the store was over crowded and the staffs
had to tackle a huge number of customers at a time. In Melbourne Central Food Court, the group
has experienced that the orders that have been made took time to bedelivered. Moreover, the
store has lesser variety of food items if compared to the other one. In opposition to that, the KFC
at Bourke Street has a very prompt service and greater variety of foods. While analyzing the
difference between the these two stores, it can be said that in hospitality industry customer
satisfaction is to be held as of highest importance. Issues such as cleanliness,prompt customer
service and quick billing are some of the factors that create an immediate impression on the
customer. Hence, after analyzing these factors it can be said that the KFC store located at Bourke
Street, is better when compared to the Melbourne Central Food store.

8MANAGEMENT IN SERVICE SECTOR
Recommendation
After performing the survey and the analysis of the service provided by the two KFC
food stores located in Melbourne, it can be said that the KFC store at Melbourne Central needs to
focus more on providing better service to the customers (Sabir et al., 2014). The analysis
suggests that prompt service helps in creating a quick impression on the customers (Boo, 2017).
The store henceshould focus on increasing efficiency of the staffs. A thorough training can be
providedto them regarding efficient and quick managing of during rush hours (Binsar Kristian
2014). In addition to this, the store must overcome its technical error in the billing counter.
Along with that, the store must look after the matter of increasing the variety inmenu.
Conclusion
To conclude it can be said that the in order to satisfy and retain the customer base, any
hospitality business should bring and employ strategies to satisfy the customers. Better service
quality, prompt actions and quality products are the primary factors that can help in bringing
customer satisfaction. In addition to this, the efficiency of the staff members and their
professional approach helps in bringingcustomer satisfaction. A proper planning and strategic
implementation are needed in this regard.

9MANAGEMENT IN SERVICE SECTOR
References
Binsar Kristian, P. (2014). Analysis of Customer Loyalty through Total Quality Service,
Customer Relationship Management and Customer Satisfaction. International Journal of
Evaluation and Research in Education, 3(3), 142-151.
Boo, H. V. (2017). Service environment of restaurants: findings from the youth
customers. Journal of ASIAN behavioural studies, 2(2), 67-77.
Hennig-Thurau, T., & Hansen, U. (Eds.). (2013). Relationship marketing: Gaining competitive
advantage through customer satisfaction and customer retention. Springer Science &
Business Media.
N. Torres, E., & Kline, S. (2013). From customer satisfaction to customer delight: Creating a
new standard of service for the hotel industry. International Journal of Contemporary
Hospitality Management, 25(5), 642-659.
Sabir, R. I., Irfan, M., Akhtar, N., Pervez, M. A., & ur Rehman, A. (2014). Customer satisfaction
in the restaurant industry; examining the model in local industry perspective. Journal of
Asian Business Strategy, 4(1), 18.
Sun, B., Wilcox, R., & Zhu, T. (2014). Ignoring your best customer? An investigation of
customer satisfaction, customer retention and their financial impact. Profit Maximization
Through Customer Relationship Marketing: Measurement, Prediction, and
Implementation, 87.

10MANAGEMENT IN SERVICE SECTOR
Zhang, Z., Zhang, Z., & Law, R. (2013). Regional effects on customer satisfaction with
restaurants. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 25(5), 705-
722.