Restaurant Management Report: Spritz it Up - A Reflective Analysis

This reflective report provides a comprehensive analysis of the management practices employed at the 'Spritz it Up' restaurant. It begins with an introduction to the service industry and the importance of customer satisfaction. The report outlines the restaurant's vision, which encompasses financial goals, customer-centric strategies, internal business processes, and learning and growth objectives. It then delves into the operational aspects of the restaurant, including menu planning, sales tracking, inventory management, operating procedures, and staff hierarchy. Data analysis, based on key performance indicators, is presented, covering financial, customer-related, internal, and growth-related metrics. The report includes a description and interpretation of the experience gained in managing the restaurant, along with an evaluation of team and personal performance. Guest satisfaction is assessed, and future suggestions for improvement are offered. The report concludes with a summary of the lessons learned and the overall impact of the experience.

REFLECTIVE REPORT
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
The vision...................................................................................................................................3
Restaurant Management.............................................................................................................3
Data Analysis.............................................................................................................................4
Experience description and interpretation..................................................................................4
Evaluation of team and personal performance...........................................................................5
Guest Satisfaction.......................................................................................................................5
Future suggestions......................................................................................................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................5
References..................................................................................................................................7
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Executive Summary
Food and beverage industry are a thriving sector that is subject to some serious management
and quality regulations. It is a part of the service industry which is focused in providing
services that can be encashed. This is the sector that is most volatile as restaurants and
eateries come up and go down within limited time. It all depends on how the resources were
managed and their ability to please their customers. The following study is reflective report
discussing the way “Spritz it Up” restaurant was managed. It includes the visions that all of
us looked forward when managing the restaurant. It acts a basic plan for how the restaurant
will be managed. In the next section various aspects of restaurant managed were looked into.
Performance indicators and the set targets have been provided to gain a better idea about our
management process. In the end our personal and team experiences have been summed along
with future suggestions for the restaurant.
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Introduction
The service industry is a customer-oriented industry where service and quality matter the
most. The food and beverage businesses also form a part of the service industry and cater to
serve to the masses. It is important to note that culinary preferences of the people are highly
varied. As a result, the products and services provided to them should be well researched and
based upon the possibility of finding a market. This would ensure that the service they
provide is readily availed by the customers and provide a source of income. The following
report is a reflective account of our experience in managing a restaurant called “Spritz it Up”.
The vision
A basic objective was planned before starting the restaurant. This objective acts a vision that
would guide us and keep us on the right track (Zhao, 2016). It was divided into 4 parts:
financial vision, customer-based vision, Internal business processes, learning and growth
vision. Our financial and operating objective was to reduce the costs of production and
overall service. This would in turn maximise our profits and increase our sails. However, it
financial gains should not be at the expense of service or quality of food served. We aim to
provide our customers with the highest level of satisfaction possible by charging them
reasonable amount. This would ensure that we are able to collect a hoard of loyal customers
who would prefer our restaurant over others (Gim et al. 2019). Improving overall experience
of the customers, including the environment, location and serving time is the key to making
their experience memorable. The customers today are highly responsive and take into account
all the minor details. As a result, the overall experience needs to be managed to ensure
customer satisfaction and loyalty. The turnover rates in newly opened restaurants are high as
the competition is ample and servers can find alternate employment much more easily.
Turnover rates should be decreased by starting employee satisfaction program where every
staff of the restaurant is treated personally (Han et al. 2016). It is also essential to provide
them training and counselling that will not only increase their loyalty to the business but also
enhance their expertise. The standards of the restaurant will be increased and the staff would
lesser amount of time to cater the customers. Learning through the experience and making
improvements is a sure shot way to growth and continuous development (Ryu and Lee,
2017).
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Restaurant Management
Catering high quality service and products involves detailed management process in which all
the involved people are highly dedicated to their responsibilities. Any instance of
carelessness can reflect on the overall service. In addition to this most customers do not give
second chances to a restaurant after they have had a negative experience (Lee et al. 2016).
The following aspects were considered during the management planning and has been
discussed as follows.
 Menu- The menu is perhaps of foremost importance in a restaurant. It needs to be
decided with care based on the preferences, socio-economic background of the people
and the profit margin (Parsa et al. 2025). We have decided for a continental fast food
theme along with salads and shakes.
 Special Menu- We specialise in continental cuisines including Italian, American and
Mexican. Our pizzas and risottos have come off as the most popular dish. We plan to
add of other more exotic dishes in the menu as our business gears up. This would
decrease the risks involved in introducing a high-priced food item with which the
customers are not acquainted (Sumaedi and Yarmen, 2015). Once they have built a
trust on our culinary capabilities, we will include such items.
 Tracking sales and costs- The operating costs include inventory management costs,
and other in-house expenses and staff salaries. The sales during the first and second
week have been closely monitored. The food purchases for the first week was about
524.57 CHF and for the second week it was 373.61 CHF. The profit in the second
week was low as the number of complimentary beverages sold for promotion was
high.
 Managing inventory- Inventory management refers to the practice of keeping the
stock of raw materials required to cook the dishes updated. Inventory management in
food related businesses are of important as the items are perishable and require certain
specific conditions for storage (Gordon and Brezinki, 2016). Regular checks have to
be performed to ensure that the items are in proper condition to maintain the standard
and hygiene of the food items. Th e weak opened with food items including bread,
meat, rice, dairy products, vegetables and fruits worth 373.61 CHF. The beverage
inventory opened with 656.99 CHF.
 Operating procedures- Every restaurant has their own operating processes which is
an important management process but also set them apart from their competitors in
the eyes of the customers (Choi et al. 2018). In the service industry, most of the
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operational processes need to take place before the eyes of the customers. As aa
result, it is necessary that there is a sense of finesse and expertise to it.
 Staff hierarchy- The restaurant is managed by a restaurant, serving and housekeeping
staff. They have been arranged in teams and their shift last for a weak before the other
team takes over. The kitchen staff consists of one chef, one sous chef and four servers.
 Marketing and promotions- The marketing and promotion about the restaurant was
conducted over social media platforms, cold calls and emails and posters. However,
most of our customers had come know about the restaurant through word of mouth
from their acquaintances (Saeed et al. 2016). For promotional purposes various
beverages and combos were provided. This may have decreased our profit margin but
helped us to gain new customers.
Data Analysis
The key performance indicators were also divided into four groups of financial, customer
related, internal and growth related. This was in accordance to the balance scorecard method.
The food cost was to be lowered by a 12%. This would be achieved by decreasing the
wastage, better management of food and gradually decreasing the amount of food served (Lee
et al. 2016). Also, the offers and promotions can be provided to encourage the sale of dishes
that are made of products that perish at a faster rate. This would also cater to increase the net
profit margin (Heo, 2016). The promotions would increase the sale of the goods and food
management will decrease operating costs. Customer satisfaction report relay that the overall
service is fine that means that there is capability among the management system to provide
better service. A satisfaction survey score of 90% is targeted within the course of a month
when the next survey will be performed. We aim make our guest loyalty better and make
them prefer our restaurant at least 3 time in a month. We plan to acquire 10 new customers
through marketing and promotional schemes (Wen et al 2018).
Experience description and interpretation
The overall experience gained over running and managing a restaurant is significant. It shows
how theoretical concepts and understanding is incomplete without practical experience. the
pathway to success is through maintaining accurate and updated records of the resources
involved and being able to manage the data (Rey-Marti et al. 2016). This allowed us to take
informed decisions and be aware about how the business operation was fairing. This
information also allows one to predict the next situation with varied level of success. We did
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not have to face any complications in our business period. However, our sales profit in the
second week were comparatively lower than the first week (Gikonyo et al. 2015). This was
because the promotional drinks costed much and depleted our inventory. This was an
ingenious method of alluring customers. However, we need to be more focused in gaining
new customers also and maintaining them.
Evaluation of team and personal performance
The team was able to function well together. No major conflict of interests arose and the
minor ones were solved professionally. At first, we were divided over what the concept and
cuisine of the restaurant should be (Palos-Sanchez et al. 2018). We decided for the
continental cuisine over other more unique and exotic ones available as it was thought to be
associated with lower amount of risks. I have learned the importance of working in team and
communicating. Fluent channels of communication are very essential within a restaurant as
best service needs to be provided within the least amount of time. Also, most channels are
open and occur before the eyes of the customers as a result, they need to be professional all
the time (Wang and Hung, 2015).
Guest Satisfaction
Guest satisfaction is the second most important performance indicator. We would be able to
continue with the business if we can balance the operating costs and the sales to have a high
profit margin. The second condition is that we become popular among our customers. We
have managed to gain greater number of customers than was initially expected. However, it is
also necessary to keep them satisfied and interested enough (Butler and Surace, 2015). We
were able to make them feel welcomed and they liked at an average 4 products from our
menu. This is a good start for the business but we would need to increase it significantly. We
were most noted for the variety and quality of drinks we served and the sales of the drinks
were higher than that of the food items (Poldrugovac et al. 2016). Our desert and ice-cream
section were least liked by the guests.
Future suggestions
It is clear that we would need to include more food items and exotic dishes in the menu. Our
drinks section overpowered our main course. This is favourable initially as it builds up the
sales. However, it is not sustainable in the longer run. Moreover, the restaurant also needs to
think of a concept for creating an environment inside and the menu items need to go along
with it. Our service effectiveness also needs to be improved so we are able to serve a greater
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number of customers in less time (DiPietro, 2017). Also, as the number of customer increase,
more staff need to be hired to work in accord. However, the space within which they function
remains limited. As a result, better communication and operational channels need to be set up
that are able to account for increased number of people.
Conclusion
In can be concluded that, the whole experience was memorable and educational. Restaurants
require highly efficient operational system where the staff are trained and in sync with one
another. There is a direct link between different departments and they need function within
the same space. Moreover, the customers are alert to the minute details about the setting,
service quality and the food quality. They serve as the ultimate stakeholder of products and
service. Therefore, it is necessary that their overall experience with the restaurant is pleasant
and memorable. During the management of “Spritz it Up” restaurant this vision was kept in
mind. We set up a management plan and performance indicators that would be used to
measure and set target about the business. The initial week was comparatively better than the
second week. We acquired greater profit in the first week whereas the second week was
focussed more on promotional offers. It may have curtailed our profit margin, but gained up
more customers.
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