SpiceSky Restaurant: Problems and Solutions Report

This report presents a comprehensive analysis of the SpiceSky restaurant, an Indian restaurant in London facing a decline in sales. The report delves into various problems, including declining sales, ineffective advertising, high employee turnover, cost control measures impacting customer satisfaction, and inadequate change management. The analysis explores the root causes of these issues, highlighting the impact of traditional marketing methods, cost-cutting strategies affecting menu offerings and employee morale, and the lack of adaptation to the changing business environment. The report then proposes several solutions, such as embracing new-age advertising techniques, increasing employee motivation, introducing signature dishes, monitoring cost controls effectively, and fostering a more creative approach to business operations. The report aims to provide actionable recommendations to help SpiceSky regain its market share and improve its overall performance in the competitive restaurant industry.

Running head: SPICESKY CASE STUDY
SPICESKY CASE STUDY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Executive Summary
The business environment is very competitive in nature and with respect to this, all the firms as
present in the society, would be required to ensure that they able to meet with the changing needs
of the customers. The restaurant industry is experiencing a great growth rate and this places an
additional burden on the restaurants to perform well and experience a considerable growth rate.
Hence, this report aims to analyze the overall performance of the chosen restaurant named the
SpiceSky and analyze the different problems being faced by it. The solutions for the problems
being faced have been provided in the latter half of the report.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
About the case study........................................................................................................................3
Problems in the case study...............................................................................................................4
Declining sales.............................................................................................................................4
Advertisement problem...............................................................................................................5
Turnover problem........................................................................................................................5
Cost controlling and customer taste.............................................................................................5
Change management....................................................................................................................6
Analysis of the problems.................................................................................................................6
Solutions to solve the problem......................................................................................................10
Involve in new age advertising..................................................................................................10
Increase employee motivation...................................................................................................11
Signature dishes.........................................................................................................................11
Monitor cost controls.................................................................................................................12
Go creative.................................................................................................................................12
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................13
References......................................................................................................................................14

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Introduction
The business environment is highly competitive and with respect to this, it becomes
increasingly difficult for any business organization to ensure that they are successfully able to
maintain their competitive advantage in the long run (Ansoff et al. 2019). However, in order to
survive in the business with respect to the long run of the firm, it would become critically
important for the firms to ensure that they will be able to look out and present themselves with
offerings which are hard to miss out and assist in ensuring that the customers prefer them and
their sales are maintained. In the view of competition, many businesses have taken considerable
measures and have planned to decrease their costs which has led to the fall in the customer
service as well. The report analyzes this issue with respect to recent problems which are being
faced by the restaurant industry. The report will follow a structured format with respect to which
the different problems being faced by the restaurant in the case study named SpiceSky will be
discussed and this will be followed by the recommendation of the certain solutions which can be
largely adopted restaurant in order to improve the scenario.
About the case study
The case study is based on the analysis of the restaurant named SpiceSky which is an
Indian restaurant since the year 1988. The restaurant is located in the heart of the city of London
and has been serving good quality food to the different members since a long time. Although the
restaurant is extremely popular since a long time and has been earning considerable amount of
profits since the last few years, the recent financial year has not been fairly good for it and has
been observing a decline in the sales of the organization. The last twelve months have witnessed
a considerable drop in the sales and hence, the analysis of the different activities of the
organizations becomes crucial. This is more a reason of concern, because the rest of the

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restaurants as present in the city have been performing considerably well and have been
experiencing good profits. In addition to this, even the neighboring Indian restaurants of the
chosen case study have not been facing this decline. Hence, the case study outlines the different
problems which may have had an impact on the firm`s sales. Although the owner of the
restaurant states that, the net profits have been stable due to the cost controller they assigned in
the previous year, they are worried about the sales. Hence, they would like the consultancy to
recommend certain measures to the firm which would help them to come back on the right track.
For this reason, the case study would also require an analysis of the advertisement adopted by the
similar restaurants and the adoption of the same which would ensure that the firm is able to
increase its sales in a similar manner.
Problems in the case study
After the analysis of the case study was done, it was observed that the organization-
SpiceSky has been facing a few problems which has probably lad to the drop in the sales of the
company in the last twelve months. The problems will be briefly highlighted in the following
section. This will be followed by the analysis of the problems in the next section.
Declining sales
The first issue which underlines the case study can be stated to be the declining sales of
the organization. Due to the changing trend or the lack of advertisement as done by the
organization, SpiceSky has experienced a considerable fall in the sales of the firm. In addition to
this, they are also experiencing a less number of customer returns. Some of the customers as
present in the organization were the all time regulars, however, recently this number has been
going down and only few regulars have been visiting the restaurant in order to experience the
change and enjoy the different products which are being sold by the restaurant at large. The

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declining sales can be understood to be one of the biggest concerns of the firm which needs to be
resolved immediately.
Advertisement problem
The next problem which can be stated to be an indirect problem and is being faced by the
restaurant can be stated to be the advertisement problem. SpiceSky makes use of the traditional
means of the advertisement. The different mediums which they made use of can be stated to be
the occasional newspaper spot, local radio, billboards and other such mediums (Armstrong et al.
2015). These mediums are highly obsolete and with respect to this, it can be largely understood
that the restaurant is not being able to reach out to the targeted customers as these measures and
inappropriate in the social media phase. Hence, this lack of advertisement on the side of the firm
can be stated to be the major reasons why no customer is getting attracted to the designated
targeted audience.
Turnover problem
The employee turnover of the organization in the last few years has been considerably
high. It can be mentioned that, an attraction or the popularity of the restaurant can be largely
contributed to the staff members and the bonds which they create with the different customers.
However, as mentioned in the case study, many employees of the firm have left the organization
and the turnover rate has been unusually high. In addition to this, the reason why the employees
have left the organization can be contributed to the cost controller regime. Moreover, it can be
understood that the maintenance of the kitchen staff is of utmost importance to the organization
and this firm has been losing out on its staff as well. With respect to this, as the kitchen staff has
left the firm, the taste of the restaurant may have also undergone a toll.

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Cost controlling and customer taste
Although the cost considerations are a major concern which are generally faced by the
different organizations as present in the competitive business environment, with respect to the
SpiceSky restaurant, the cost considerations have been a major source of concern. As the firm
has employed a cost controller technique, the firm has been required to remove certain dishes
and the typical beer named the Hadia Beer out of its menu. However, it has to be noted that,
many regular patrons of the restaurant tend to visit a restaurant in lieu of certain special dishes
and if these are only removed then it may cause certain problems to the restaurant and
additionally, if they do not find these typical dishes then they may not like to visit the restaurant
again (Ansoff et al. 2019).
Change management
Hence on an overall basis it can be rightfully mentioned that the restaurant has not
undertaken the change management effectively (Aghazadeh 2015). This means that with
changing environment, the restaurant would be required to undergo considerable change and
ensure that they are able to keep up with the change. However, they have not been able to do so
and to adapt to the different changes they have adopted to various cost controlling measures
which have not been proven to be good for the company in the long run.
Analysis of the problems
Therefore, in the above section the different problems which are being faced by the
organization were discussed and it was highlighted that the main sales problem which is being
faced by the company may be largely contributed to the set of problems being discussed,
however in this section, these problems will be analyzed critically (Atwal and Williams 2017).
This critical analysis will then lead to the solutions which may be adopted to solve the different

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problems. The first problem which is being faced by the organization can be stated to be relating
to the low sales of the firm. SpiceSky has been facing a considerable drop in the sales of the firm
since the last few months and the main reason why these problems are being faced by the firm
can be largely contributed to a number of reasons. Firstly, the restaurant in order to maintain its
profits has been undertaking a cost control technique. This cost control technique has led to a
considerable changes in the firm and the firm has had to remove some of the signature dishes
which it had been offering earlier (Bagozzi et al. 2018). Although the restaurant and the owner
believes that this can be understood to be a good decision which would go a long way in
assisting the company to save considerable costs on their side, however, they are required to note
that, in order to ensure success and to attract the different customers to the restaurant, they will
be required to give certain incentives to the different customers which will make them feel
valued. In line of this, it can be mentioned that, the restaurant has also received certain
complaints regarding the lack of the earlier dishes.
The Indian restaurants as present in the United Kingdom attract multicultural customers
but attract the natives of the Indian origin the most. Hence, they often visit the different Indian
restaurants for their authentic taste and in order to get a feel of their country. Hence, with respect
to this, they often expect certain signature dishes which remind them of their homes. With
respect to this, the SpiceSky restaurant would be required to understand that they will need to
maintain their legacy and offer a considerable item on the plate to the different customers to
make them feel comfortable at home. Hence, although the control of the costs is a useful
method, the firm should look out for other methods to reduce the costs like changing the
suppliers and other methods to ensure success. However, as the firm is cutting down on its
offerings to the different customers, the restaurant is facing low sales (Baker and Saren 2016).

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The next problem which was discussed in the above section was related to the Advertisement
problem being faced by the firm. Advertisement constitutes a crucial part of the organization’s
performance and with respect to this, all the firms which are involved in the field of consumer
service, would be required to ensure that they are able to meet with the needs of the customer
and present their offerings to the customers by advertising in the right manner.
Although the traditional marketing is a popular method of advertisement, the restaurant
Spicy Sky would be required to ensure that it is being able to engage in the modern means of
advertising as well. The modern means of advertisement comprise of the means like the social
media marketing, content marketing and the mobile marketing (Aghazadeh 2015). These days,
the different restaurants often tend to invite the different bloggers and ask them to provide them
with reviews which can be used to uplift the brand image of the restaurant. Moreover, social
media marketing is considered to be a good way of marketing for the different offerings.
Additionally as agreed by Baker (2016), earlier, as the social media marketing was not popular,
the different customers attended the restaurant meals due to its popular dishes, however, as the
restaurant has removed its popular dishes due to the cost control, it needs to reflect the other
offerings on the internet. Travelling to the international destinations has increased considerably
for the different Indians and if the restaurant is successfully able to make itself popular on the
social media, then it would be successful in ensuring that even the new age travelers and the
youngsters would be visiting the restaurant.
Once they are able to experience the taste and legacy of the restaurant, then they shall be
successful in ensuring that the restaurant is able to increase or rather maintain its sales. The third
problem which is being faced by the restaurant is the problem related to the employee turnover.
Turnovers are a common part of the organization and with respect to this, all the organizations

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often face issues related to the turnover (Chernev 2018.). However, the SpiceSky restaurants has
been recently facing the issues related to the increased employee turnover. A major reason
related to the increased employee turnover is the cost control mechanism. In order to control the
costs of the firm, the cost controller team, has been taking considerable measures but this has had
an impact on the overall welfare of the organization. With respect to this, the different customers
who were the regular patrons at the organization has been facing a low footfall. The employees
are the main assets of the organization and with respect to this, they have the considerable power
to influence the different customers (Kotler et al. 2015). Hence, with respect to this, as the
different employees have been leaving the firm, they have not been able to maintain the rapport
with the older customers which will assist the firm in maintaining the overall image in the eyes
of the customers. Moreover, as mentioned in the case study, the organization has been facing
problems related to the high turnover of the kitchen staff. The kitchen staff forms a crucial part
of the organizations and with respect to this, it becomes increasingly important to ensure that the
same kitchen staff is maintained as it assists in maintaining the overall tastes in the menu as
present. The older the cook is, the better it is for the organization to maintain its image.
Hence, the cost controlling has to be measured and the staff has to be supported
throughout so that the brand name of the organization can be uplifted throughout. Lastly, due to
the business management, the organization has been facing various problems and it can be
clearly stated that, the organization was required to work as per a change management plan. The
change management plan would have gone a long way in assisting the firm to face the different
changes and assisted the employees in ensuring that, they were able to face the different changes
which took place within the realm of the firm.

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Hence, it can be rightfully stated that, these were some of the problems which were
generally faced by the organization. Most of the problems which were being faced by the
SpiceSky were mostly internal in nature and related to the change management which took place
in the organization at large (David and David 2016). However, there were certain external factors
as well. The other Indian restaurants which were present in the same location of London, were
using the different means of social media marketing and other modem techniques of marketing in
order to reach out to the different customers. They have daily offers for the regular visitors and
special offers for the different tourists as well. Hence, this coopetition which is received by the
SpiceSky has led to a considerable downfall of the sales of firm and hence, considerable efforts
have to be taken to ensure that, the organization is able to meet up with the competition as
present and will be able to increase its sales and overcome the problem of the lowering sales.
Solutions to solve the problem
From the above analysis, it could be rightfully understood that in order to ensure success
in the long run, the firm needs to undertake considerate efforts. Hence, the following solutions
can be rightly taken up by the organization named SpiceSky in order to improve the overall
condition of the organization. The solutions which can be taken up by the organization can be
stated to be as follows:
Involve in new age advertising
SpiceSky needs to ensure that it will be successfully able to engage in the new age
advertising. This means that, the organization would be required to let go of the old day
advertising and media and instead invest in a larger promotional budget (Kotler et al. 2015).
Earlier, the firm only involved itself in traditional marketing techniques like the billboard
advertising, local radio and the newspaper advertisements, currently it needs to go beyond these

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measures and invest heavily in the social media advertisement, in this manner, they will be
successfully able to conduct and attract the different target members easily (Lasserre 2017).
Once the firm will be able to get involved in the new age advertising and also engage in the
activities like content marketing, only then it will be able to ensure that, it is able to meet up with
the new age selling criteria and additionally, it will also be required to meet up with the
competition who have been offering more promotional techniques
Increase employee motivation
Reducing the employee turnover needs to be considered as a critical action which is
required to be taken up by the organization and in lieu of this, the business would be required to
ensure that, it is being able to motivate the different employees to perform well. If the employees
are engaged into the overall management of the organization then they will be easily able to
ensure that, all the business needs are met with (Meyer, Neck and Meeks 2017). Moreover, the
regular employee turnover has an impact on the costs of the firm as well, hence, for this reason,
the organization needs to ensure that it is successfully able to engage in with the different
employees so as to ensure that it will be able to make a rapport with the different customers and
in addition to this, it will be able to build up the loyalty of the organization in the eyes of the
different members
Signature dishes
Keep signature dish days on is successfully able to control the different costs of the firm,
the different organizational members would be required to ensure that they are successfully able
to provide the different customers with all the dishes which they require (Moutinho and Vargas-
Sanchez 2018). In addition to this, if the cost stands as a consideration with respect to the
organization, then the signature dish system will assist the firm in ensuring that they are able to