McDonalds Customer Service and Training Model - Essay Example

McDonald's service and training model: Meeting expectations DISSERTATION PROPOSAL: Services and duties of a successful chain of Fast Food providers like that of McDonald Group, usually are irreproachable, mainly because their entire business depends on their reputation and fast service. They cater to the needs of a different community that is working, on the move, in a hurry and mercurial. Very rarely people would come to fast food joints to have a real dining experience, for the simple reason that they would rather go to a quiet, dreamy restaurant that would take care of every need of the customer. They would hardly choose a fast-food noisy joint with people rushing in and out of the place, waiters getting under the feet and whole atmosphere oozing out an industrial efficiency rather than leisure and romance. McDonalds have become the byword of fast food industry in the world today. "The company began in 1940 with a restaurant opened by siblings Dick and Mac McDonald, but it was their introduction of the "Speedee Service System" in 1948 that established the principles of the fast-food restaurant." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald%27s_Corporation Unlike usual restaurants, fast food joints have their own pertinent and unbreakable rules. These rules and policies are usually made by the top management and are interpreted and enforced by the Store Manager. Like any other chain businesses, McDonalds too are centrally managed. All the policies and rules are made centrally and the branches and franchises are simply expected to follow them. The least requirement of fast food business is that it has to maintain very high level of service and efficiency throughout to every customer and it should be of unquestionable quality. In addition, cleanliness and safety standards are exceptionally important. Fast food joints manage this through proactive floor control. Rest of all decisions are made by the centre of the organisation, and most of the decisions are foreseen, expected and already clarified. There are a certain differences between the regular restaurants and the fast food joints in every field of management as the requirements differ. This means that the management theories that apply could slightly differ from case to case. More stringent and immediate financial control is maintained over the fast foods as money moves fast in these joints owing to brisk business. It is also true that careful and meticulous control at the spot is impossible in places like McDonalds and as such, accounting should be frequent. They cannot afford to wait for the monthly balance sheet. Profit and loss are controlled by accurate inventory aided by the frequent statistical reports and many other systems like ordering of replenishments on time and much in advance, manpower scheduling for the entire month and sticking to it, and urgent building maintenance, maintenance of supporting machinery, including that could be necessary at a later date. The entire concept of fast foods is that of a 'man in a hurry' as they are catering to men in proverbial hurry. So, equal forethought and time slots are allotted to administrative work, documentation, recruitee training, wage reviews, performance reviews and disciplinary actions and awards, pecuniary or otherwise. Efficiency is linked with the increase in the pace of life, according to Ritzer. It is beneficial for consumers and workers both, as more customers get served and profits are increased. "But as is the case with rationalization in general, and each of its dimensions, irrationalities such as surprising inefficiencies and the dehumanisation of workers and customers, emerge from the drive for increased efficiency," (Ritzer, 2000, p.40). According to him, fast food restaurant 'has helped turn efficiency into an increasingly universal reality'. Ritzer argues that because of the fastness of the food, 'the emphasis on quantity tends to affect adversely the quality of both the process and the result'. For customers eating on the run means having substandard quality food and for employees, work done fast without any personal meaning, and as a result, 'the work, products and services suffer'. There is a lot of difficulty to qualitify the products that are quantified, because 'calculability is clearly linked with irrationability'. It is accepted that people go to McDonald's for 'refuelling'. Inefficiency shows immediately in McDonalds, resulting in long line of people at the counter. It is argued that workers show transparently false friendliness and this results in absolutely no bonding between customers and workers. The famous story about Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald's restaurants, that he always took risks. Even though he required someone with experience in restaurant industry, general business knowledge, and business degree as an added asset, to look after some losing ventures he had taken over, he did not tread the much trodden path to get the individual. He was urgently in need of a person with strong work ethic, good people skills, and dedication. When he interviewed Jerry Caven, an unimportant biology teacher, with dubious background record, whose school had no second thoughts in losing him, all Kroc saw in Jerry was the devotion for a cause. Kroc asked him to run a substantial part of his business and this was taking a Risk and the rest is history. McDonalds have taken risks, taken plunges and reaped success. Today perhaps the most celebrated chain of fast food in the world, they have to follow more traditional ways to spread across their business empire across oceans and regions along with globalisation. Case study will see the efficiency of customer service training process leading to customer satisfaction. For this, taking information and answers from customers and staff members is necessary. Questionnaires and covering letters will be presented to both sets of people for the required information. Objectives of this case study and literature review are mainly to find if the customer service and training models are assimilated into the fast food establishment human resource management methods, particularly within McDonalds and how far the theories and models had been applied. It is necessary to find out if those theories and models had been successful in bringing out highly motivated staff that is successful in customer service. Another objective is to evaluate employee perception of actual service provision and find out customer's viewpoint on the service provided compared to their expectations. Usually customers approach fast food units like those of McDonalds with high expectations of fast service, polite treatment, high quality food, cleanliness, efficient execution of their orders in the accepted inimitable style of the McDonalds legend. Frequently they might have been disappointed. A study like the present one could accumulate their views and pass them on to the fast food units for immediate elimination of any dent in their reputation. The last objective is to see if any future recommendations could be made to the organisation that could help further improvement and planning. METHODOLOGY: The methodology devised for this study is extensive and elaborate. It starts with going through training manuals that have all training schedules, durations and subjects covered. Also planned is studying of customer service handouts, advertisements, menus, plans and any other connected literature. As the main material in support of the study, I will be referring to books, journals, and online materials on recent fast food management topics. I will be going through books on management theories and models on leisure and hospitality management. This study will depend on qualitative research in the form of detailed interviews especially connected with questionnaires. Questionnaires will be targeting the managerial staff and employees of McDonalds. Study will be done on five such units existing in Brighton of London region. With this survey, at least 25 customers will be approached for their views on their experience and impression of the fast food joint. It is reasonable to hope that both the surveys could be conducted on the same day in the same unit, without causing much confusion, by distributing the questionnaires, and with some help from the management, it might not be difficult to be granted an employee free time slot. Ethical guidelines according to the University guidelines would be taken care of. Relevance of Dissertation Proposal to my Study: Talking about the relevance of the study, it is important for my course in Hospitality Management that an in-depth study should be made to assess the success of one of the famous fast food chains in the world. This will hold great significance for further dissertations and assignments. It will be relevant for further work on customer perception or training in the field of hotel management and hospitality. Packed food is fast becoming the part of hospitality trend and is here to stay. CUSTOMER SERVICE In recent years, expansion of McDonalds has created an enormous number of jobs. "Mcjobs have spread throughout much of the economy with the growing impact of McDonaldization on work settings which had previously experienced relatively little rationalization," (Ritzer, 1998, p.59). Fast food restaurants usually have teenage part time employees, most of them below 20 years. This is their first employment and they need training in their jobs. "It is estimated that the first job for one of every 15 workers was at McDonald's; one of every eight Americans has worked at McDonald's at some time in his or her lifeminorities are over-represented in these jobs - almost two-thirds of employees are women and nearly a quarter are non-white," (Ritzer, p.59). Hence, a very high level of training, reasoning and efficiency cannot be expected. For most of the employees, it is a stop-gap arrangement without any commitment. So, the commitment towards the job and respect for the customers naturally will be of a lower level. There is a very high employee turnover rate, because they are low paid occupations and sometimes, the employee behaviour does not suit the McDonald culture. This will result in sacking the employees. Managers rarely look at it as lack of training. According to Ritzer there are five dimensions of McDonaldization. First emphasis is on efficiency. Second is reduction of time associated with the task without compromising on efficiency. Third, is the predictability of the work, meaning the employees face the same situation hour after hour, without any great originality and it should be easier. Fourth is the non-human technologies employed to reduce the workers to robot-like actions. Fifthly, the jobs are becoming irrational, (e.g., dehumanisation) and this has led into job uncertainty and sometimes, even in difficulty in sufficient supply of replacements, which definitely would have an impact on customer satisfaction. He also feels that there are constraints on the behaviour of employees and customers due to McDonald culture. He says there is a range of scripts and subscripts to handle general situations with the customers. This shows lack of training and the employees are mainly asked to deal with the present, abrupt situations. Reading from the script, does not require any particular skill or creativity. 'Not only have employee actions being deskilled; employees' ability to speak and interact with customers is now being limited and controlled.' Another interesting remark Ritzer makes is that McDonalds without paying for the services, leads the customers to perform many tasks like drivers of the car, who perform like paid attendants. They are criticised for the high turnover of the staff and also for paying less to employees in developing countries. McDonalds have always reiterated that as they are offering the 'entry-level' jobs, with required basic skills, employees have to leave for better opportunities. (Royle, 2000) says McDonalds are adept in pleasing all the cultures. They operate within a strict hierarchy that does not really differ due to places in which they operate. The hierarchy in all the countries seem to be almost similar. Part time and temporary work is important for the fast food joints including McDonalds and there are many similarities in the way they function in far off countries. This applies to training, uniforms and principles of basic operations. "The central training centres are also located at the head offices, where training is established for the whole country. All salaried employees, second assistant or above, take their company examinations in either head offices or regional offices, whereas other employees are trained either in the restaurant or at regional offices," (Royle, p.34). McDonald employees have basic pay and an additional pay for good performance, although this is a rare occurrence. Company does encourage the employees to perform well with the customers, though it has always been not successful. Its training model did not attain perfection, because the company feels that with the present kind of turnover, it is not worthwhile in imparting a great training process to the employees who might leave any moment. Most of the employees do not get any in-depth training and most of them receive it at the restaurants, during their working hours. Like any other fast food chains, MacDonald too has built-in controls written within their standard operating procedures (SOPs). They have performance indicators showing decreased or improved performance. They have established service cultures, shared vision, and good teamwork as the inherited part of the organisation. They are also blessed with right conditions, irreproachable guidance, continued flourishing financial health, emotional competence and performance. They are absolutely secure in the splendour of their organisational status all over the world. In spite of all these positive points, customers some times are peeved with McDonalds and here is the relevance of my study. All the mentioned success does not mean that the customer service need not be watched or revamped. As the entire business rests on one major thing called Satisfied and Fast Customer Service, they have to focus on it eternally. Hence, the performance data, profit performance, customer satisfaction and the appraisal rating become very important to McDonalds. Customer service in hospitality business includes many modes like emotional self-awareness and accepting this goal as the social responsibility of the unit. This would need optimism, self-actualisation, happiness, stress control, assertiveness, independence, flexibility, and emotional intelligence. Clarity to understand the service proposition and show the right emotional responses to customers is very important. At the same time, keeping the behaviour to reflect the culture and overall posture of the organisation too is necessary. The right deliverance of critical emotional standard would make certain employees stars of the organisation. If customer satisfaction has not been achieved it could mean that either the training given to the staff was inefficient or irrelevant. It could not be applied to the present situation and hence, was rather remotely connected while putting into practice. This probity will be one of the key areas of my study while the other will be the training provided to the staff. STAFF TRAINING POLICIES: Recruiting and training the staff for hospitability business requires combinations and layers of education, culture, sophistication, willingness to change, a particular polished behaviour, background of decency and honesty and willingness to adapt to the new environment. And these many qualities are difficult to be found in any individual, despite training and coaching. Definitely, there is a need of certain formal education, even though it is not necessary to be of very high quality. This will provide a suitable basis to understand the rather baffling world of fast food units. Another attribute absolutely necessary is the teamwork. Nothing could be achieved in a fast-food place, unless the team is working as one person, as co-ordination and perfect harmony exists in the unit. Like a chain of necessities, this would demand team satisfaction. Team satisfaction and team turnover are imperative for the success of a fast food joint. Proper and suitable articulation, positive and optimistic look at the brighter side of life are essential to be a part of this fast moving environment. There are many critical determinants to find out of the level of efficiency. Major scale of customer satisfaction will definitely have a positive and greater impact on the business. Mostly the emotional competencies of the business are taken care of by the senior leaders of the organisation. One should not forget that there are cultural and geographic dimensions for eating and travelling. While considering the geographical distribution of restaurants or units, taking this need into consideration is necessary. Recently it is told that Macdonald cuisine has combined itself with traditional popular food depending on its location. This brings out the impact of globalisation and steady advertising and popularising the business. Nowadays McDonalds are occupying 'multiplaces' too with combined facilities of restaurant, gallery, art shop, cinema, concerts, fitness places, conference rooms and eateries, and with these revolutionary changes, they have become the most conspicuous of all the food chains. It is also important to note that with this kind of unprecedented changes, how important the training imparted to the staff becomes. It gains the status of a steady base for the whole future operation. Here exists another relevant point of my study. RESEARCH REVIEW: I would propose to do a research review as part of this study, depending on the established and recent material on the subject of fast food industry, and on hotels and hospitality industry. Hospitality service famously comes under the following celebrated definition that encompasses many similar services: "A Service is an activity or series of activities of more or less intangible nature that normally, but no necessarily, take(s) place in interactions between the customer and services employees and/or physical resources or goods and/or systems of the service provider, which are provided as solutions to customer problems," (Gronroos, 1990) (taken from Hsu, 2002, p.18). In the hotel and hospitality sector, training becomes the basis on which the future customer satisfaction exists. Training is a short period of investment that would reap a permanent harvest of good results in the form of customer satisfaction. And hence, objective of a well-designed training course is to improve performance, to obtain better service and retain employees and to facilitate change and administer new and recent policies. "The effect of training on performance has to be considered in three distinct but related aspects, which are: getting the newcomer up to the required performance as quickly as possible; raising the standard of all employees, and facilitating change through re-skilling. Perhaps the most obvious problem of evaluating training is that its effect is over time. Some results are fairly instantaneous but others are long term," according to (Railey, 1996, p.151). Training will also cover the area of staff relationship with the managerial rank. If it has not yet covered this crucial point, it is necessary to cover it in the future training. It is difficult not to agree with Mullins who puts it effectively this is one of the major requirements for customer satisfaction. "The starting point for customer satisfaction is good manager - subordinate relationships. Supportive and harmonious working relationships are more likely to create a working environment which results in high levels of both staff and customer satisfaction," (Mullins, 1992, p. 133). Attracting customers in large numbers had never been a problem for McDonalds or any other known fast-food units. Many surveys have shown that people, that too the younger lot, has shown a marked tendency to visit them, rather than being entertained by regular hospitality centres. The customer - worker relationship had never been a strong one in McDonalds. Customers do not give much thought to the organisation, as long as they are served fast and 'refuelled'. "It is, for example, unlikely that many McDonald's customers see themselves as trapped in a case, although no doubt most of its workers feel enclosed and encaged in their constrictive labour conditions, as evidenced by their especially high turnover rates," (Smart, p.190). Labour conditions at McDonald's had always been unsatisfactory, compared to the international standards and they have always resisted unionisation. "As for its workers and conditions of labour, the McDonald's production mechanism is a conspicuous example of high-pressure, repetitive and low-paid labour, 'minimum wage from cradle to grave', generating extremely high turnover rates. McDonald's is notorious in resisting unionisation and firing workers who try to create a union," (Smart, p.199). McDonald's have created a trend of young and ageless eating. They are considered to be trendy, and thus a fashion signature. "In the developing world, multinational chains are considerably more expensive; they usually are frequented because they are considered chic and somewhat glamorous and because they usually are much cleaner than local eateries" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_food#International_Chains This hype does not mean that McDonalds are beyond reproach or mistakes. This report shows the vulnerability of this fast food giant: "The golden arches, the 100 McDonald's we looked at came in with a total of 136 critical violations. Some didn't have a trained and certified food handler on the job, required by law in many states." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3473728/ They also came under tremendous pressure recently for selling unhealthy food to children. As the food and pitfall awareness grows among customers, fast food units have to be more careful and modify their ways of business. "Fast food chains do not alert their customers to the hazardously high calorie and fat content of the food they offer. They deserve some of the blame for the epidemic of obesity, and lawsuits brought by victims of their toxic food would force these companies to take some responsibility for their dangerous products." http://speakout.com/activism/issue_briefs/1333b-1.html There is a general belief that fast food is here to stay and this shows the importance of fast food in modern world. The significance is growing fantastically and a study into such a organisation gains significance. "During a relatively brief period of time, the fast food industry has helped transform not only our diet, but also the landscape, economy, workforce and popular culture. Fast food and its consequences have become inescapable, regardless of whether you eat it twice a day or have never taken a single bite." http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4166689,00.html McDonalds have surpassed themselves in advertising their food. Whatever the dieters and food watchers could accuse them of today, there is no denying that they are growing in popularity everywhere mainly because their advertisement a sample of which is given here: "By 1888 an English Physician, Dr. J. Salisbury, was recommending cooked ground beef to his patients as a health food - to be taken up to six times a day! Hamburgers we would recognise today, complete with a bun, were being served at the St. Louis State Fair in 1904." http://www.mcdonalds.co.nz/history.htm At the same time, fast food joints have shown remarkable tendency to improve their image against opposition from people who think that fast food is junk food. "The growing trend of healthy, fresh, quick service food is a step towards stemming the international obesity epidemic. With the influence of accomplished chefs, smaller chains that insist on using quality ingredients-like Chipotle Grill, Au Bon Pain, and Fast Good-are the future of fast food." http://starchefs.com/features/trends/healthy_fast_food/index.shtml Still it did not prevent people from taking action against fast food units. Even though it looks rather unfair, these joints had been facing tough times recently. "October 5, 2005: California has filed suit against McDonald's and six other fast food restaurant chains, charging that they have endangered customer health." http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.phpstoryId=4946345 This also shows the importance of immediate research and its relevance. It is all the more necessary to alter the training processes, change the image from a health wrecker to a healthy food chain organisation and win complete customer satisfaction. "During the research for this update, we were glad to learn from quality assurance managers of several restaurant chains that many individual consumers contact them for information about their menu offerings. Thus, several chains had already conducted research into their ingredients by contacting their ingredient suppliers." http://www.soundvision.com/Info/halalhealthy/fastfood.asp This does not mean that the McDonalds have always been highly truthful in their briefings or newsletters, as shown here. "McDonald's says it still is working to cut back on trans fats. It says it has reduced the use of trans fats in its fried chicken offerings, including Chicken McNuggets, and is using replacement oils in some of its foreign locations." http://www.zerotranssoy.com/news_fastfood_pressure.htm and the disappointment comes when one reads the result of another study: "A McDonald's Crispy Chicken Ranch salad with dressing had 11.1g of saturated fat per portion, over half the 20g a woman should eat a day. The survey of the big four - Burger King, KFC, McDonald's and Pizza Hut - also found company information cannot always be trusted." http://www.lse.co.uk/ShowStory.aspstory=US3020204M&news_headline=fast_food_chains_salads_are_unhealthier_than_their_burgers Another reason for good training methods is the recent franchising they had been doing to cope up with the universal needs for their food. The staff members in the franchised places represent the original McDonald culture and so, have to be impeccable in their practices and behaviour. "Franchising has become a popular vehicle for the fast food sector's growth, because the parent firm expands operations with limited capital investment. Most franchises closely resemble large corporate chains - with trademarks, uniform identification symbols and storefronts, and standard products and prices," http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3765/is_n1_v16/ai_14519647 The organisation is expanding and revolutionalizing itself in many ways and it is necessary to have another look on its basic policies. "Looking ahead, analysts said the most significant event for McDonald's likely will be the start of its 10-year exclusive marketing alliance with Walt Disney Co. That alliance gives McDonald's exclusive rights to marketing tie-ins, such as toy giveaways, to Disney movies." http://www.mcspotlight.org/media/press/reuters_19dec96.html They have their competitors to thank for keeping them perpetually on their toes and this has always lead to healthy growth of the organisation. This competition has helped them to have more respect for their consumers. "Looking to capitalise early on the case, Subway, who also run the Blimpie chain, have begun labelling nutritional information comparisons between their products and McDonalds burgers." http://www.greenconsumerguide.com/news717.html Ritzer for his great work on McDonalds has always not been praised. There were many adverse criticisms levelled against him. "Ritzer is also criticized because his work is seen to be not only a description of McDonaldization but a subtle defence of the processes of Fordist rationalization. Ritzer's deployment of Weber's sociology of rationalization offers no recipe for resisting McDonaldization, because the objective is to understand rationalization rather than to counteract the rationalist ethic and its practices," (Smart, 1999, p.98). Further literature review is necessary from primary material. According to Wood, "Although sociological knowledge about work in hotels and catering derives from the disparate body of literature, certain common themes can be discerned. They are: the nature and composition of the hotel and catering workforce; the forms of remuneration prevalent in the industry; and the influence of organisational and status factors on employee's experiences of work," (Wood, 1992, p. 17). Talking about the impact of globalisation on hotel industry and its probable standardizing impact on the world, Go argues: "In relation to the hotel industry, globalisation is popularly understood as a process designed to establish worldwide a hotel company's presence. Globalisation is commonly perceived to have a standardizing impact in that products and institutions originally offered domestically appear on a worldwide scale," (Go, 1996, p. 13). Go is right in emphasising the importance of identifying issues and respond to them immediately to secure their position in the world of competition: "In this dynamic environment, hotel executives can no longer be content to react to corporate developments and external events. Instead, they have to identify issues and respond to them before they threaten the survival of their companies," (Go, p.202). Talking about the complexity of operation in the fast food and hotel industries, (Davis, 1994) says: "All food and beverage operations require a combination of manufacturing expertise and service skill in a business which operates around the clock, 365 days a year, and is busiest when most other businesses are not," (p. 21). With all points and arguments, training and its practices, studies and researches, one small point remains that the right attitude of a person and his aptitude are very important. This cannot be taught directly, but could be induced through right training and encouraging atmosphere that has to be conscientiously created. "Receiving and servicing customers appropriately is not only, or perhaps even mainly, a matter of learning techniques like correct forms of address or introduction. It is much more a matter of basic attitudes that are intimately connected with the way one is treated oneself and one's position in the group to which one belongs," (Mars, 1979, p. 112). After obtaining the results of my study, I would like to make possible recommendations to the McDonalds that could be helpful in eradicating any persisting management melody, if any. BIBLIOGRAPHY: 1. Davis, Bernard and Lockwood, Andrew (1994), ed., Food and Bevereage Management, Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford. 2. Go, Frank M. and Pine, Ray (1995), Globalization Strategy in the hotel Industry, Routledge, London. 3. Hsu, Cathy H.C. (2002), Marketing Hospitality, 3rd edn., John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York. 4. Lewis, Robert C. (1997), Cases in Hospitality Marketing and Management, 2nd edn., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. 5. Medlik, S (1972), Profile of the Hotel and Catering Industry, Heinemann, London. 6. Mars, Gerald et al (1971), Manpower problems in the hotel and catering industry, Saxon House, Farnborough. 7. Mullins, Laurie J. (1992), Hospitality Management, A human Resources approach, Pitman, London. 8. Morrison, Alison et al (1999), Entrepreneurship in the Hospitality Tourism and Leisure Industries, Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford. 9. Royle, Tony (2000), Working for McDonald's in Europe, The Unequal Struggle, Routledge, London. 10. Railey, Michael (1991), Human Resource Management in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry, 2nd edn., Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford. 11. Ritzer, Geoge (1998), The McDonaldization Thesis, Explorations and Extensions, Sage Publications, London. 12. Ritzer, George (2000), The McDonaldization of Society, Pine Forge Press, London. 13. Smart, Barry 1999), ed., Resisting McDonaldization, Sage Publications, London. 14. Wood, Roy. C (1992), Working in Hotgels and Catering, Routledge, London. JOURNALS FROM GLASGOW UNIVERSITY LIBRARY: 1. Online Journals of Hospitality and Leisure marketing. Binghampton, N.Y. Haworth Press. 2. Tourism and hospitality research, London, Henry Stewart Publications. 3. Team performance management, Bradford, England. 4. Managing service quality - online- Bradford, England. 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