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Name Instructor’s Name Course Date of Submission

A) Identify and visit any service organization you wish (since she uses Starbucks in the article, please do not use them for this question). Using Frei’s model, briefly discuss how that organization has structured their service business by describing how each of the four elements are designed and managed by the service organization you visit. Frei’s (2008) model applies four elements to gauge and assess the quality of service organizations based on the presence of various mechanisms which comprise of the following and have been applied to the case of KFC: 1) The Offering: KFC’s service design is based on the concept of offering tasty fast food to customers in a friendly ambience with good service and cooperate staffing force. KFC offers a range of items in its menu which have a unique taste that can be replicated to cater the needs of millions of consumers across the globe. KFC also offers culture centric food items based on locations for instance the branch in the Middle East may serve rice while the North American chain is largely centered towards fast food delivery. 2) The Funding Mechanism: The menu at KFC is reasonably priced and the company still offers value meals for budget consumer groups such as students. Also, children’s menu is also available which offers a smaller platter for a cheaper price. In comparison with competing brands, the price tag is not too high but sits well with other fast food chains. 3) The Employee Management System: Employee management at KFC is conducted through a hierarchal system where a branch manager is assigned the task of looking after a group of employees which represent a branch. During peak hours, the manager creates teams to cater to customer needs and take their orders. It is an effective system which is based on leadership and the skill set of the manager and how well he/she is able to manage their team. 4) Customer Management System: Management of customers at KFC is automated, ones the cashier punches in the order, receive the payment and generates a receipt, a copy of that receipt is given to the kitchen who is responsible for delivering the order. The server must keep track of the customers that have taken their order and those who are still waiting to receive their order. B) Analyze and comment on whether thefour elements are aligned and all “pull together,” (e.g., are decisions in one dimension supported by decisions in others?) or do they exhibit inconsistencies in the way the firm is executing Frei’s service model.Is the organization focused or are they, in her words, trying to ‘do it all’? As noted by Bitner (1992), the environment in the servicescape must facilitate the customers and the employees alike. Considering the four elements which comprise of KFC’s service it can be noted that they are certainly pulled together because of how they are aligned. As a fast food chain, the company delivers a generalized menu which is based on the model of quick service. Therefore, interdepartmental coordination is imperative. In this regard, the administrative and operational sections of KFC must engage in a collaborative effort to ensure that all functions deliver what is expected from them. For instance, if a specific order arrives at KFC the server has the responsibility of transferring

it to the kitchen and then promptly ensuring that it is served on time. The key for the company’s success in this regard is that it operates in a customer centric business which lays focus on customer perception therefore they cannot afford for the customer to have a negative view of their product. Overall, the company has aligned its four service elements quite well. C) Using Bitner’s concept of “servicescapes,” (see the Week 7/service operations module for the article) does the organization’s servicescapesupport or detract from Frei’s model? Which element(s) of the servicescape? How or why? Is self-service technology present? What jobs is it doing? Does it add or detract from the experience? Comparing the elements proposed in Bitner’s model and applying it the case of KFC it can be suggested that the aspects of servicescape and varied in the case of KFC especially compared to the concepts which have been highlighted by Frei. However, the concept of self-serving technology can be applied to the scenario to a certain degree. For instance, when a customer reaches out to the cashier to record their order, this element is a part of self-service because the servers do not personally attend to customers once they are seated. Furthermore, once the order has been placed the customer is expected to wait at the counter until their food is served and bring it to their table. Therefore, in this case self-service is indeed present at KFC. However, this not does not mean that self-service technology is this regard is fully applicable as within the servicescape it means a number of things. For instance, customers are expected to punch in their orders which is what happens in the case of vending machines, this complete self-service is what servicescape intends to highlight where the convenience is much more enhanced. At the same time, some customers may like to have a hospitable experience when entering a restaurant and expect to be served once they are at an eatery which is eliminated in this case, therefore, Bitner’s idea retracts from the concept of Frei and the latter is more applicable to the case of KFC compared to the former.

D) Queuing: For the organization visited (1) observe and estimate the average service time for 5-8 customers/transactions and (2) observe and estimate the average arrival rate of customers into the organization. Using your estimates, (3) calculate the theoretical average number of customers in the system, the average wait time per customer, and the average utilization rate of the server(s). The concept of queuing is very integral to service businesses because it involves the understanding and estimation of the total time that it takes for customers to get served with their order starting from the point when they first place their order to the point that it is finally delivered to them. As per my observation, the average service time for 5-8 customers is 40 minutes based on a minimum of 5 customers during a normal period wherein it takes about 7-8 to minutes to complete a transaction. The average arrival rate of customers at KFC is also highly dependent on the hour of the day when customer influx is being observed for instance during office lunch hours and at a branch which is

located in a city or a densely populated area about 2-3 customers can enter every 10-20 minutes. Yet again this depends upon whether the peak hours are on that time of the day. As per the estimates the theoretical average customers in the system would be about 80100, the average wait time for customers would be between 5-10 minutes and the average utilization rate of servers is about 1 server for every 10 customers. Overall, the statistics provided for KFC from the point of view of a service landscape are positive.

References

Bitner, M. J. (1992). Servicescapes: The impact of physical surroundings on customers and employees. The Journal of Marketing, 57-71. Frei, F. X. (2008). The four things a service business must get right. Harvard business review, 86(4), 70-80....