SITXMGT001 - Monitor work operations

Assessment 1 – Case Study

Trainee Name

Trainee ID Number

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Submission Attempt Attempt 1 - ☐ Attempt 2 - ☐ Attempt 3 - ☐

Trainee Declaration:
"I hereby certify that:
 This assessment is my own work based on my personal study/research, in my own words.
 I have cited all sources and material used to assist my research for this assessment.
 I have not copied or plagiarized any part of this assessment from another student.
 I or any other student has not submitted this assessment previously.
 I have kept a copy for my own records.
 I am aware of the availability of reassessment consistent with the Institute’s Reassessment Policy.
 I understand my right to appeal the assessment or reassessment outcome, as per the Institute’s
Complaints and Appeals Policy.

Trainee Initials Date

Case Scenario 1

VIT café is located in Abbotsford by the river. The VIT café is open 7 days a week for lunch and brunch. On
the weekend, it attracts a lot of locals because it has great food and a relaxed atmosphere.

You have been running a marketing campaign for Father’s Day to promote a special Father’s Day lunch
menu. Because of this promotion the VIT Café is fully booked for Father’s Day.

As the manager of VIT Café you are required to organise your floor and bar staff to ensure the smooth
running of service on Father’s Day. You are also required to take into account any contingencies that may
arise in a busy service such as:

• Staffing levels – staff may call in sick.

• impatient and demanding customers who want their food to be served immediately.

• The Kitchen may encounter challenges i.e. faulty equipment, shortage of staff or food running out

• The arrival of customers all at once.

• Insufficient time to clear and reset tables.

• New staff who don’t know their job role very well.

At 10:30 am on Father’s Day you and your staff are trying to get ready for the beginning of service.

The café will open at mid-day and customers who have booked are anticipated to arrive between 12 noon –
2.30pm.

Just before the beginning of service you receive a call from a customer named Tom who has a booking for a
table of seven (comprising of 4 adults and 3 kids) he calls to say that he will be running late by at least half an
hour. You also receive a call from a kitchen staff member and a floor staff member to say that they are sick
and will not be coming in for their shift today.

Lunch service has already commenced when Tom and his guests arrive. As the restaurant manager you
suggest to Tom and his guests that they sit outside on the balcony as it’s a beautiful day and this will give you
some more room inside, Tom and his guests were happy with your suggestion and they were seated outside.

While you were setting up the table outside, more pre-booked customers arrive at the same time.

Some of the customers are arriving early for their bookings and some on time. With so many customers
arriving at the same time, it is proving challenging for the floor, bar and kitchen staff to deliver the quality of
service expected by the customers. As time passes some customers are upset as they have been seated for
quite some time and have not received any service.

In the meantime, the kitchen is facing the following issues of their own:

• The deep fryer is not maintaining its temperature thus unable to keep up with the high demands of certain
fried dishes.

• The grill plate burner is worn out on one side & does not heat up properly and evenly.
• The oven is also not maintaining its temperature because the rubber seals around the oven door are loose and
cracked allowing hot air to escape.

Toms table begins to ask about their food orders because the children are getting restless and are starting to
run around the restaurant, disturbing other customers.

They are beginning to get flustered and want their food quickly to settle the children.

Another customer, John, who is at seated at Table no.14 has decided to leave because of the delay in the food
service. He and his guests do not want the meals they ordered. This then creates tension in the kitchen and the
kitchen staff are also getting frustrated and angry.

You pressure the kitchen to hurry the order for the table outside and as soon as their main meals were served,
Tom and his guests are ready to pay for what they had consumed and leave quickly.

Tom presents a voucher for $100. You then process the voucher, apologise again for the delay and wish Tom
and his guests a pleasant afternoon. As you are attaching the voucher to the receipt, you notice that the
voucher has expired, and should not have accepted it. Tom, however, has already left.

Analyse the above scenario and answer the following questions in detail in a written report.

(Not in Point Form)

1. How can you as the restaurant manager of VIT Café monitor efficiency and service levels in the operations
of the restaurant?

As the VIT Café's restaurant manager, it is my responsibility to ensure that guests are satisfied while also
keeping an eye on productivity and delivery performance. The organization of the booking is crucial to
ensuring a reliable experience. By allowing a specific interval between each booking's arrival, the kitchen
staff will have time to process orders. Having extra employees on a busy day is essential since you never
know when someone might need an emergency leave.
2. Taking into consideration the workload of each staff member and their tasks.

 a) How do you supervise the workload of each staff member, keeping in mind not to compromise the
quality of service and to work within the budget constraints of the company staff roster?
 b) List 3 ways you can assign the duties to ensure workplace operations support the organisational
goals and quality assurance initiatives.

a) It could be challenging to oversee each employee, but it can be done by keeping an eye on what's
happening during the service. The restaurant needs a sufficient number of employees, and if any of
the employees fail to perform their duties effectively, I, as part of the management, must offer them some
guidance without causing them any harm. Because teamwork ultimately matters more than anything else,
certain employees can assist employees who are busier than they are.

b) Three tasks could be assigned to making sure workplace operations match company goals and quality
assurance initiatives.
 First, if an area becomes particularly busy, more employees might be enlisted.
 Second, by assigning personnel to the appropriate division based on their qualifications and expertise.
 Thirdly, by ensuring that every member of staff in every division has received the appropriate training
and is aware of their responsibilities and duties.

3. Outline 6 points that should be discussed in a pre-service briefing that would allow your team to prioritise
their workload and meet the demands of the customer at these busy times.

In order for the team to satisfy clients, pre-service briefing discussions are crucial.

 The floor crew should be placed in a certain location that enables them to service particular consumers,
according to the manager.
 In order to recognize which dishes specific clients cannot ingest, the management should also discuss the
menu in particular and the contents themselves. Anything that is out of stock, the head chef's additional
dishes included on the menu, or the daily special. It is essential that the front of the house and kitchen
communicate effectively.
 Thirdly, the manager or any floor staff member must notify the other employees if any dish from the
kitchen runs short.
 The floor workers should be polite and strive to keep the clients as pleased as they can, the management
should encourage them in this as the fourth point.
 Fifth, the manager should discuss the number of guests they expect to receive during the lunchtime or
brunch service, as well as any dietary allergies, etcetera.
 Sixth, the management needs to offer a briefing on the present coupon, informing individuals which and
how to check the coupon that may be approved.
4. Describe an example for each of the following that you as a restaurant manager could provide to your staff
that would help with the above situations.

• Coaching

The restaurant management must ensure that the floor personnel is appropriately trained in terms of coaching.
As an illustration, explain a task to a new employee, watch them complete it, and then provide feedback.

• Support

Regarding support, it is crucial to encourage the person performing a work after introducing it to new
employees, allow them to ask questions, and assist them with any doubts they may have.

• Feedback

When it comes to giving feedback, it's crucial for the restaurant manager to understand how to do it
constructively by outlining all the positive comments first, followed by some suggestions for how to boost the
performance of the team going forward.

5. How could the front and back of house staff work together more effectively?

For them to work effectively, there must be effective communication between the front of the house and the
kitchen. They should be kind and considerate of one another. They must talk to one another and maintain
control of their thoughts in order to resolve any issues. To learn about any issues in each section and
determine the best course of action to address them during peak service times, it is usually a good idea to call
a staff meeting. For each employee to perform more productively, generosity is also crucial. For instance, by
giving everyone a beverage despite it being bustling, the manager would be demonstrating their appreciation
to the other employees. To put it another way, it will demonstrate the manager's friendliness and support for
them.

6. Conduct a debrief of Father’s Day to identify and analyse all problems that arose from an operational and
customer service perspective. Encourage all staff to participate in addressing the challenges they had faced.

Use a table format as shown below and list 5 problems that occurred at VIT Café on Father’s Day and how
they could be resolved.

Include appropriate adjustments to procedures and systems and include short term solutions and longer-term
solutions to rectify the situation.
No
Challenges / Problems Short term solutions Longer Term Solutions
.

e.g. e.g.
e.g.
I had too many tables to tend to Provide more training for less
Have more experienced staff on
1. and could not provide each experienced staff on quiet days so
duty, that will help ease the
table the customer service they are more well trained on busy
workload of the other floor staff.
experience they were expecting days.

Utilize any remaining functional

The temperature of the oven is equipment, such as the grill, Have The oven fixed as soon as
2.
not  maintained. microwave, salamander, or possible.
combination oven.

Make use of the salamander or any

The plate burner doesn't heat As quickly as possible, fix the burner
3. other hot apparatus that is at your
up properly or consistently. for the grill plate.
disposal.

Youngsters are becoming

Serve the children's food first and In the future, the restaurant should
impatient and are causing other
4. enlist parental assistance in provide better and more efficient
customers to become irritated
keeping the children in check. service.
by their antics.

Because of the strong demand When there is too much, remove

for some items, the deep fryer fried dishes from the menu and use Make the deep-fryer repaired as soon
5.
is unable to maintain its the oven or, if possible, a few as you can.
temperature. woks with oil.

7. From your debriefing session in Question 6, discuss the following:

 a) Identify 1 problem that could have a long-term impact on the café, assess this problem discuss it
with your team and come up with a practical solution and how its effectiveness could be monitored.
 b) In at least 200 words, detail short-term solutions for the problems that occurred.

 Some patrons who were seated for an extended period of time and did not receive any service on Father's
Day are dissatisfied. Making clients wait is a problem that might surely have a long-term effect on the
café, as dissatisfied customers are unlikely to return and are likely to tell other potential customers about
the café if they had a terrible experience. So that a workable solution may be developed, it is crucial to
discuss this issue with the team. Given the current workload and the possibility of a sick employee calling
in, it would be a good idea to hire more personnel in the future to address this issue.The staff also has to
somewhat better plan the reservations by making sure they won't arrive all at once. In order to not affect
the service for the other customers, the manager or other staff members should inform anyone who
arrived after the scheduled time that they would have to wait. In order to avoid overtaxing the kitchen and
creating a long line for customers, it's crucial to instruct the front-of-the-house employees to take orders
at the appropriate time. The manager themselves can keep an eye on this to ensure its efficacy.

 Although some consumers are dissatisfied with the service, there is a chance to find quick fixes during
the busiest service period. As an apology, the management could provide a complimentary meal or
beverage, alternatively, a voucher may be offered. It is not necessary for the free meal or beverage to be
pricey. Simply put, it shows how much the restaurant values its patrons. The complimentary food and
beverages may be yesterday's leftovers as long as they are still edible. The voucher is optional as well
because occasionally restaurants will give them away for free as part of promotions or simply because
 they have too many ingredients that are about to expire.There would typically be a fish, soup, dessert, and
pasta of the day. The management also has the option of offering the consumer a discount. Discounts are
very popular. When compared to purchasing the same item at regular pricing, it offers a superior value.
They will feel valued as a result, and they are likely to refrain from discussing their unpleasant dining
experience. They'll feel appreciated as they leave the eatery.

8. Write in an email to Mr Peter Papadoulopos - Owner of VIT Café to tell him about the new technologies
and other innovations that are trending in the hospitality industry that may help improve efficiency and
monitoring of service levels for VIT café.

(e.g. do some research on a POS SYSTEM and what reporting capabilities are available)

(Please attach a copy of the email when submitting the assessment) (min 150 words)

9. A copy of the Daily managers’ report form is attached. You are to fill out the form and include the

following for the Father’s Day lunch service period.

• Sales amount for each table number

• Table 14 – John walked out before their meals can be served.

• Tom from Table 20 used a $100 Voucher. The voucher has expired, and you only realised it after the
customer had left the café.

• In the comment column, leave a detail explanation to explain why an expired voucher was accidentally
accepted.

• Report any staffing issues you had on the day. E.g. Absence, performance issues.

Daily Manager’s Report

Event’s Name: Father’s Day

Service Time: Lunchtime

Sales Amount For Each Table Number: $187. 96 (AVERAGE)

Problem Occurrence: 1. Table 14 – John walked out before their meals

can be served
2. Tom from Table 20 used an expired $100
Voucher.
 3. Low staffing levels 4. New staff’s performing
issues

COMMENT:
1. There are some problems with the food service delay at John's Table. This is due to some of the kitchen
equipment's malfunctions.
2. As a manager, I only now recognized that Tom had given me an outdated voucher after he had already
departed the restaurant. We have sent a letter to Mr. Peter Papadoulopos, regarding the new equipment that
has been requested.
3. We were short-staffed and some employees are now aware that they didn't perform their duties adequately
during that busy period as the staffs are new. More instruction has been recommended and instructed. Overall,
all of the issues have been resolved.