The Duke of

Quessex
Consultancy report by ACE Consulting

Kyra Docter 13372882

Lauryn Jackson 12198390 For this consulting report, ACE Consulting did not take COVID-19 into
Diede Kraaij 11050802 account. We believe COVID-19 is a short-term problem and we would
Gabriele Landi 12287393 like to focus on the long-term profitability for the Duke of Quessex.
Jimin Lee 12056405 1
 Inventory management
Main problems: Delivery day of the stock; Standard weekly order is not sufficient for demand; Prices of the beers are too low

Recommendations:
The current delivery day of the stock is Sunday. However, Sunday is a busy day and it takes a long time for the staff to carry the stock from
the storeroom to the cellar. Our recommendation is to change the day of delivery of the stock to Tuesday morning before the bar opens.
Henceforth, the staff will have enough time and workforce to carry the stock from the storeroom to the cellar.

Additionally, Monday is the least busy day of the week, so we propose the Duke of Quessex to close on Mondays. On Mondays, sales
only account for a tiny percentage of the total sales per week (2%). Additionally, closing on Mondays means the Duke of Quessex can
save staff salaries and utility costs. As calculated in Appendix 2, the pub normally generates a loss of £121.82 every Monday.

Furthermore, the standard weekly order of Ponciebiera, Chateau du Plonk, and Mutton Porte comme L'Agneau should be increased and
the stock order of Ol’ Dirty Badger should be reduced.

Change weekly stock delivery:

28 Barrels Ol’ Dirty Badger
63 Barrels Ponciebiera
79 Barrels Chateau Du Plonk
79 Barrels Mutton Porte comme L’Agneau
44 Barrels Fizzy Pop
2
(See appendix 3 for further explanation & calculations)
Finally, the prices of the Duke of Quessex’s beers should be based on a
cost margin of 30% (Starner, 2020). This means that the prices for The Duke of Quessex is expected to save £13,383 per
Ponciebiera and Ol’ Dirty Badger have to be raised. With this increase, week as a result of the change in procurement and
prices will still be competitive with other pubs in the region and far below increased beer prices, as shown in Table 1 in Appendix 5.
the average price of £4.02 in Sussex (Mirror, UK, 2019). Hence, the pub
can still offer cheap beer and satisfy its customers.
Total sales old policy £20,567
Total expected sales new policy £36,718
Change beer prices:
Total wholesale cost old policy £9,808
Total wholesale cost new policy £12,576
Ol’ Dirty Badger £3.00
Ponciebiera £2.50
Chateau Du Plonk £2.50 Positive financial impact £13,383
Mutton Porte comme L’Agneau £2.50
Fizzy Pop £1.50
(See appendix 4 for calculations)

As a result of these price increases, ACE Consulting does not expect

a decline in the number of sales. Beer is relatively price inelastic in
the UK, so a small price increase will not withhold customers from
consuming beer in the Duke of Quessex (Sousa, 2014). In addition,
as customers also mentioned, people prefer to pay a higher price for the
beer and be sure there is enough beer in stock. 3
 Restaurant
Main problems:
1. Unreliable opening hours;
2. By 10 or less reservations the restaurant closes;
3. There is no room for walk-in guests: the restaurant puts out the exact number of table to fit the reservations;
4. There is no standard menu: the customers are asked in the morning what they want to eat and the chef has to buy the ingredients on a local
market > expensive, some ingredients are not available, chef has no experience with the dish, dishes differ in price each day

Change opening hours

Open Tuesday - Sunday from 6:00pm to 11:30pm.
We recommend the restaurant to close on Monday. As seen in the data, on Mondays, the booked tables are very low. Therefore, cost-wise it would be
better to close on Monday, especially as we recommend the bar to close on Mondays as well.

Standard table setting

Example of standard
In the restaurant there is room for 110 guests per shift. There are usually two shifts per table setting
evening which makes a total capacity of 220 guests per evening. If the company sticks to a
standard table setting there is also room for walk-ins. Additionally, guests are still able to
make a reservation. This can be done with a phone call, but we also suggest creating a
website with an online booking system. Creating a website costs around £200 and
maintaining the website costs £50 per month (Website Builder Expert, 2020). Research
has shown that an online booking system will increase revenues by an average of 37%
(Webflow, 2020). 4
Implement standard menu
Example standard menu
The restaurant should offer a standard menu to their customers. In this way,
the ingredients can be bought in advance at the wholesaler and this is
cheaper than buying food at the local farmers market. Now it costs the
restaurant £7.50 to prepare a meal, when the ingredients are bought in
advance this will be £4 per meal. This will save the restaurant £1,372 per
week (see Appendix 6 for calculations). Next to this, with a standard menu
there will no longer be different prices per day for the same dish and the
chef has enough experience to prepare and cook the meals.

An example menu is provided on the right. This is based on comparable

menus of restaurants in the area of Sussex (TripAdvisor, 2020).
Additionally, ACE Consulting would like to conduct a small survey about
customers’ dining experience. The questions of the small survey can be
found in Appendix 7.

5
 Human Resource Management

Inadequate use of human resources

This can be broken down into three sub-problems in the Duke of Quessex’s HR management:

Problem Source of problem / Evidence of problem Implications for Quessex

Inefficiency in The bar is reported to be understaffed on busy weekends (Fri-Sun) Increased customer wait times and thus
staff-hour utilisation and overstaffed when quieter mid-week dissatisfaction as well as staff fatigue

Incompetence Possibility of procedural training required: It currently takes two Tasks completed inadequately and/or slowly which
staff members two hours to move new stock to storeroom cellar results in a loss in productivity
every Sunday

Lack of teamwork and “Useless great lump of a chef” - Mellanie Lay (Restaurant Critical lack of inter-coworker trust and a positive
trust within staff/ Manager) workplace culture results in dissatisfied HR and an
“It’s been an absolute nightmare” - Alex Dean (Bar Staff) inability for staff to reach maximum productivity
“I’m close to packing up my stuff and walking out the door” -
Nicholas Fox (Chef)
6
Restructuring of Human Resource Management:
1. Performance monitoring through regular observations, meetings and peer reviews can ensure
staff are completing tasks effectively, are competent, and well-fitted to their current position
2. Staff roles can be shifted around to find better fits; for example, switching bar and restaurant staff
3. Staff can undergo training if deemed necessary to improve productivity

Restructuring of labour usage:

1. Reducing bar staff on call on Tues-Thur
2. Increasing bar staff on call on Fri-Sun
(See appendix 8 for an example roster and the financial implications of restructuring)

Inter-staff team-building training:

Team-building workshops can create a positive corporate culture and provide a pleasant work environment,
which increases worker productivity and satisfaction, in turn being reflected in the customer experience
(Bartlett, Probber & Mohammed, 1999). Appendix 9 describes the costs for such trainings and other
productivity enhancing trainings.
7
 Customer engagement
Main problem:
NEW
The smoking ban issued on July 2007 has had a significant impact on business; smokers have SMOKING
significantly decreased their visits to the pub. AREA

Recommendations:
Build an outdoor smoking area shielded from rain and cold temperatures and sheltered from the sun. In
ordinary circumstances, the area should be able to accommodate up to 30 people.
It should be in line with ‘The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development)
(Amendment) (No. 2) (England) Order 2008’.

Create outdoor smoking area:

Benefits:
Option 1 (£1,550-£2,000): Option 2 (£2,550-£4,250): By creating an outdoor smoking area, the pub is able to
Set up 2 waterproof parasols Build a pergola (£1,500-£3,500), 4 target a significantly large new customer group (smokers).
(£500-£750), 4 patio heaters patio heaters (£500-£600), tables Additionally, it creates a competitive advantage over those
(£500-£600), tables and chairs and chairs (£400), other (£150- pubs in the area without a smoking area. We expect, on
(£400), other (£150-£250) £250) average, a 10% increase in customers visits during the entire
Time to set up: 1-2 days Time to set up: 3-4 days week (proportion of current smokers in Quessex is 15%),
which would lead to a 10% increase in sales accordingly.
Table 1 in Appendix 5 takes into account this sales increase.

Possible table/heater setting 8

 Digital Customer Loyalty Program
Main problem:
The pub, often unable to meet customers’ expectations, has seen a decline in customer visits, followed by a decline in customer loyalty.

Recommendation:
To attract new customers and build loyalty and strong connections the pub should implement a loyalty program. Research shows that 68% of
customers are ‘somewhat’ or ‘very likely’ to visit pubs/restaurants that offer loyalty programs (Stubbs, 2020). Nowadays, going digital is a much
more effective way to engage with customers. We recommend the development of a ‘loyalty app’.

The app (main features):

● On the app customers will be able to access a frequency loyalty program. Customers can make use of a digital
punch card. The digital card has 10 ‘holes’, customers get a hole ‘punched’ for every pint of beer they buy. The
11th beer is free.
● The app will be able to send push notifications to registered customers whenever there are special deals or the
pub is hosting a special night.
● Customers will have to register to enjoy the app benefits. Thus, the pub will be able to gather information and
preferences of customers and thus offer personalized deals. For example, the pub could give customers a free
beer/discounted meal on their birthday.
● Customers will be able to book/reserve a table on the app.
● The app should include a customer feedback portal, that is a very effective way to gain insights on the pub doing
and make changes and improvements accordingly.
● Staff need to be trained to become high-performing loyalty program/app advocates; this service is provided by the
app developers (Stamp me, 2020).
9
 Digital Customer Loyalty Program
Core Advantages of an app:

● Nowadays, consumers are very aware of business Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives
(Sardianou at al., 2017). Digital punch cards are more eco-friendly than paper punch cards.
● Personalised deals: research shows that people coming to redeem their items end up
actually purchasing more products (Knexus, 2016).
● The pub will definitely be able to attract young customers. Furthermore, as research shows,
nowadays a great majority of seniors are smartphone users (Metev, 2020).
● Easy to gather information for future marketing campaigns and possible improvements
through the use of the feedback portal.

Financial analysis:

● The frequency program encourages people to visit frequently and buy in substantial
amounts.
● It creates a competitive advantage over other pubs, thus consumers will be less inclined to
switch.
● The app cost ranges between £30 and £90 per month, depending on the amount of features
the pub would like to implement (Stamp me, 2020).
● The free beer/special deals cost for the pub is irrelevant: people coming to redeem their
prizes actually end up buying more products.
● We forecast an increase in sales between 15-20% due to the attraction of new customers,
above all younger customers, and more regulars and loyal customers.
10
 Take-aways

● Adjusted inventory management & increased sales as a result of

outdoor smoking area: Positive financial impact of £13,383 per week

● Standard table-seating & fixed menu: Fixed menu could save £1,372
per week

● Restructure labour usage of bar staff & implement inter-staff

team-building trainings

● Creation of an outdoor smoking area: Increased sales of 10%

● Digital Customer Loyalty Program: Increased sales between 15-20%

ACE Consulting strongly believes the proposed solutions best contribute to

increasing the revenues, leading the Duke of Quessex to meet its profit targets.
11
Appendix (1)
Roadmap for implementation

12
Appendix (2)

Cost breakdown for Monday

Type of cost Total cost per Cost on Monday Total costs on Monday £533.16
week

Manager salary £540 £77 Total sales on Monday £411.34

(£540/7 days)
(£20,567 x 2%)
Staff salaries £1,260 £180
(£1,260/7 days)
Loss of £121.82 every Monday

Utilities (electricity, £570 £80

water, etc.) (£570/7 days)

Wholesale cost £9,808 £196.16

(£9,808 x 2%)

13
 Appendix (3)
Calculation of new weekly order of beers:
The calculation of the new weekly order of beers is based on the “Typical breakdown of sales by week for a small country pub (The Quessex
Publican, October 2008)” and “Graph 1 - Total weekly beverage sales” of the case. As shown in the pie chart, the typical sales for a country pub are
on Friday 31% and Saturday 32%. However, looking at Graph 1, the total weekly sales of the Duke of Quessex are on Saturday far lower than the
sales on Friday. We believe the reason for this is that on Saturday the Duke of Quessex has run out of 3 of its most favored beers. So, to change the
weekly order of beers, we look at the difference of sales of beers between Friday and Saturday for the 3 most favored beers. In addition, according
to Alex Dean, Sunday is also a busy day at the Duke of Quessex. Nevertheless, the sales on Sunday are also disappointing, probably due to the fact
that there is no stock left. Lastly, ordering less Ol’ Dirty Badger will reduce the standing stock and beers that exceed its shelf-life, saving costs.
As a result of the proposed outdoor smoking area, ACE Consulting expects the sales to increase by an additional 10%. This is also taken into
consideration for the weekly order of beers.

Expected weekly sales (with No. of pints per barrel New order of barrels
outdoor smoking area)

Ol’ Dirty Badger 2,431 88 28

(28 * 88 pints = 2,464 pints)

Ponciebiera 5,467 88 63
(63 * 88 pints = 5,544 pints)

Chateau Du Plonk 2,838 36 79

(79 * 36 pints = 2,844 pints)

Mutton Porte comme L’Agneau 2,838 36 79

(79 * 36 pints = 2,844 pints)

Fizzy Pop 1,045 24 44

(44 * 24 pints = 1,056 pints)
14
 Appendix (4)
Calculation of new beer prices:

Wholesale Current selling Healthy selling price (30% Final selling price
price price cost margin)

Ol’ Dirty Badger £0.90 £2.20 £3.00 £3.00

Ponciebiera £1.00 £1.50 £3.33 £2.50

Chateau Du Plonk £0.80 £2.50 £2.60 £2.50

Mutton Porte £0.80 £2.50 £2.60 £2.50

comme L’Agneau

Fizzy Pop £0.25 £1.50 £0.83 £1.50

The price for Ol’ Dirty Badger should increase to £3.00 per pint and the price of Ponciebiera should increase to £2.50. Even though the healthy
selling price for the Ponciebiera beer is £3.33, it is more attractive to have a lower selling price than the healthy selling price and keep a small
discount to stimulate sales. The prices for the Chateau Du Plonk and Mutton Porte comme L’Agneau have been rounded off as these selling prices
seem more attractive to customers. Lastly, the healthy selling price for Fizzy Pop is £0.83; however, ACE Consulting prefers to keep the price at
£1.50. Fizzy Pop is selling quite well at £1.50, so it would not be logical to decrease the price, which would mean lost revenue.
(Starner, 2020)
15
 Appendix (5)
Financial impact changes
Pints No. of Total Shelf-life Wholesale Total Sales Total Expected Expected Expected sales
per barrels no. of (days) cost per pint wholesale price sales weekly sales income (revenue
barrel drinks cost (new) value sales - cost)

Ol’ Dirty Badger 88 28 2,464 7 £0.90 £2,217.60 £3.00 £7,392 2431 £7,293 £5,075.40

Ponciebiera 88 63 5,544 7 £1.00 £5,544 £2.50 £13,860 5467 £13,667.50 £8,123.50

Chateau Du 36 79 2,844 21 £0.80 £2,275.20 £2.50 £7,110 2838 £7,095 £4,819.80

Plonk

Mutton Porte 36 79 2,844 21 £0.80 £2,275.20 £2.50 £7,110 2838 £7,095 £4,819.80
comme L’Agneau

Fizzy Pop 24 44 1,056 14 £0.25 £264 £1.50 £1,584 1045 £1,567.50 £1,303.50

Total sales old policy £20,567 Total wholesale cost old policy £9,808
Total expected sales new policy £36,718 Total wholesale cost new policy £12,576

Positive financial impact £13,383 All amounts per week 16

Appendix (6)

Calculation of saved costs due to the implementation of a standard menu.

17
 Appendix (7)

To properly adapt the menu to the customer needs we would like to ask 30 customers to fill out a small survey on their
dining experience:

Questions:

1. What meal(s) did you order? And would you order it again?
2. What would you rate your meal out of 10?
3. Do you think your meal was good value for money?
4. What did you think of the service at The Duke of Quessex?
5. Is there any meal that would you like to see added to the menu?
6. Do you have any other remarks?

18
 Appendix (8)

Example bar staff roster:

Financial Implications:
We expect a weekly expense of
£2,370 on wages based on an
estimation of 237 staff working
hours per week and an hourly
wage of £10 (not including
managers wages, holiday pay and
bonuses).

The data in the case suggest a

weekly expenditure of £1,260 per 3
staff members (not including
managers’ pay). However, we
believe this data is not reliable and
assume this expenditure to be at
least double per week.

Therefore, we project a cost

reduction in bar staff wages as a
result of the recommended
reshaping of the staff rostering
system.
19
Appendix (9)

Financial Implications of Staff Training:

Training Type Projected Cost per Participant Paid Staff Time Required (varies
depending on participant)

Bartending £30-£250 1 hour - 3 working days

Waiting/Serving £40-£100 3 hours - 3 working days

Managerial £400 3 working days

Team Building £95 1 working day

*All training courses can be completed online and in-person depending on requirements of the Duke of Quessex and of the participants

20
Appendix (10)
Deep-dive in the advantages and disadvantages of the Digital
Customers Loyalty Program. ● Furthermore, as research shows, nowadays a great majority
of seniors are smartphone users and the percentage of the
● The frequency program encourages people to visit
frequently and buy in substantial amounts. 65+ using smartphones is increasing every year (Metev,
2020)
● Nowadays, consumers are very aware of business Corporate
Social Responsibility initiatives (Sardianou at al., 2017). ● It will be easier for the staff to identify regulars and to
Digital punch cards are more eco-friendly than paper punch manage reservations. Loyal customers act as brand
cards. advocates.

● Personalised deals: research shows that people coming to ● Easy to gather information for future marketing campaigns
redeem their items end up actually purchasing more products and possible improvements through the use of the
(Knexus, 2016). feedback portal.

● Cost effective: it helps retain customers. It is said that it is 7 ● Only 46% of the 65+ group age are smartphone users.
times cheaper to retain a customer than to acquire a new However, this percentage is increasing every year and the
one. It creates a competitive advantage over other pubs, thus current pandemic have accelerated digital literacy (Metev,
consumers will be less inclined to switch (Wheelhouse 2020).
Advisors, 2015)

● It is also more practical for customers who don’t always have ● The app cost ranges between £30 and £90 per month. The
to bring with them their paper card. cost to offer free beer/special deals. However, people
coming to redeem their prizes actually end up buying more
● The pub will definitely be able to attract young and seniors products (Davis, 2020).
customers. According to research, 94% of people aged
18-29 use smartphones, 73% of people between 50-64 years ● We forecast an increase in sales between 15% and 20%
use smartphones (Metev, 2020).
21
 Appendix (11)

RACI

R - Responsible
A - Accountable
C - Consulted
I - Informed

22
 Facilitator: Lauryn Jackson
Appendix (12) Inventory management and Finances: Diede Kraaij
Restaurant: Kyra Docter
Staffing and Human Resources: Jimin Lee
Team performance (halfway reflection) Customer attraction: Gabriele Landi
Process:
At the beginning of this consulting project, we divided the roles and scheduled two weekly Zoom meetings with our team. We allocated
the tasks each week and went from there. Additionally, we have a group chat in which we discuss new findings and help each other
with the content and questions.

Six Lookings Model:

Backwards: The teamwork and our consulting agreement were good. We all worked together, finished the consulting agreement
before the deadline, and mutually decided on the steps we wanted to take. However, we set a deadline for ourselves to have the RACI
finished, which we, unfortunately, finished two days later than we anticipated.
Upwards: The client seemed happy with our consulting agreement. He was looking forward to seeing the questionnaire on the dining
experience worked out in our appendix.
Outside: We have informed and consulted with our stakeholders, as our RACI model suggests. They were happy with our proposed
solutions and are excited to see how it will turn out.
Forward: We aim to finish the slides and the presentation by the end of September, which puts us right on schedule. We also plan to
have an extra zoom meeting with our group in the first week of October to discuss things over and talk about the video presentation.
Downward: The team is extremely motivated and enthusiastic about our proposed solutions. Everyone agrees that these solutions are
going to have a positive impact on the Duke of Quessex. We only experienced one minor discussion in the beginning on the roles we
were going to take, but once it was clear to everyone, this was quickly resolved.
Inwards: I am very enthusiastic about my team’s proposed solutions while I try to remain impartial. I sometimes find it difficult to only
focus on the process instead of the content, but it is going very well.
23
Team performance (end reflection)
What went well?
The communication in our group went really well. I think this is due to the two weekly meetings that we scheduled with our consultants
and that we set clear deadlines for ourselves when we wanted to finish the project. The motivation in our team was also very good, it
made it a lot easier that we divided the roles at the start. Everyone could focus on their tasks and could dive into improving each
problem which made things very efficient. The facilitator also entered every Q&A session with the client to gain a better insight into the
problems regarding the Duke of Quessex. Everyone also asked for feedback on their problems which helped a lot in finding solutions
and being creative.

What went less well?

It was quite hard for the facilitator to only focus on the process and leave the consultants to work on the content. However, the
facilitator only once stepped in to help the consultants with some calculations and focussed on the process for the rest of the project.
Another thing that did not go so well was sticking to our own deadline of finishing the PowerPoint by the 28th of September. This was
partly due to one of our laptops breaking and also because this deadline was too fast as some of us had midterms.

Where are you in the team lifecycle and why?

Our team is in the close out phase as we are finished with the consulting project. We did not really experience a storming or norming
phase that was major. We only had one minor discussion at the beginning of the project about the team roles, but it was quickly
resolved through good communication. This clear communication continued throughout the project.

Formulate actions that will get your team to the next level?
Setting more reliable deadlines for a next project. 24
Appendix (13)

Ground rules
As a team we set some ground rules, these include:

● We treat each team member with respect

● As team members, we will help where necessary to solve the problems
● We value feedback; however, be careful not to pinpoint and judge
● Every week we will hold two meetings on Zoom; Tuesday at 11:00 am and Friday at 15:00 pm
● All team members are expected to be present at the Zoom meetings every week
● We expect every team member to actively participate in the meetings
● We expect every team member to work on their own proposed solution and finish on time for the deadlines

25
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