Proposal for Applying Quality Management Techniques as a Way to

Improve Profitability of Caf Golf outlet

Prepared by : Nadiah bt Mohd Kahar
ID

: GS40981
1. Introduction

Apprentis is the body that manage restaurants and cafs in university. It is divided
to two departments Kitchen and Service Outlets. Activities such as material
preparation, food preparation and production of pastry and bakery are done by
three different sections. There are three outlets established under Service Outlets
department Outlet 6, Outlet Food 1 & 5 and Outlet Caf Golf. The organization
is fully supported by grants and loans from the university. Monthly repayments of
new kitchen are with no interest over 4 years.
Outlet Caf Golf was newly established less than a year ago. Having new chef and
assistants in October 2014, the outlet now has the largest sales volume of all
outlets so far. It was reported that the caf has monthly loan repayments as much
as 40% of gross sales, 25% on salaries and overtime, and 30% on materials.
Realizing the potential of the caf, the management of Apprentis is now
considering to improve the profitability of Caf Golf. Total quality management
can be implemented to achieve an effective team and a sustainable level of
performance in Caf Golf.
2. Caf Golf Management Problem
It is reported that absenteeism is an uncontrollable issue in Caf Golf. There were
assistants that absent especially during the weekend, forcing the other assistants
to work extra hours. Few assistants were not really happy having to work extra
hours during the peak days, resulting the poor service during the weekends. Raw
materials such as pastry products were purchased from outsourced company,
whereby the transportation cost is high and took approximately one or two days
to arrive from the supplier. This resulted the product could be sold only for short
time due to its shorter shelf life.
Monthly expenses are not monitored by the Head of Service Outlets.
Consequently, the cash flow and net sales cannot be tracked, which had caused
the failure to monitor the accurate business performance on monthly basis. There
were also few unclear procedures and terms especially when charging banquet
meals of informal parties to the internal university account. Some other costreduction initiatives such as waste reduction are not practiced due to lack of
awareness on the positive impacts from such initiatives. Waste produced by the
caf on monthly basis are usually from the disposable food packaging materials
used by customers, expired raw materials and food wastage from the customers.
Other than that, they are customers who had given some feedbacks on the
inconsistent size of the sliced cakes. It was understood that the cakes were sliced
by the assistants at the caf and the errors occurred due to lack of training on the
correct procedures of preparing products for customers.

1. Understanding the Products and Services that Meet Customers

Expectation
The mission of Caf Golf is to provide quality food and service that delight
customers. To fulfil this mission is the key to the sustainability of the team. In the
developing era that all university students are having hectic schedules and always
on-the-go, it is increasingly necessary to develop products that are tasty, safe to
be consumed and at the same time could provide the good ambience for the
students to enjoy while having some quick grabs.
Therefore, the menu for Caf Golf could consist of foods that are simple to be
consumed, delicious and nutritious but with low prices. Pre-cooked or pre-thawed
products are best to be included in the menu, as they are easier to be prepared
and hassle-free to reheat prior to serving to customers in a short time. Self-service
counter is a great idea as customers would be able to take their time to choose
their perfect meals without rushing. In addition, less manpower is needed for
attending customers while they make decisions on what to eat.
The environment in the caf is more casual and open-air to give more relaxation
and comfort for customers while enjoying their meals.

How Cafe Golf can meet their customers' expectations

Simple, tasty, freshly prepared and nutritious food

Relaxing ambience, fresh air,

casual concept

Quick serving after ordering less waiting

Self service counter to allow

customers to take their time
to choose the food

Low price

Figure 2 : Products and services provided by Caf Golf

2. Towards a Customer-Focused Organisation : External Customers
Customers are like the kings, they are always the important and the right one. In
order to ensure their satisfaction, it is always best to look for the quality of product
that customers want. A survey can be created and published, either online (using
web tools such as Survey Monkey and KwikSurveys) or get the questionnaire
printed and spread it to all students or lecturers. The survey questions could be
simple and open ended but in a smart way that customers could give straight
feedback. For simple outcomes, rating scales could be used.

Examples of criteria to be surveyed could be the customers satisfaction on the

service, quality of products served, the products that they like the most, the
frequency they come to the caf and what products
that they frequently purchased. It is also
appropriate to ask what are the customers gender
and age to classify the customers.
To statistically analyse the customer survey
results, several types of chart could be created
based on the variables and the ratings given the
customer. Some examples are stacked bar chart,
bar chart and pie chart.

Figure 1 : Stacked bar chart (above left), bar chart (above right), pie chart
(below left)
Based on the results of the survey, we could see
the areas where we shall maintain in order to
keep our customers pleased; and also could
consider to improve on our weaknesses seen by
the customers. Upon improvement, we could
always talk to the customers and get their
comments and feedbacks to ensure that the
improvement plans are always aligned with
what they expect to see.
3. Employees as the Internal Customers
The chef and assistants are also customers internally as they are the people who
have a direct link to the external customers and the quality of product or service
they received. Taking care of internal customers will benefit the management as
it will increase their satisfaction as well as the productivity and performance.
Satisfied employees will be motivated and excited to come to work and give good
service to customers. Below are suggested ways to provide great internal
customer service :

Set Clear Expectations

Management could set clear
guidelines so employees know
what to expect from the
management

Clarify Employee
Responsibilities
Management to clarify what is
needed from the employee fulfil
the request (processes/SOPs,
lead time, other necessary
material)

Define Employees'
Service Responsibilites
Management to explain the work
flow in the cafe and how it fits
into overall management
proocedures

Discuss Priorities
There must be clear
communication between
employees and management to
negotiate and understand
priorities

Figure 3 : Suggestions on providing great internal customer services

4. Provide a Quality Training Program

To be a successful company, it is necessary for the management to provide
training to the employees. Training program must be participated by all employees
in the organization. Suggested trainings are such below :
Training
Definition, Overview and Benefits
of Total Quality Management
Cost of Quality
The Role of Management
Changing Leadership Styles in a
Total Quality Management
Implementing Total Quality
Management
Principle of Team Building
Customer Surveys
Employee Empowerment
Company-Planned Steps for
Implementing Quality
Management
Changing Leadership Styles in a
Total Quality Management
The Role of the Front-Line
Supervisor
Company Vision, Mission and
Guiding Principles
Company-Planned Steps for
Implementing Quality
Management
Employee Involvement

Head of
Caf
Apprentis

Heads of
Service Outlets
and Kitchen

Chef

Staff

In order to implement the training mentioned above, it is necessary to undertake

processes such as selection of a consultant, selection of a trainer, send the trainer
for training, trainer to train chef and other staffs, establishing long-term,
continuous training program in quality management, to evaluate training and to
improve training.
By providing sufficient, good trainings to the employees, they will be able to see
the clear view and understand the needs and benefits of quality management.
Consequently, the employees will be expected to work towards the given
directions by the management.
Summary
To develop a strong organization for implementing quality management will
require a lot of commitment from the top management and needs long time for
the effects and the profitability improvement to take place. Prior to
implementation, customer survey should be carried out to understand customers
expectation of quality towards Caf Golf. Not to forget the internal customers who
are also the employees, their comments and opinions also need to be heard. At
the same time, internal customers also need to be informed and explained their
responsibilities to the organization. To start implementing quality management in
Caf Golf, it is best to ensure that all employees in the organization aware on the
managements commitment to implement the quality management for Caf Golf
by providing sufficient and effective training. Employees finally will understand on
the benefits of quality management and will work hard towards customers
expectation and consequently improve the profitability of Caf Golf.