AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE REAL SITUATION AND SOME SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF CUSTOMER SERVICES AT THAI MARKET RESTAURANT

DUY TAN UNIVERSITYFACULTY OF ENGLISH LÊ QUANG HOÀNG DUNG AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE REAL SITUATION AND SOME SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF CUSTOMER SERVICES AT THAI MARKET RESTAUR

DUY TAN UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF ENGLISH

LÊ QUANG HOÀNG DUNG

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE REAL SITUATION AND SOME SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF CUSTOMER

SERVICES AT THAI MARKET RESTAURANT

DUY TAN UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF ENGLISH

GRADUATION PAPER

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE REAL SITUATION

AND SOME SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVING THE

QUALITY OF CUSTOMER SERVICES AT THAI

MARKET RESTAURANT

Major: English for Tourism and Hospitality

STUDENT CODE: 24203216135

DA NANG, 2022

My graduation thesis could not successfully complete without theinvaluable help, advice, and encouragement from many teachers in the Faculty

of English and all staff in Thai Market restaurant

First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to allteachers of Duy Tan University in general and the Faculty of English inparticular, especially Mrs Le Hoang Phuong, my supervisor During the writingthesis process, she gave me helpful suggestions, critical comments, and support

so that I could finish my graduation thesis

Secondly, I would like to send my thankful words to Thai Marketrestaurant and Mr Le Thai Hoang , who created an opportunity for me topractice at the restaurant and directly trained during my internship I will nothave the accurate document in the Hospitality document as well as wonderfuladvice to complete this graduation thesis without his enthusiastic help

Thirdly, allowing me to express my thank to all staff of Thai Marketrestaurant, who always shared working experience and provided me with usefulinformation, document whenever I need

Last but not least, I also sincerely thank my family, my friends for theirsupport and encouragement during the process of conducting this study

Moreover, the shortcomings in this graduation paper are unavoidable.Therefore, I hope to receive the sympathy from teachers

Finally, I respectful wish all teachers a lot of health, success in the noblecareers, and wish members of Thai Market restaurant all health, happiness intheir life

Thank you so much

Sincerely

Le Quang Hoang Dung

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis contains

no material published elsewhere or extracted in the whole or in part from athesis by which have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma

No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement inthe thesis

This thesis has not been submitted for award of any degree or diploma inany other tertiary institution

Danang, May 19 th , 2022

Le Quang Hoang Dung

This graduation thesis begins with investigating on hospitality sector, mainlyfocused on real situation of the quality of Customer services for consumers at ThaiMarket Restaurant and some solutions to improving them This case study iscarried out basing on the theoretical background and the practical data To find theresults, I will gather all of the main related, information about the quality ofcustomer services at Thai Market Restaurant through my survey, finding andobservation Based on the information, I will give out some solutions to improvingthe quality of customer services for consumers at the restaurant

I hope my recommendations will help the restaurant to attract more

customers and contribute to the growth of the hospitality industry in Da Nang city

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ACT: Accounting

AM: Area Manager

CEO: Chief Executive Officer

CIT: Corporate Incomes Tax

DIR: Director

HR: Human Resources

IC: Internal Control

IT: Information Technology

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Thai Market Restaurant’s Facilities

Table 2: Standards of the Catering Department in Thai Market restaurantTable 3: Thai Market Restaurant Business Performance from 2018 to 2021Table 4: The percentage of customers who made reservations through various sources in 2020

Table 5: Quality of Serving Customers in 2020

Table 6: Service Attitude of Thai Market restaurant’s service staffs

Table 7: Guest’s Evaluation on Food and Drink

Table 8: Guests’ Evaluation on Facilities

LIST OF FIGURES AND DIAGRAMS

Diagram 1 Organizational Structure of Thai Market Company

Diagram 2 Organization Structure of Catering Department

Diagram 3 The percentage of customers who made reservations throughvarious sources in 2020

TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale

1.2 Aims and Objectives

1.3 Scope of the Study

1.4 Methods of the Study

1.5 Organization of the Study

CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

CHAPTER 3: CASE DESCRIPTION

3.1 Introduction of the Thai Market Company

3.1.4 Services of Thai Market restaurant

3.2 Catering department of Thai Market restaurant

3.2.1 Thai Market Restaurant structure/catering department3.2.2 The Functions of Catering Department

3.2.2.1 Manager

3.2.2.2 Supervisor

3.2.2.3 Service staff

3.2.3 Facilities of the Thai Market restaurant

CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION

4.1 A Current Assessment of Thai Market restaurant

4.3.4 Guests’ Evaluation on Food and Drink

4.3.5 Guests’ Evaluation on Facilities

5.2.2 Poor Customer Experience and Customer Service

5.2.3 Restaurant Marketing Challenges

5.3 Possibilities of the Suggested Solutions

CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS

6.1 Conclusion

6.2 Suggestions

6.2.1 Suggestions for Duy Tan University

6.2.2 Suggestions for the Faculty of English

6.2.3 Suggestions for the Thai Market company

QUESTIONNAIRE

REFERENCES

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale

In the trend that the world economy is developing rapidly And tourism ischosen by many countries as a key economic sector, recognizing the importance

of tourism while also keeping up with the global economy's development trend

In the world, Vietnam has also identified tourism as a spearhead economy Infact, tourism has brought our country a large source of foreign currency, so it iscalled a smokeless industry

More and more tourists come to Vietnam, so to meet the indispensableneeds of tourists, many hotels and restaurants have been built

In addition to accommodation services, the need for food is one of theindispensable needs in human life People's living standards are improving day

by day, requiring a fuller and more diverse response to their dietary needs Aseries of restaurant systems have been born with many different sizes, richproducts to serve a wide range of customers and bring economic efficiency tobusinesses in particular and the tourism industry in general

In the business process of any restaurant, in order to have success and bringattractiveness to customers, the important factor is the serving staff and the waythe food is prepared To the role of restaurant staff, they are the people whodirectly contact and serve customers, bringing in revenue and profit for therestaurant

Thai Market Restaurant commenced operations in the end of 2012 in DaNang as the city’s business in the hospitality industry The restaurant alwayswants to provide customers with the best quality of customer services Tocompete with other business restaurants and meet the increasing need ofconsumers, Thai Market Restaurant needs to focus on the quality of consumercares as well as providing timely solutions to improve it better That is why I

decided to choose the topic “An Investigation into Real Situation and SomeSolutions to Improving the Quality of Customer Services at Thai MarketRestaurant” for my graduation paper.

1.2 Aims and Objectives

- Aims

This paper aims to conduct research on the real situation of the quality ofcustomer services for everyone at Thai Market Restaurant and suggest somesolutions to improve the quality of customer services at the restaurant

- Objectives

The purpose of this study is to achieve the following goals:

+ Examining the whole welcome process at Thai Market restaurant in greatdetail

+ Determining the quality customer service’s strengths Shortcomings,opportunities, and threats

+ Making recommendations on ways to improve customer service quality

1.3 Scope of the Study

This investigation focuses only on discussing issues related to the real situationand some solutions to improving the quality of customer services at ThaiMarket Restaurant

1.4 Methods of the Study

In the process of making this: I use the methods such as:

- Direct observation of the reception service activities has been carried out

Chapter 2: Theoretical background

Chapter 3: Case description

Chapter 4: Analysis and evaluation

Chapter 5: Difficulties and solutions Chapter 6: Conclusions and suggestionsReferences

Appendix

CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 2.1 Hospitality Industry

The hospitality industry is one of the industries that is growing very fast due tothe fast growth of economies that have necessitated the growth of this sector.Many investors opt to invest in this industry because it is widely known that,such businesses have considerable profits Hospitality is the main service sector

in the global economy

It contains different service industries among which are food service, thetourism and the hotel sectors The industry is divided into two parts These arethe entertainment part of the industry which houses clubs, bars and theaccommodation part that entails public houses, inns, resorts, hotels, hostelscampgrounds, motels and serviced apartments Restaurants fall under thecategory of clubs and bars Under the same category also fall nightclubs and fastfoods (Barrows & Powers, 2009)

Restaurant industry is a component of the larger hospitality industry It is theindustry that is changeable in the external environment For such an industry toremain relevant and competitive in the market, it has to be very flexible, andhave the diversity to enable it to easily adapt to these changes (Montesano, Leeand Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2011)

2.2 Concepts of Restaurant

Nowadays, each mention of the restaurant will not be unfamiliar to each of usand each person will feel differently about the restaurant So what do we thinkabout a restaurant? There will be many different interpretations and definitions

of restaurants for sure The word restaurant covers a broad range of food serviceoperations The term comes from the French word restaurant, meaning “restorer

of energy.” The term was used as early as the mid-1700s to describe publicplaces that offered soup and bread Today, any public place that specializes in

the sale of prepared food for consumption on- or off-premise can be described

as a restaurant (Barrows, Powers & Reynolds, 2012, p.68)

Restaurant now becomes a popular food and beverage business in the world,ensuring the quality of the food and services for the food and beverage business,meeting some requirements for enjoying, relaxation and dining

2.3 Concepts of Restaurant Business

2.3.1 Definition

According to Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and Ministry ofCommerce (1986), a restaurant is a commercial institution that trades in high-quality food and beverages and has a set capital level based on the requirementsfor each type of business

2.3.2 Classification of Restaurants

Ancient Indian History & Archaeology, Vikram University, Ujjain (n.d)indicated all restaurants can be classified according to a set of social parametersdefined as polar opposites: high or low, cheap or dear, familiar or exotic, formal

or informal, and so forth Any restaurant will be relatively high or low in styleand price, familiar or exotic in the cuisine it offers to different kinds ofcustomers, and so on Context is as important as the style and form:

- Ethnic restaurants specialize in ethnic or national cuisines For example,Indian cousin, Chinese cousin etc

- Fast food restaurants emphasize speed of service Operations range fromsmall-scale street vendors with food carts to multibillion-dollarcorporations like McDonald's and Burger King Food is ordered not fromthe table, but from a front counter (or in some cases, using an electronicterminal) Diners typically then carry their own food from the counter to atable of their choosing, and afterward dispose of any waste from theirtrays Fast food restaurants are known in the restaurant industry as QSRs

or quick-service restaurants

- A casual dining restaurant (or sit - down restaurant) is a restaurant thatserves moderately priced food in a casual atmosphere Except for buffet-style restaurants, casual dining restaurants typically provide table service.Casual dining comprises a market segment between fast foodestablishments and fine-dining restaurants Casual dining restaurantsoften have a full bar with separate bar staff, a full beer menu and a limitedwine menu They are frequently, but not necessarily, part of a widerchain.

- Premium casual restaurants originate from Western Canada Premiumcasual restaurants are described as upscale fast casual Similarly to casualdining, they typically feature a dining room section and a lounge sectionwith multiple screens They are typically found downtown or in shoppingdistricts Premium casual restaurants carry a wide range of menu optionsincluding burgers, steaks, seafood, pizza, pasta and Asian foods

- Family style restaurants are a type of casual dining restaurants wherefood is often served on platters and the diners serve themselves It canalso be used to describe family-friendly diners or casual restaurants

- Fine dining restaurants are full-service restaurants with specific dedicatedmeal courses Décor of such restaurants features higher-quality materials,with establishments having certain rules of dining which visitors aregenerally expected to follow, sometimes including a dress code Finedining establishments are sometimes called white - tablecloth restaurants,because they traditionally featured table service by servers, at tablescovered by white - tablecloths The tablecloths came to symbolize theexperience The use of white tablecloths eventually became lessfashionable, but the service and upscale ambiance remained

2.4 Customer Satisfaction

Every business relies on customer satisfaction Profitability, reputation, sales,service, and image all rely on customers; as a result, they must always be treatedwith respect In today's market, achieving a balance between customersatisfaction and company profitability is critical to any firm's success Customersatisfaction is defined in a variety of ways by many authors and scientists Themost prevalent definitions of customer satisfaction will be introduced in thenext paragraph.

2.4.1 Definition

Kotler and Keller gave the most comprehensive definition of customersatisfaction They defined it as follows: “person's feeling of pleasure ordisappointment which resulted from comparing a product's perceivedperformance or outcome against his/her expectations” (Kotler and Keller 2006,144.)

According to Rai (Rai 2008, 7.), the formula for customer satisfaction is thefollowing: customer satisfaction equals customer perception of the servicereceived minus customer expectation of the customer service Referring to thismethod, the conclusion is that if customer’s perception of the service exceedscustomer’s expectation, then a client stays satisfied as well as the opposite; ifcustomer’s perception is less than customer’s expectations, then a client getsdissatisfied

Tse and Wilton identified customer satisfaction as ‘’the consumer’s response tothe evaluation of the perceived discrepancy between prior expectations (or somenorm of performance) and the actual performance of the product as perceivedafter its consumption’’ (Tse & Wilton 1988, 204.)

According to Gerson, customer satisfaction is a customer’s perception of theexpectations that have been or have been not met The buyer obtains the product

or service and expects it to work well If it does, the customer is satisfied if it isnot, the customer is dissatisfied (Gerson 1993, 5.)

2.4.2 The important of customer satisfaction

Customer satisfaction can be a fatal factor that affects any source ofbusiness and company performance According to LaBarbera and Mazursky(1983), “satisfaction influences repurchase intentions whereas dissatisfactionhas been seen as a primary reason for customer defection ordiscontinuation of purchase” When achieved customer satisfaction it can lead

to a lot of advantages According to Jochen Wirtz (2003) customersatisfaction may lead to customer: customer are more likely to come back torepurchase product or services , and generated customer loyalty as well as theywill introduce the product to other people surround them, as aconsequence this will lead to an increase on long term profitability of thecompany

2.5 Customer Services

Customer service is a system of activities that comprises customersupport systems, complaint processing, speed of complaint processing, ease ofreporting complaint and friendliness when reporting complaint (Kim, Parkand Jeong, 2004) Customer services are the opportunities for telecomservice providers that are added to mobile network other than voice services inwhich contents are either self produced by service provider or provided throughstrategic compliance with service provider (Kuo, Wu and Deng, 2009) Theimproved customer services are the focal point of the telecom service providersfor social as well as for economic reasons From a social point of view, servicesshould be available to the customers on reasonable terms As far as economicfactor is concerned, services should satisfy the needs of the customers (Tureland Serenko, 2006; Melody, 1997)

For developing satisfaction among customers, the telecom serviceproviders need to be extra careful for the customer services they provide.Satisfaction of customer is determined by his evaluation of service provided by

a brand (Gustafsson, Johnson and Roos, 2005) The study of Ahn, Han and Lee(2006) shows that when the customers, do not get their complaintsconsidered properly, they start looking for other brands It happensbecause either the customer service centers do not handle the complaints orthe customers are not able to address them properly Sometimes, telecomservice providers take considerably longer time to resolve the problems likenetwork coverage or call quality, the customers do not wait for long andhence they lose satisfaction with that particular brand (Ahn, Han and Lee,2006)

Furthermore, the friendly attitude and courteous behavior of the serviceworkers at service firms leaves a positive impression on the customerwhich lead towards customer satisfaction (Soderlund and Rosengren, 2008)

On the other hand, if a telecom service provider lacks in providing services(call drops) to its customers it experiences customer churn Kim, Parkand Jeong (2004) argued that service provider should provide customeroriented services in order to heighten up customer satisfaction It was alsofound that the customers get satisfied to a brand more if they get all the neededservices accumulated in that very brand (Ahn, Han and Lee, 2006)

CHAPTER 3: CASE DESCRIPTION 3.1 Introduction of the Thai Market Company.

- 2012: Indochina food court – Da Nang

- 2013: 04 Tran Quoc Toan – Da Nang

- 2014: 17 Le Hong Phong – Da Nang

- 2015: 62 Phan Chu Trinh - Hoi An

- 2016: 46 Thai Phien – Da Nang

- 2018: 183 Nguyen Van Thoai – Da Nang

- 2019: Ba Na and Binh Minh 5 – Da Nang

- 2020: Pi Thai (Thai noodle soup) and Morfai (Thai Hot Pot Buffet) – 17 Le Hong Phong – Da Nang

-2021: 95 Cao Thang – Ho Chi Minh and 112 Trung Hoa – Ha Noi

Today's success of the restaurant chain is a process of inspiration from the brandowner and the collective work of Thai Market Mr Le Thai Hoang, the founder

of the restaurant chain, spent a lot of time traveling through most of Thailand to enjoy and learn how to cook delicious food With the passion for food and the ability to cook formed from a young age, it was not too difficult for him to find delicious recipes and recipes from Udon Thani, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket

or Pattaya, etc

3.1.2 Organizational Structure of Thai Market Company

Diagram 1 : Organizational Structure of Thai Market Company

3.1.3 The Functions and Duties of Each Department

With almost a decade of experience, Thai Market Company is not only a

reputable restaurant, but also a very successful and skilled organizer To

contribute to the company's growth, each department works and creates

FOUNDER-DIR CEO AM

EMPLOYEES

SS RM

continuously in order to provide the highest quality products to clients Each department's duties will be listed in this section.

3.1.3.1 Director

A Director is the person elected by the shareholders to direct, conduct, manage

or supervise the affairs of the company Branch manager is also the joint

operations planner as well as behalf of the company negotiate with a partner.3.1.3.2 Chief Executive Officer ( CEO)

An CEO is responsible for managing a company's overall operations This may include delegating and directing agendas, driving profitability, managing

company organizational structure, strategy, and communicating with the board.3.1.3.3 Area Manager

An area manager has operational and financial responsibility for a defined region or territory Their duties include providing training and development for staff, ensuring quality consistency across the region and increasing sales and profitability in their region

3.1.3.4 Human Recourses

A human resources manager plan, coordinate, and direct the administrative functions of an organization They oversee the recruiting, interviewing, and hiring of new staff; consult with top executives on strategic planning; and serve

as a link between an organization's management and its employees

They perform audits of your books, prepare reports for tax purposes, and handleall the financial information that's part of running your business.

3.1.3.7 Training

A restaurant trainer instructs workers using suitable instruction techniques For example, when a restaurant's supervisors lack adequate job knowledge, trainers may schedule classes and prepare training manuals on sanitation, nutrition, record-keeping and food preparation

3.1.3.8 Production Warehouse

A warehouse production worker is the person who will check the food, raw materials, and goods, know how to store all kinds of goods and keep them at thecorrect temperature and take a thorough inventory of your foods

3.1.3.9 Information Technology – Internal Control

An internal controller is the person who checks and monitors the granting of permission to use applications, receives requests, handles problems during use, software, computer operation, hardware systems

3.1.3.10 Quality Control

A quality controller is an important part of the quality management process, the work related to the inspection, control and evaluation of the quality of products and goods before carrying out the packaging process, granting circulation

permission, widely on the market

3.1.3.11 Restaurant Manager

The system has 7 restaurants, so there will be 7 restaurant managers and their functions are to recruit and train staff, manage the entire restaurant and handle situations that occur at the restaurant

3.1.3.12 Shift Supervisor

7 restaurants also have 7 supervisors who are responsible for assigning,

allocating jobs to employees, tracking shifts, dividing shifts, and allocating timefor employees

3.1.3.13 Employees

On average, each restaurant will have two cashiers The kitchen has ten

individuals and the service serves 11 people Throughout the dining process, waiters and cashiers are in direct contact with guests and serve them The

person in charge of the kitchen is the one who prepares the meals for the

attractive with fresh materials dishes and more than 50 typical dishes of Thai cuisine such as Pad Thai, Tomyum, Mango sticky rice,etc All are directly served by skilled chefs.

The restaurant’s menu is divided into categories: appetizers, main courses, vegetarian dishes, additional dishes and desserts

*Customer service

One of the most important elements to consider when running a restaurant is thequality of the customer service you provide Thai Market's customer service includes providing courteous and quick service to meet customers' needs during their dining experience

3.2 Catering Department of Thai Market restaurant

3.2.1 Thai Market Restaurant Structure/Catering Department

Diagram 2: Organization structure of catering department

The organizational chart of Thai Market Restaurant's service staff is very

simple Because the workload in the restaurant is not much, each employee performs one or more jobs Usually, each shift has only one or two service staff,

so the service staff takes care of tasks such as welcoming guests, receiving partybookings The organizational chart of the service staff shows that the division offunctions and duties of each department is quite clear and reasonable

3.2.2 The Functions of Catering Department

A supervisor is responsible for assigning, allocating and arranging jobs for employees, tracking and dividing shifts

3.2.2.3 Service staff

Serving is a job in the Restaurant industry This is the job to contact many customers and help them have a good experience when coming to a certain restaurant The service staff will be the one to wait for the guests to arrive, orderfood for the guests, transfer the guests' requests to the kitchen and bring the food to the guests This is the person who creates a pleasant and comfortable feeling for guests and ensures that the dining experience of customers is always great, and in addition, the wait staff will take care of tasks such as:

- Cleaning and arranging the assigned table/seating areas

- Greeting customers, giving menus to customers

- Answering menu related questions for customers

- Recording food and drink requests of customers to be served

- Checking the order and transferring the customer's order to the kitchen for the kitchen department to execute

- Bringing food and drinks to guests

- Responding to service requests from customers

- Cleaning up after guests finish eating, arrange seats, set up new meals

3.2.3 Facilities of the Thai Market restaurant.

Thai Market restaurant, on the whole, maintains good facilities and is possible

to create a professional work environment However, the restaurant's facilitiesare still inadequate such as spoons, forks, and knives As a result, the restaurantwill need to purchase additional items as well as decorate and increase thequality of some current facilities in order to complete the restaurant The currentfacilities of food and beverage department are listed in the table below:

2 Desk

Table

205 110

9 4-Burner Gas Hot Plate 12

10 Multiple deep fryers 6

(Source: Internal Thai Market Restaurant)

Table 1: Thai Market Restaurant’s facilities