CASE STUDY 4

The Beef and Reef

Mystery Guest
Background of the Study

Hiring new employees may decrease competitive advantage of a company. Hiring employees
needs to include reviewing resumes, checking references, and conducting interviews. The
company or manager should check and be more aware in choosing a candidate or hiring
employee. One of the biggest challenges that fresh graduates face is finding the right type of
job that fits to their degree.

This study wants to know the strategies of cruising agency on hiring employees not just for the
fresh graduate but also to those who wants a job. Hiring an efficient worker on the job is an
important function to maintain performance quality. Since fresh graduates have limited work
experience they are often eagerly seeking and adopt new experience and use the employment
opportunity as a stepping-stone. Cruising travel agency needs to have a new ideas and
strategies. To achieve this, company requires to have strategies for recruiting and selecting
employee.

Facts of the Case

Sally Salkind has worked for two years as a several at the Beef and Reef Restaurant while
getting her degree in hospitality management. The Beef and Reef has specific written standards
about how guest service should be provided and posts those standards in the kitchen where all
employees can see them. The chain also allow local managers considerable latitude in training
employees and providing service, so long as unit financial results are satisfactory. Sally has
developed her own very successful way of opening the service encounter and delivering service
thereafter. She has continued to serve guests in her own style.

Sally tried to do it by the book: “Good evening, I’m sally and I’m going to be your server
tonight” but then she got tongue-tied. She couldn’t remember if procedure called for her to
solicit a beverage order, recite the specials, or encourage the party to choose an appetizer. Bill
Gordy called Sally into his office and reprimanded her for not following standards serving
procedures at the very time when following procedures was not most important.
Main Problem of the Case

The main problem of the case is how can Bill Gordy, the manager of Beef and Reef Restaurant
handle his situation with his employee, Sally Salkind who has her own way of serving her
guests. Also, the situation of Sally Salkind, having to adjust her way of serving her guests
immediately and unprepared.

Conceptual Framework

Process
 Serving “by the book” Promotion as
 Following company
head-server
standards
 New level of service
 Promoting of Bill of Beef and Reef Restaurant
 Own style of serving the Gordy, the
guests manager of Beef
and Reef
Independent Restaurant Dependent
Variable Variable

This framework shows how variables affect one another. The independent variable contains all
the things that an employee of Beef and Reef Restaurant must perform or may do such as
having their own style of serving the guest. Next is the process, wherein once the employees
have performed their tasks, Bill Gordy, the manager of Beef and Reef Restaurant shall do the
promoting. Lastly is the dependent variable, whereas the promotion as head-server of Beef and
Reef Restaurant depends on how well the employees would perform their tasks and how they
would serve their guests accordingly.
Results and Discussions

Procedures are very important for some employees to know how they should properly act in
front of customers. There are a lot of different practices being implemented by other
companies, own unique style and touch to it. Even though there should be standards that
needed to be meet, Sally seem to find a way on how to do her job better in her own style. Not
following this results to Bill Gordy being disappointed in the end because she needed to provide
those specific standards in front of the Mystery Shoppers. Both of the person in the case has a
point on what they are proving. Bill Gordy as a manager just wanted his staff to follow the set
of standards given by management owning the restaurant because after all it’s a standard
restaurant chain. While Sally, of course have her own style in entertaining and meeting the
customers standards.

Sally and Bill Gordy should understand the point of each other because if it’s all about meeting
the customer’s standards Sally should still continue doing what she’s doing. A more acceptable
answer is to adjust to the management and to it’s customer’s. Maybe Sally considering just
following the procedures but can still add some of her styles that would make the customers
feel more comfortable. The management should know these types of problems for them to
solve and find a way to make things work for their restaurant. Being strict is sometimes good
because you’ll be able to practice discipline and you know what to act when there’s a problem,
But being too strict is like sucking out the fun and different way of how the staff works and
enjoy what they’re doing. There should always be a balance between following procedures and
having a creative way to show how different can someone perform their work.