“Our Mess”
CASE ANALYSIS

Agenda
• Case Summary • Service Quality Gap Model • Case Analysis
– Provider Gaps – Customer Gap

• Five Determinants of service quality • Mitigation Measures

Case Summary
• Too much emphasis on Self Service • Improper Menu • Student Preferences not taken into account • Administrative roles are not clear • Inadequately trained staff • Low cost but poor quality food • Ambiguous Feedback Mechanism

Service Quality Model

Incorrect Perception of the customer expectations
Customer Expectations

Gap 1

Company Perceptions of Consumer Expectations

Not knowing what customers Expect
• Incorrect recognition of the student preferences (Inside-Out Approach)
• • • • • No involvement of students in menu preparation Menu is almost the same as last year ‘All students like South Indian food’ Wrong Perception : ‘Self-service eliminates the long queues’ Low Cost is always preferred by students Students don’t know whom to contact for any complaints Students were unaware of the mess committee members or the supervisor Inappropriate timing of feedback at the end of semester when students did not have time Open Ended feedback form does not yield meaningful insights Feedback being taken from parents who are not the regular consumers

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Lack of upward communication
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Inadequate feedback methods
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Absence of the proper Service Standards
Customer Driven Service Designs And Standards

Gap 2
Company Perceptions Of Consumer Expectations

Incorrect Service Designs And Standards
• Poor Service design
• Self-Service system results in delays and students missing their meals • Empty Jugs are not filled by the mess workers • Plates need to be disposed off by oneself • Recycling of leftovers resulted in stale food

• Absence of customer-driven standards
• Focus was on low cost food but students want quality food and not just the low cost food

Inability of personnel to meet the Service Standards
Customer Driven Service Designs And Standards

Gap 3

Service Delivery

Ineffective Delivery of Service Standards
• Ineffective human resource policies • Mess workers were scolded and they had little incentives to provide high quality service • Mess staff is not trained to cook new variety of food • Mess workers cannot understand instruction related to cleanliness and hygiene • Mess in-charge is overloaded while no responsibility was given to the supervisor Imbalance in customer service • “Early-birds” take more than their share of sweet dishes

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Failure to match supply and demand • Regular Scarcity or surplus of food depending upon the dishes • Perpetual shortage of Ice-cream and sweets

Incongruent External Communication
Customer Driven Service Designs And Standards

Gap 4
External Communications to customers

Mismatch between Service Performance and Promises
• Ineffective management of customer expectations
• • • Inappropriate feedback mechanism Feedback taken from parents rather than students Open Ended Feedback forms are ineffective

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Overpromise and Under-delivery
• Claims by mess in-charge about the mess being the best in the city whereas at least two mess in the city were better

The Consumer Gap
Word of mouth communication Personal needs Past Experiences

Expected Service

Gap 5
Perceived Service

The Consumer Gap
EXPECTED SERVICE • • • • High quality mess service due to overpromises made by mess committee North Indian food as majority of students were of that region Some personal needs like chola to be on the menu Expectation of Water-filled jugs, ready made toasts and used plates be removed by the mess workers Good dishes even when one is late for the meal Good food on a regular basis and also during special dinners PERCEIVED SERVICE • • • • • Food quality not up to standards Students feel cheated after getting South Indian food Food like chola being removed from the menu because of personal choice of mess committee members Self service model is a hindrance for better experience Good dishes finishing early due to mismatch between supply and demand Novelty Chinese Food worse than the usual fare Cost reduction is the only priority for mess management

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Five determinants of Service Quality
• Reliability
– Food availability everyday for Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks and Dinner – Food Quality

• Responsiveness
– How fast they cater to the need of people • Utensils clean up • Food refill – Respond to student needs - Water, Salt etc.

• Assurance • Empathy

Five determinants of Service Quality
– Trained staff – Feedback Mechanism – Show care & affection towards students while serving – If someone is not well, Special food should be prepared and served in his room – If someone is outside hostel and can’t take food on time, food should be kept separately on request – On-demand preparation of certain food items such as noodles, omelets, etc.

• Tangibles

Five determinants of Service Quality
– Adequate physical facilities – chair, tables, utensils – Food-cooking and hygiene maintaining equipment
• Roti-maker machine • Aquaguard

– Communication and notices
• Menu • Should be informed in advance about any changes regarding mess schedule

Closing of all the provider gaps would help close the customer gap, according to the Gaps model

Mitigation Measures
GAP 1 • Regular monthly feedback should be taken
– Ensure that the feedback time don’t coincide with the exam time – Complaint Register can be put in the mess

• Incorporate student suggestions in menu preparation • Variety can be introduced in the menu so as to cater the needs of students from all over the country • Names and Phone Number of mess committee members and mess in-charge can be put on notice board to improve upward communication

Mitigation Measures
GAP 2 • Balance between self-service and mess service – Jugs should be filled by the mess staff – Items like Toasts can be made by mess staff • Focus on quality of food and not just the cost • Reduce wastage to avoid serving stale food

Mitigation Measures
GAP 3
• • • • • Mess workers to be trained on standards of hygiene and cleanliness New mess staff who can cook new variety of food should be hired Definite roles for supervisor, mess in-charge and the workers Mess committee should also share some responsibility Need to have permanent workers instead of temporary contractual workers • Introduce a coupon system for students for sweet dishes like icecreams and sweets • Instructions should be given in a language which the workers would understand

Mitigation Measures
GAP 4
• Open sessions with students to communicate about the quality of service • Claims about the mess being best should be made after verifications • Complaints and suggestion boxes should be put for the students to give their ideas

Thank You !

Questions ?