Customer Service Improvements: Enhancing Satisfaction and Competitive Edge

Dear Mariam,

Many thanks for getting in touch and I really value your effort in reaching out to us and providing a detailed outline of the current challenges that Bistro caf, your business is going through. I completely understand that this is a difficult situation that you are facing and an expert help like us is needed so that you are guided well so that things turn around well. In this email, I will try to analyze the major internal as well as external factors that are affecting your business operations and give useful insights into recommendations to address this issue in the best possible manner based on relevant theories and concepts.

The impact of the current internal and external environment on Bistro Caf

With accordance to the email we received from your end, some internal factors that are negatively impacting Bistro Caf are high staff turnover rates and high costs of training that is leading to increase in costs because you have to onboard new employees on a continuous basis. This is affecting the overall effectiveness and quality of the business highly because new training needs to be given to new employees who are boarding the caf (Ramzaeva, 2021). Another factor here is the practice that the caf is having to offering unpaid trial shifts to those who are new hires because this can surely bring down the overall cost of business but will damage the reputation of Bistro Caf is it is known by the competitors in the market. This solution does not seem to be sustainable in the long run and can have adverse legal and ethical concerns, which can damage the image of the company.

External Factors Negatively Impacting Bistro Caf currently seem to be the fierce competition it is facing from large brands and chains who have already occupied the market like high street coffee chains and other cafes who are also in the same town center and location of Bistro Caf. This is making the entre environment highly competitive and difficult for Bistro caf to gain presence that is good enough for their business as there are more resources with large businesses that also enjoy brand recognition and Bistro Caf is a small business that struggles to stand out in the crowd. Another external negative factor for you is the shift of customer preferences and behaviors like the shift of traffic, which is low in early morning and more in the middle of the day. This shows that your target audience is not fixed and keep fluctuating and so there needs to be adjustments in operations and offerings of the caf (Ramzaeva, 2021).

So, some of the actions that Mariam should take here are to reconsider the compensation and benefits that is given to the employees so that there is an improvement in the retention and this can be done by offering better pay and bonus or other perquisites. Next step that Mariam should focus on is to providing comprehensive training as well as development programs to the employees so that they are able to be confident about their skills and this will also help to have more engaged employees who stick to the company. Using unpaid trial shifts should be stopped and there should be more transparent ways to get alternatives and this can help to evaluate the new hires capability well. An extensive market research can be conducted with customer surveys to have a better understanding of the changing consumer preferences and behavior and immediate response to the same should be done. The operating hours of the caf should be in accordance to the customer traffic with more number of employees present at the peak hours to make sure to serve the customers well and on time. Lastly, reaching new customers via strategic marketing plan where Bistro Caf is using social media platforms to attract their services and collaborating with influencers is the key.

Some opportunities for Bistro Caf internally available internally are to rearrange the cost structure by sitting with the suppliers and renegotiating with them for contracts on coffee to get a better profit margin. Another opportunity will be to invest heavily in technological advancements and process of automation to make sure the operations get streamlined and there is less labor intensive work, giving time for the employees to serve high number of consumers on time. The Menu offerings of the caf can be a little more diversified so that it is able to serve more customers because each of them might have different taste and preferences to order at the caf. Lastly, Bistro Caf can explore venturing into event services or catering where it can attract large customer base that can stick to them if they like the quality and taste that the caf is offering (Ramzaeva, 2021). External opportunities that is available for them is to explore the power of collaboration and partnerships to make sure Bistro caf is able to stand up in the crowd and get noticed by the potential customers. This can be done with nearby office and other locations or at big societies at complimentary services to make the consumers aware of the brand and the taste. Using digital marketing strategy and gaining a strong online presence that can help reach potential customers and encourage more consumer engagement with the brand. If Mariam can address these internal and external challenges by making the best of available opportunities, she can better position Bistro Caf in the competitive market environment where she operates and maintain a long term position.

Bistro Caf's key business functions

The key business functions of Bistro Caf are finances, operations, marketing and people and detailed for each one that you should make improvements on are as follows:

• Finances: The main issue here is low profitability and high cost structure and because of this there is ineffective cost management as well as pricing strategy followed and so she should reconsider this by highlighting the areas where they are overspending (Brown, 2008). Further, necessary opportunities can be explored to help manage total costs by revising the supplier contracts and reevaluating the structure of pricing to make sure the business is running well.

• Operations: The main issue here is the changes in customer preferences and behavior and so Bistro Caf needs to have proper operating hours that are absolutely on track when there is peak hours and more customers rush in to grab their refreshments. This is creating operational challenge for the company and you can help here by monitoring these trends and adjusting the opening ad closing times accordingly. Taking help of technology based solutions and implementation of the same can be explored to reduce manual work and increase more customer engagement via online service delivery that is more preferred by the customer now days.

• Marketing: The main issue here is the fierce competition that Caf Bistro is facing because there are large brands and chains who have already occupied the market like high street coffee chains and other cafes who are also in the same town center and location of Bistro Caf (Brown, 2008). This is making the entre environment highly competitive and difficult for Bistro caf to gain presence and so you should be having a better marketing strategy that can help her reach customers and attract more of them to the business. Here you can start to develop a robust marketing strategy that will using online presence and digital advertising to improve small business promotions. Collaborations with nearby offices and loyalty programs for the customers who come often to the caf can help here build a customer base that are loyal to the business.

• People: Here, the main issue is about retaining her workforce because there is more turnover than expected and with this, there is more challenge in onboarding new employees and all this is only affecting here overall efficiency in managing the quality of her business well. She can bring improvements here by revisiting the compensation and benefits that is given to the employees so that there is an improvement in the retention and this can be done by offering better pay and bonus or other perquisites. Investing in training and development programs will also help her get more skillful and engaged employees on board that will help reduce turnover and give a better business (Brown, 2008). Unpaid trial shifts should be discontinued from immediate affect and a more transparent method of evaluation of the new hires should be started instead that can help to maintain the company reputation in the market.

If you are able to address these key business functions by the issues that are identified here and put into action the possible improvement strategies, there is high chance that the suggested improvements can help enhance the overall working and improve the profitability that is on a declining mode currently. It can help her position her small business in such a manner that it will gain huge momentum and success in the market where it operates near all its competitors. Further, you can make the most of the opportunities from internal and external aspects of the business where seizing them will be key and operating actively by taking into consideration all possible aspects of customer behavior and preference (Nusier, 2019). Bistro Caf is operating in an extremely competitive environment where the key will be to successfully operate and maintain long-term sustainability of its operations. So optimizing the business operations in the best manner possible and marketing the unique features of the business to attract potential customer base can help. Further, old customers are the greatest asset that the company has and it should make a point to make them feel special of being a part of Bistro caf by offering them good discounts and loyalty programs and cash backs. This way Bistro caf will make sure that the old customers are glued to them and they keep coming back at the caf in any circumstance. The profits will keep ticking for them and they can survive well in such a competitive environment at the same time. SWOT analysis theory will help to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and accordingly steps can be taken to manage this and make the best possible use of the results derived from this theory in the business.

Ethical issues

Ethical Issues at Bistro Caf include unpaid trial shifts which is being done as a part of evaluation process for the new hires and this is a major problem because surely bring down the overall cost of business but will damage the reputation of Bistro Caf is it is known by the competitors in the market. This solution does not seem to be sustainable in the long run and can have adverse legal and ethical concerns, which can damage the image of the company. Another ethical issue is employee compensation and benefits package where the issue is inadequate compensation that is causing high employee turnover. It is an ethical issue because not providing fair wages is ethical obligation for them, which is why they are facing high employee turnover. To manage this, you can revisit the compensation packages and offer better ones including other perquisites and put forward more ethical business practices (Dacin, 2022). This will help them survive in the long term as well and create a positive working environment where the employees are more engaged in the work and happy with their fair compensation packages.

Conclusion

In summary, the key issues have been identified in the mail main body with all types of possible solutions, which if implemented properly can bring great results for caf Bistro in a competitive environment and at the same time making sure to thrive in the long run. We are confident about these recommendations that can be a game changer for your small business and navigating through these in the way advised can position the business for success in the upcoming days. We hope, this was helpful and do reach us out if there is a doubt on these aspects, we will be happy to help!

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