Q1: How has Porcini’s maintained high product and

service quality and how does it plan to do so for its

new pronto concept?
Porcini’s had begun its restaurant as a family owned restaurant and later opened
some new franchises in other cities. As Porcini’s is a slow process restaurant so
the company’s uniformity to success is high quality product and high quality
service at each location. That quality could be traced to the long experience of
individual restaurant managers, supervisory personnel, chefs and a relatively
stable work force. All the staff in the restaurant should be well trained and
teached according to their work they performed in the restaurant. Table service
matched the food in quality and gave its best chain service on every table and to
every customer.
“Service quality has been described as a form of attitude, related but not
equivalent to satisfaction that results from the comparison of expectations
with performance”
https://www.jstor.org/stable/1252296
Product quality is something that is according to the customer need or
expectations.
“The most successful services companies develop a set of standardized
service components that can be mixed and matched at the point or time of
delivery by loyal, satisfied employee”
https://www.jstor.org/stable/4165565

PLAN
Plan for the pronto’s new concept are as follows:
 Opening the new outlets to serve the highway travellers
 An appropriate way for selecting, appraising and rewarding employees
 An innovative idea for wireless order taking process
 An innovative idea for digital menu list
 Waiters bought the debit/credit card payment terminals to every table in
order to save their and customers time.
Q2: What does the proposed customer questionnaire
system tells you about porcini’s approach to quality?
What are the system’s strengths and weaknesses? Can
you suggest ways to supplement this tool?
When the waiter person handle the bill, he/she would bring a customer
satisfaction questionnaire. The questionnaire is about the customer overall
experience at the restaurant. Porcini’s determined to get the valuable customers
feedback regarding the product and service they offered. For those who
complete questionnaire, porcini’s willing to provide ‘Porcini’s Pal Card’ worth
$3 off of next purchase at any porcini location.
“Questionnaire offer an objective means of collecting information about
people’s knowledge, beliefs, attitudes and behaviour and can be used as
the sole research instrument”
https://www.jstor.org/stable/41707852

STRENGTHS
 Strong management
 Innovative culture
 Unique products
 Supply chain
 Customer loyalty
 Brand name

WEAKNESSES
 Work inefficiencies
 High staff turnover
 Online presence
 Cost structure

Porcini can supplement this tool through newspaper, online questionnaire, on

the spot questionnaire to get a customer point of view about the restaurant and
to make like porcini did by providing a card worth $3 off for purchase of next
meal. In the questionnaire’s name, address or any other information regarding
customer is not provided.

Q3: How well or poorly do the various elements of the

pronto concept- its menu choices, HR system, quality
measures, etc. support the goal of “Great Italian
cruise without the wait”
The pronto concept is well supported by the vision statement which says that
there is no wait. Right from the menu choices, to the table and the service were
very well connected. The menu choices well suited the customer requirements
and the moderate price as well. It came in with the service quality, food quality,
pricing, branding and location and ownership sustainability. Strategies that
make this concept successful was their process which depends on quality,
operational efficiency, service and cost strategy which depends heavily on all
the departments of pronto. To make these strategies efficient lower cost, faster
service, quality product and efficient environment has to be provided. The HRM
strategies such as employee cost, employee hiring procedure, employees leave
enhancement, performance bonus and all other procedure for hiring and trained
the employees. The use of information technology such as Wi-Fi facility, big
television and many others enable to customers while dining.
Q4: If you were a member of porcini’s top
management which of the available growth option for
pronto would you choose? Why?
The available growth options for pronto are syndication, company operated
hotel model and franchising. It has to choose one of these growth options in
order to maintain its quality and excellence in service if it has to grow.
Franchising is best among all the options for pronto as it is efficient and brings
more profit to the restaurant. The firm opens its own retail store for competition.
Franchising is a very efficient way of achieving profit. At the time of highly
competitive environment, firm has to make more stores/restaurants in the city
and provide them more quality products at the most competitive price. Firm’s
distributors are very expensive and their strategy will be good to pursue other
firms and distributors. The quality distributors can’t offer highly competitive
advantage material. Some industry within which the firms operate growing very
fast and working on the competitive products. This ability of a firm helps in
maintain high profit.
Syndication would not be best as in it we transfer our
ownership to our investors and they make rules and regulations as according to
their demand and requirements.

Q5: What are the implications of your choice (Q4) for

profitability, return on investment, product and service
quality and the quality image of the porcini's brand?
As the implications of our choice, if porcini went for franchising option for its
growth it will provide greatest return on investment. Franchising may lead
porcini’s brand of excellence service and excellence quality. As the value of the
porcini is not very high so that the franchising can’t bring high royalties and
high fees from franchising. Since this is a food outlet so maintaining the quality
of the brand and their conditions became very difficult, as franchises may not
take brand association seriously to more dangerous than advantages.