325-662Services and Relationship
Marketing
DeborahHui.170623
AslinaRahim.173933
JoshuaLoe.179019
KimMcArthur.146989
4,284words
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Anthony Smith and the team at Delifrance for their support and assistance in preparing
this service audit report.
ExecutiveSummary
Delifrance operates in a highly competitive environment and must meet and exceed customer value
expectations if the business is to have a long-term future. To improve customer perceptions of value, both
pre and post-purchase, Delifrance must focus on the five dimensions of service quality:reliability,
responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibles.
The Service Audit conducted by our team reveals that Delifrance needs to rectify a number of service
shortcomings that directly influence customer perception of value and satisfaction. These areas identified
include:reducing customer waiting and queuing times;lack of appropriate directional signage and cues for
customers, including pricing information;lack of behind-counter process for coffee ordering and delivery
to customers;and, the general cleanliness of the store.
SituationAnalysis
Delifrance is located on Bourke Street in Melbourne, close to RMIT.s
city campus and opposite the
Target Shopping Centre. This French-style cafébakery is situated in a highly competitive environment,
densely populated with numerous alternative providers. All of these businesses compete for the lunchtime
crowd that is the main staple of the city cafébusiness.
Subway, Delifrance.s main direct competitor is located next door. This franchise business prides itself in
it.s healthy .Eat Fresh. image and has well-developed production processes, customer and service provider
role scripts. Laurent Bakery has a very similar product offering to Delifrance and competes as an
upmarket French cafébakery. The main direct and indirect competitors are outlined in Appendix1.
Customer expectations of service quality at all caféand fast food environments have increased
significantly in the past decade, largely due to the emergence of franchise fast food businesses and their
process driven service factories.
Recently two social cultural trends have strongly influenced competitive...