Variation in a queueing system can be the result of variation in customer arrivals and of variation in customer service times. List some specific causes of variation that you would expect to see at Oliver’s Diner.

Case Information:

Oliver Peters, owner of Oliver's Diner in Grand Bend, Ontario, was growing in confidence that his new venture was going to be a success. Located on Main Street, his diner had become an instant hit with the local cottagers and tourists, often with waiting lines at peak periods. However, the popularity of the restaurant had created some "growing pains," and Oliver felt there were opportunities to improve his business. In particular, he was concerned the high volume of customers had placed a strain on his staff, particularly on weekends. Oliver was also discouraged to hear customer complaints about the long queues to get a table, and longer than expected wait times for meals. Grand Bend already had several well- established restaurants, and Oliver believed that providing good customer service was a key component for long-term viability and success.

It was July 5, 2016, and Oliver had arrived early at work to review data from his first two months of operation. He wanted to identify opportunities to improve operations and customer service. Oliver decided to initially focus his attention on the weekend period since these were the busiest days for his diner.

Since an early age, Oliver had been passionate about working in the foodservice industry. Growing up in London, Ontario, he had worked in a local restaurant while in high school and college. After graduating from the culinary management program at Fanshawe College, Oliver quickly found a job as a chef at a popular restaurant in downtown London. However, his goal was to someday operate his own restaurant. Consequently, when the opportunity arose in late 2015 to take over a vacant building in Grand Bend, Oliver jumped at it. Using his modest savings and a CA$50,000 bank loan, he renovated the vacant building with a 1960s theme and set up his 90-seat diner, which opened on Saturday, April 30.

Grand Bend was located on the shore of Lake Huron, approximately 70 kilometers northwest of London. It was a popular destination for vacationers and cottagers. With a year-round population of 2,100, it attracted as many as 50,000 visitors in peak summer vacation periods. The menu at Oliver's Diner featured a variety of comfort food items such as burgers, sandwiches, soups, pizza, pasta, pies, and Oliver's unique version of poutine. Customers could also select from a list of local craft beers and Ontario wines. The diner's retro theme décor and comfort food menu immediately made it a popular spot for people looking for tasty meals at a reasonable cost. Hours of operation were 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for lunch and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. for dinner. The diner had 25 tables: some tables for two and larger tables that could accommodate up to six customers.

Oliver employed 10 people at the diner: one host/cashier, four servers, three chefs, and two bussers. He spent 50 per cent of his time in the kitchen helping to prepare meals, and the remainder of his time helping to coordinate front-of-restaurant activities with staff and customers.

The host was responsible for seating customers and providing them with a menu, and wine and beverage list. The host also explained the daily specials. The server took orders for drinks, and typically took food orders immediately after delivering the beverages. Customer meal orders were written on a form and delivered by the server to the kitchen, where it entered a queue of orders waiting for preparation. The server would check with customers usually about 10 to 15 minutes after serving the food to make sure that everything was in order. After clearing the plates, the server would ask whether anyone wanted to try any of the freshly-baked delectable pies that only Oliver's Diner offered. Once diners completed their meals, the server would present the bill and ask that they pay the host at the front counter, using cash, debit, or credit card. One of the two bussers would then clean the table, and prepared it for the next group of customers.

During his time at college, Oliver had taken a course on restaurant operations which he had found particularly useful. For the first two months of operation, Oliver tracked customer volumes, and the time spent by staff to perform their tasks. Exhibits 1 and 2 provide a summary of the data Oliver had collected. He estimated that it took one minute for the host to seat customers, and one minute to handle payment at the end of the meal, for a total of two minutes. The servers had multiple touch points with the customers during their dining experience, but Oliver estimated that it took eight minutes overall to serve one table. Meals took an average of 10 minutes to prepare, and chefs could work on four meals simultaneously, representing an average of 2.5 minutes per meal. Cleaning a table and setting it up for the next group of customers took bussers about two minutes.

The previous Saturday had been a typical weekend night. By 6:30 p.m., a lineup had formed outside, and some, who had already waited for 20 minutes or longer, were discussing leaving for another restaurant. Meanwhile, meal orders had piled up in the kitchen, with approximately 20 orders waiting in the queue. When his diner first opened, Oliver had hoped to be able to turn around a table in 60 minutes or less. However, his current estimate was that it took 75 minutes from the time that diners sat down to when their table was ready for the next group of customers.

As Oliver poured a cup of coffee, and stared at the data he had collected, he wondered where opportunities existed to improve his operations and the customer service experience. He was considering several improvements. Firstly, to address customers' queue time concerns, Oliver was considering two possibilities: investing in restaurant pagers, which would allow those waiting for a table to be able to peruse other nearby Main Street retail establishments; and installing a display board that would inform those in the queue of the diner's daily specials, available freshly-baked pies, and other useful information. Secondly, to eliminate the need to wait for a table, Oliver was reconsidering his current policy of not taking reservations. Making changes to staffing levels represented a third option given the longer than expected time to turn over tables. Fourthly, to further reinforce the diner's retro décor, Oliver was considering replacing the individual seating with upholstered or wooden booth bench seating. Oliver hoped to quickly identify specific areas in his operational system that could be further improved on to support the long-term success of his new diner.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

There are a number of reasons why Olivers Diners could benefit from the usage of these variations I The main reason of variance should be linked to the length of time consumers have to wait in line or ... View the full answer