Is it a pub? Is it a restaurant? Or is it theatre? The operators of T.G.I. Friday’s would hope that their customers see it as all three. For diners who tire of the scripted industrialized service processes of many fast-food chains, the service encounter at a branch of T.G.I. Friday’s may come as welcome relief. T.G.L. Friday’s is a themed American restaurant and bar group in the USA and in 2010 had over 900 restaurants operating in 59 countries. In the UK, the chain operated since 1986 as a franchise through Whitbread plc (in 2007 Whitbread sold the operating rights of its 45 UK restaurants back to a consortium consisting of Carlson Restaurants Worldwide and ABN Amro Capital).

The credo of T.G.I. Friday’s, according to Richard Snead, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Carlson Restaurants Worldwide, parent company of T.G.I. Fridays, is ‘to treat every customer as we would an honoured guest in our home, and it is reflected in everything we do’. There are four crucial components of the company philosophy which contribute to successful service encounters at their restaurants: 

° Employees. These are seen as the key to service quality. This applies not only to front-line staff who visibly contribute to guests’ experience, but also to back-room staff. 

° Product. A meal is a focal point of a customer’s visit and consistency of standards is important. 

° Package. This comprises the building and furnishings which must be kept well maintained. 

° Ambience. This is an important part of the meal experience that is difficult to specify, but memorable to customers.  

The first T.G.I. Friday’s was opened at First Avenue and 63rd Street in New York City in 1965 and featured the now familiar red and white stripes. Inside were wooden floors, Tiffany lamps, bentwood chairs and striped tablecloths. Décor has become a key element in the T.G.I. Friday’s experience, transforming an otherwise bland and boring industrial-type building into a theatrical stage. For T.G.I. Friday’s interior décor, a full-time antique ‘picker’ travels extensively to auctions and flea markets. Memorabilia have to be authentic and, if possible, unique to the area where a new restaurant would be located.....

Case study review questions 

1. What are the connections between theatre and T.G.I. Friday’s? Is the dramaturgical analogy a good one? 

2. Identify the types of benefits that consumers may seek from a visit to T.G.I. Friday's. How would you define the experiential benefits of a visit? 

3. Identify and critically evaluate the contributions of ‘hard’ systems approaches and ‘soft’ experiential approaches to managing service encounters at T.G.I. Friday’s.