Delivering food in a college community

Apr 9
05:16

2006

Max Weber

Max Weber

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I think the idea of providing a catering service can be extended and improved. Delivering food in a college community may become a very profitable business. But if the students want to expand the company (let’s call it Get it Hot) they might want to include few more services.

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The largest amount of the food they will deliver probably will be for the parties and other big social events.  Get it Hot can also help prepare a party,Delivering food in a college community Articles decorate a place, rent necessary equipment, and provide entertainment, like karaoke, music, or movies, hire DJ’s or invite some interesting guests.  The company may become a local “party industry.”  Providing all this services will get grate customers’ satisfaction. Custom essays on business

The Get it Hot company may consider the options of delivering flowers.  It is a very popular kind of service in a college community.  Since the company already has the means of delivering food, cars or bikes, all they have to do is to make contacts with a flower shop and advertise the new service on a web site, in the newspapers and on radio.

Speaking about a web site, it should be the first thing to do after solving all financial issues and deciding what kinds of services the company will perform.  The site is very important because it is the “face” of the company and most of the clients will put orders through Internet.  A professional-looking web site that offers information and resources to the customers will keep them coming back, and will help the company strive on the Internet.  It is good that one of the students will be able to create a web site himself.  It will eliminate the necessity to hire someone for that job.  Number one goal should be to provide a great looking, interactive, and exceptionally functional web site that is one of a kind. Design, layout and content are equally important.  The site should be mostly college-student oriented, but it important to bear in mind that not only students may use the service.  The content should be relevant and dynamic.  Casual visitors must be turned into a virtual community.  Business custom essays.

On the web site there should be information about the company, types of services provided, menu and prices.  All the products and services should be described.  Few pictures of parties where the company was employed may be a good idea to use. Much should be said about the quality of the service and products.  The customers should easily find the way to contact the company for further information, feedback, and making an order.  Address, telephone number, e-mail, fax (if available), and hours of operation should be provided.  It is possible to include information about the partners, for example, about a restaurant where the food is ordered or a flower shop if the company chooses to deliver flowers as well. It would be great to have a toll-free number for those customers who want to put order through the phone and want more personal contact.

Things change all the time on the internet so it is necessary to keep the site constantly updated.  I would suggest to send out occasional updates of real importance to the customers. 

It is possible to place some questionnaires on the web site for further marketing research.  It should encourage customers to share their experience, good and not so good.  It is very important to know as much as possible about customers.  And it should not be very difficult to do because with many of them it is possible to establish personal contact.

After creating a web site, the students should concentrate on how to achieve customer’s satisfaction and make them come back.  The big myth about E-commerce is that it is about as close to self-service as one can get.  At last--or so the theory goes--companies no longer have to sweat customer hand-holding and staff huge call centers. But on the Web, the next shop is seconds away and is open 24 hours.  If cybershoppers cannot get products or answers instantly--which happens very often--they are off in a heartbeat.  Better service is no longer just a nice thing to do.  It's mandatory.  Without it the company would not be able to survive.  Many specialists believe that 70% of all efforts should be devoted to creating a great customer experience and 30% should be spent advertising it.

I may be old-fashioned, but the students should bear in mind some fundamentals: they need to offer products/services that people want to buy/use for prices that are acceptable to the buyer.  To find this information, it is necessary to encourage feedback.  All the questions and requests should be considered.  All e-mails need to be answered.  And all comments should be appreciated.  All problems and mistakes should be eliminated as quickly as possible. 

It is very important to provide warm personalized catering service.  It means that the food should be of a good quality and delivered promptly. Get it Hot company will offer full-service catering and event planning with style and quality. The company will have varied menu to choose from and serve everything from fast food to family style cooking.  All the products should be perfectly prepared and packaged for pick-up or delivery.  Only the best of ingredients should be used in all foods.  The personnel should be polite and always ready to offer help.  The company should become a part of the college community life, participate in many school events, and sponsor some activities.  It all creates a positive image of a company.  Get it Hot should provide as many kinds of service as possible.  Needs and wants of all people living on campus should be taken into account.  The students need to take care and make sure the services are provided on time and in a professional way. 

In small community it will be easy to remember preferences and tastes of many customers and offer them special menu items and discounts.

The company should create a uniform for all employers having contact with customers.  It would be great to create emblem and slogans, like “Enjoyable coffee breaks, impressive events, and unforgettable times,” or “we throw the best parties,” or  “for us optimal service means providing good food and mood to our customers and making their ideas come true.”

The service should be available every day.  A customer should always be able to reach a company representative, also on Sundays and holidays – and reaction should be immediately.  It will be necessary to hire more people on holidays, days off, and some other special occasions, so that all orders are fulfilled.

It is also very important to have dependable partners.  The restaurant should be able to provide necessary amount of food.  It should maintain good quality and promptness.  The restaurant should offer large menu variety.

The company will probably hire students who will work part-time.  It is necessary to train all of the employees. All staff should be trained caterers and event planners.  It would be necessary to hire more staff on holidays and days off.

The last but not the least thing to think about is how to encourage customers to come back.  The students should make decisions about discount for return customers, range of prices in different times and dates, discounts for some college events and big sorority and fraternity activities.  There might be also discounts for favorite professor or the best student.  The company can establish such nominations and offer the winners free catering service for the whole year.

The opening of the company can be celebrated with a big open-air party.  There should be advertisement about this event.  There can be a fixed price for entrance and to sell the food they are going to deliver.  Waiters should be students working for the service wearing the uniform.  There should be big signs with the name of the company and slogans inside and outside the place of the party.  Such parties can become a tradition and will be held regularly.

Get it Hot can be advertised in student newspapers and on college radio. 

Establish an image that would appeal to college students.  But it is necessary to remember that not only students will be future customers. 

Get it Hot will guarantee its clients cost savings and service quality across the full range of its offerings.  It will be a very dependable service.  Customers will get their money back if they are not satisfied with products and service quality.  

The company’s good quality, dependability, and friendly atmosphere should become the main compatible advantage.  There are probably many like services in the area.  It makes it even more important to stress the quality.