Hard Rock Café - Operations Management in Services

Case Study                                                        Submitted to: Professor Enrico C. Wong

Hard Rock Café: Operations Management in Services                Submitted by: Raymund C. Berja, CPA, CMA, CFC

Discussion Questions:

1. From your knowledge of restaurants, from the video, from the Global Company Profile that opens this chapter, and from the case itself, identify how each of the 10 OM strategy decision is applied at Hard Rock Café.

1. Design of goods and services: 

Today’s customers always bargains for value for money. It simply means best price at best quality with the best experience one could have. The design of goods and services plays a critical role to serve and sustain this key customer decision point to buy or avail goods or services. The restaurant competes in a very tough industry where customers has limitless choices from direct competitors and substitutes.

Point being, Hard Rock is driven by “Differentiation” setting itself apart in the industry. It could be easily identified as the number one theme restaurant in the world. Hard Rock serves not only custom meal but a dining experience that includes visual and sound. Hard Rock Café foods, drinks, memorabilia, rock concerts and retails are testament to Hard Rock Cafés Mission “To spread the spirit of Rock and Roll by delivering an exceptional entertainment and dining experience. We are committed to being an important, contributing member of our community and offering the Hard Rock family a fun, healthy, and nurturing work environment while ensuring our long-term success.”

When it comes to prices, Hard Rock Café is not very cheap but it is not also very expensive. Customer pay for a great food experiences but comes with a very good entertainment and music experience. Is there any restaurant that could not go better than that? Constantly, Hard Rock products are designed, tested, and then analyzed for cost of ingredients, labor requirements, and customer satisfaction. Ingredients are likewise source from qualified suppliers who can supply at best quality and reasonable price.

Globally, Hard Rock Café operates in over 53 countries and thus operate with different social norms, preferences and local tastes. Its design of goods and services is likewise tailored to address this market realities. It provides tweaking and customization to adopt to each and every country while maintaining its global standards. Its menus in European market is focus more on fish and lobster while lesser focus on beef steak and burgers.

1. Managing Quality: 

Differentiation play speaks a lot about quality. Hard Rock Café has differentiated itself in its industry determined by its dedication on maintaining best quality it has to offer. As evident in the case, Hard Rock Café gives priority to Food, Employee and Restaurant Look. These are three main imperatives in the restaurant industry that Hard Rock has shown commitment to sustain and lead on. Narrated in the case and video script as are as follows:

Employee: They are not only competent but they have extensive and passionate knowledge in the music or rock-n-roll industry and have engaging personality. Its employees whether as forefront or back end shows courteous service as customer looks into something they can relate to beyond just ordering food. Its employees in the backend or in the kitchen areas who prepares the food understands food preparation and standards by heart to maintain quality of food.

Food: Other than employee considerations, consistency of quality of food is very important and the following elements are highlighted in the paper:

• Good food ingredients
• Good and reliable suppliers
• Constant review of menus including updating menus
• Continuous research
• Quality surveys - there is survey question for every dining customer and the food, service and restaurant is graded from 1 to 7, 7 being the highest. Any category with less than 7 will be seriously look into.

Restaurant Look: Though this could be highlighted in the layout design. Hard Rock has maintained and sustained a very engaging yet unique restaurant look displaying the memorabilia of rock and roll. This look is constantly attended to in terms of cleanliness, design, and maintenance.

1. Process and capacity design: 

Hard Rock make products in a proficient fashion that is consistent to its mission of delivering and an exceptional entertainment and dining experience. Hard Rock Café process for products are designed, tested, and then analyzed for costing , cost are analyze, quality sustained, and labor requirements in place. The entire production process from receiving ingredient, storage, grilling, baking and frying is designed to create a quality meal for each customer where hot food is serve hot and cold food is serve cold.

As clearly stated in the case, Hard Rock production process from receiving, to cold storage, to grilling or baking or frying and a dozen steps is designed and maintained in to yield quality meal. Hard Rock continues to add new products and continuously improving its design to accommodate changing tastes and customer preference. Hard Rock has evolve since its inception to market in 1971. Initially opening as café in London offering classic American food to becoming a “theme” restaurant and now with over 150 restaurants in over 53 countries. It has evolve as not only a restaurant but also a tourist destination and sprung to different locations and different stores offering live music and rock concert. It has added to its portfolio hotels and casinos. Amidst expansions, it has continuously upgraded its menu line up coming from classic American burger and chicken wings to higher end menus such as stuffed veal chops and lobster tails and thus the kitchen process has evolve, upgraded and changed.    

1. Location Strategy: 

Hard Rock is mostly located in high traffic areas and highly visible areas. The Café’s signage are always imposing and inviting. Add to this, it employs people within the city or nearby city where it operates. Location, location, location is the most important business strategy- it will break and make the business much more in the “restaurant industry”. The different forces of the market should be seriously reviewed e.g. Political, Environment, Social, Cultural and Business Practices. Cost structure also varies in different location e.g. rental of prime sites. Location are not simply chosen on cost considerations but also visibility, convenience and even consider as tourist sites. These are the parameters to be weighted out whenever Hard Rock Café expands.  

...