There is a problem because Kathy Kelleher, manager of Bentleys wanted to keepthe market open to everyone. But everything seemed to be targeted toward thestudent and faculty at the University of Arizona. What is the critical question?The critical question is if she wanted to provide a facility that would appealto all why is Kathy Kelleher putting so much effort into exposing the Universitymarket to Bentleys.
This is the basis for the problem because Kelleher hadneglected to offer specials or other promotional items to attract people otherthan the university crowd. What are the critical factors? 1) Pleased to see manystudents seated throughout the restaurant due to a current advertisement in thelocal newspaper. 2) Promoted a University of Arizona student/faculty dinner for$5. 95 from 4:00 to 6:00 daily. 3) Students dismissed Bentleys in the pastbecause it was out of their price range. 4) Kelleher wanted everyone to feelcomfortable in her establishment, and thought it was time to expose theuniversity market to the restaurant.
5) The overall sales mix was 80 percentfood and 20 percent alcoholic beverages. 6) Kelleher made her mission statementvery clear. We offer a little bit of everything for everyone. The last thingI want to do is limit the market to one particular group. 7) Kelleher decidedto offer two separate menus beginning in August of 1988. 8) The dinner checkaverage was $17.
00 including beverages. 9) Front-of the house employees wereunhappy because they had to serve more customers to make the same amount ofmoney. 10) The chef and cooks were less enthusiastic since they considered thelower price additions to the dinner menu to be incompatible with the overallconcept and not worthy of their attention. 11) Lunch service was discontinued onweekdays in early 1989 after covers plummeted by 75%.
12) Management blamed thedecrease on the construction on a former parking lot, which had previously beenused by the restaurant guests. 13) Lunch customers were unable to park and wentelsewhere. 14) Kelleher eliminated significant overhead by closing during theday. 15) Averaged 100 covers Monday to Wednesday. Averaged 125 covers Thursdayand Friday Averaged 200 covers Saturday and Sunday. Averaged 300 covers forSunday brunch.
16) Management attempted to fill the slow periods by offeringdinner for two for $11. 95 on Monday. 17) Advertising was directed towarddifferent markets during different seasons. 18) Tucson television channel 13 hasawarded the establishment with 4 stars.
19) Kelleher spent a lot of timevisiting competitors in order to identify new ideas and trends to implement ather restaurant. 20) Comment cards were distributed as a means of monitoring theBentleys experience and comparing it to the competition. 21) As an incentiveto complete the comment card a random drawing awarded a complimentary Sundaybrunch for two. 22) Results from the comment cards rated the menu and servicevery high. 23) Customers requested less expensive menu items. 24) Spends aconsiderable amount of money on a large arrangement of flowers for theentranceway and fresh flowers for each table.
The flowers confused customerssince they assumed that the restaurant was out of their price range. 25)Originally initiated the cut-rate specials as a means of reaching the pricesensitive market. 26) First time customers were surprised they could affordBentleys if they timed it correctly. The conditions for solution 1) If theyinvest in a parking lot then they would attract more lunch customers. 2) If theyadvertised their outside bar to the surrounding businesses then they couldattract people after work for a drink at the end of the day. 3) If Kelleheroffered $5.
95 specials to all customers during off peak times then they wouldattract more people outside the university. 4) If they invested in artificialflowers they would have money to put somewhere else. She could increase wagesfor the angry workers that have to work twice as hard. 5) If she is reallytrying to attract tourists then she could offer a discount for persons who showan out of state ID card.
6) If she chose a particular market to target thenthere would more likely be a higher rate of success. 7) If they continue tooffer specials then they will more likely develop an ongoing relationship withcustomers. 8) If they continue to have good food and service then people willrefer their friends and family. 9) If Bentleys had a new concept with lightmeals, relatively low prices, good service and informal atmosphere then studentswould be more likely to go there.
Situation analysis Strengths a) received afour star rating b) Corporation opened several establishments in the southwestregion and offered high quality at a good value. c) Offered on and off premisecatering. d) Bentleys was located in the historic part of town. This is howthey can attract tourist.
e) Committed to aggressive promotion to keep thepublic talking (offering a $5. 95 special to students/faculty). f) Comment cardsrated the menu and service very high. g) Gave the customer a choice ofcustomizing their own menu for parties of twenty or more. h) The only 70 seatoutdoor patio in the area where you could just order drinks.
Weaknesses a)Lowering prices to get the student and faculty to come in and dine during offpeak time. b) Not having enough parking for lunch customers and discontinuinglunch service on weekdays. c) Specials were limited to certain entres. Opportunities a) As an incentive for customers to fill out comment cards theyselected one from a random drawing for a free brunch.
b) By opening the onlyoutdoor patio with a bar in town she is allowing the people to stop by just fora drink without the obligation of ordering food. Lots of people would like tostop in for a drink this would attract a whole new crowd. c) By lowering theprices they could attract more people who eat at McDonalds by giving moreaffordable prices. Threats a) Not having enough parking will force people to gosomewhere else. b) Having a formal dcor like this restaurant has may make someinformal customers feel uncomfortable.
Even though they say this is a casualplace. c) Competition, if they can not provide what the customer wants they willgo elsewhere. d) Offering too low prices could attract more customers but itmight give a negative result. Assumptions a) I assume fresh flower arrangementscost a lot and if Kelleher got rid of them she would be able to lower prices foreveryone.
She would more likely attract more customers from the universitybecause the touches of flowers give a formal atmosphere rather than an informalone. b) I assume investing in a parking lot will attract more customers becausethey wouldnt have to search for a parking space. I assume this will alsoallow them to reopen for lunch. c) I assume that if they dont invest in aparking lot they will lose more customers during the hours between 4:00 to6:00pm when people are still at work and parking spaces are not available. d) Iassume that if Kelleher keeps her customers happy they will return and alsorefer friends and family.
Conclusion In conclusion I see that Kelleher need tofocus on one particular market. You can please most of the people most of thetime but you cant please all of the people all of the time. If she cut outthe flower arrangements which makes people think this is a formal environmentmore students would come in and dine because they are looking for somethingcasual. Basically Kelleher needs to give the students what they want for a pricethat they can afford or they will take their business elsewhere.
By offeringlower prices she will be able to bring in more of the university populationwhich will result in compensation for lower check averages.Marketing
