A simulation comparison of buffet restaurants: Applying Monte Carlo modeling

Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly

Volumn 38, Issue 6, 1997, Pages 5-79

  Field, Arthur ^a   McKnew, Mark ^a   Kiessler, Peter ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0031541026     PISSN: 00108804     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/001088049703800622     Document Type: Article

References (19)

1. 1 For examples of buffet-operating challenges, see: Maria Rotter, Robert Sommer, and John Leckie, "Toward a Better Buffet," Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Vol. 28, No. 3 (November 1987), pp. 76-78; and Patricia Diaz and Denney Rutherford, "Restaurant Espionage: When Recipes Are Not Trade Secrets," Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Vol. 38, No. 1 (February 1997), pp. 43-50.
2. 1 For examples of buffet-operating challenges, see: Maria Rotter, Robert Sommer, and John Leckie, "Toward a Better Buffet," Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Vol. 28, No. 3 (November 1987), pp. 76-78; and Patricia Diaz and Denney Rutherford, "Restaurant Espionage: When Recipes Are Not Trade Secrets," Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Vol. 38, No. 1 (February 1997), pp. 43-50.
3. 2 See: Robert C. Mill, Managing for Productivity in the Hospitality Industry (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1989), pp. 145-148.
4. 3 Mill, p. 44.
5. 4 See: Jonathan Barsky, "Building a Program for World-Class Service," Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Vol. 37, No. 1 (February 1996), pp. 17-27.
6. 5 For a discussion of the dimensions of server conviviality, see: William B. Martin, "Defining What Quality Service Is for You," Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Vol. 26, No. 4 (February 1986), pp. 32-38; and William B. Martin, "Measuring and Improving Your Service Quality," Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 1 (May 1986), pp. 80-87. An example of research on improving organizational systems is found in: Paula Francese, "Breaking the Rules: Delivering Responsive Service," Hospitality Research Journal, Vol. 16, No. 2 (1993), pp. 55-74.
7. 5 For a discussion of the dimensions of server conviviality, see: William B. Martin, "Defining What Quality Service Is for You," Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Vol. 26, No. 4 (February 1986), pp. 32-38; and William B. Martin, "Measuring and Improving Your Service Quality," Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 1 (May 1986), pp. 80-87. An example of research on improving organizational systems is found in: Paula Francese, "Breaking the Rules: Delivering Responsive Service," Hospitality Research Journal, Vol. 16, No. 2 (1993), pp. 55-74.
8. 5 For a discussion of the dimensions of server conviviality, see: William B. Martin, "Defining What Quality Service Is for You," Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Vol. 26, No. 4 (February 1986), pp. 32-38; and William B. Martin, "Measuring and Improving Your Service Quality," Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 1 (May 1986), pp. 80-87. An example of research on improving organizational systems is found in: Paula Francese, "Breaking the Rules: Delivering Responsive Service," Hospitality Research Journal, Vol. 16, No. 2 (1993), pp. 55-74.
9. 6 R. Van Dierdonck and G. Brandt, "The Focused Factory in Service Industry," International Journal of Operations and Production Management, Vol. 8 (1988), pp. 35-39.
10. 7 L.G. Gulledge, "Simplify Complexity of Satisfying Customers," Marketing News, Vol. 24, No. 1 (1990), pp. 6-7.
11. 8 K. Albrecht and L.J. Bradford, The Service Advantage: How to Identify and Fulfill Customer Needs (Homewood, IL: Dow Jones-Irwin, 1990).
12. 9 Ernest R. Cadotte and Normand Turgeon, "Key Factors in Guest Satisfaction," Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Vol. 28, No. 4 (February 1988), pp. 45-51.
13. 10 Pete Stevens, Bonnie J. Knutson, and Mark Patton, "DINESERV: A Tool for Measuring Service Quality in Restaurants," Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Vol. 36, No. 2 (April 1995), pp. 56-60.
14. 11 A. Parasuraman, V. Zeithaml, and L. Berry, "SERVQUAL: A Multiple-Item Scale for Measuring Consumer Perceptions of Service Quality," Journal of Retailing, Vol. 64 (1988), pp. 12-40.
15. 12 One can write an explicit formula relating the customer's waiting time to arrival times and service times of all customers. This is often quite a sophisticated relationship and simulation eliminates the need to develop this formula.
16. 13 We chose these times based on the longest period of time we could stand waiting for such service ourselves, and recognize this is purely arbitrary. We believe such boundary levels will vary based on many factors including: guest's age, dining occasion, restaurant's location, number of patrons in a party, wealth of patron, time waiting to enter the system, and cost of a meal. We suggest that this is an area for further research.
17. 14 For a straightforward discussion of how to set up a Monte Carlo simulation using a PC-based spreadsheet, see: Stanley Atkinson, Charles Kelliher, and Stephen LeBruto, "Capital-Budgeting Decisions Using 'Crystal Ball,'" Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Vol. 38, No. 5 (October 1997), pp. 20-27.
18. 15 Atul Sheel, "Monte Carlo Simulations and Scenario Analysis - Decision-Making Tools for Hoteliers," Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Vol. 36, No. 5 (October 1995), pp. 18-26.
19. 16 SLAMSYSTEM is distributed by Pritsker Corporation, 8910 Purdue Road, Suite 500, Indianapolis, IN 46268.