Dining Out Evaluation Essay

You must comment on each of the areas listed below. You will write in complete sentences, using proper grammar, and correct spelling.  The report should be in proper paragraph format. The report should be a minimum of 500 words.  Use the below as headings, but do not use bullets in your paper. The bullets are there to help guide your dining experience, and evaluation. Type in a word document and submit in Canvas.

The Overview

• Name of restaurant
• Type of restaurant
• Lunch or Dinner
• Number of guests in your party
• Bill total (without tip)

Pre-Dining

• Call the restaurant and either make a reservation or ask a pertinent question. Was the phone answered? Were they courteous? Were they helpful?
• Did you drive, walk or take other transportation? Was it easy to find? Was parking easy?
• Was the parking lot clean?
• Was their appropriate signage? Was it well maintained?
• Rate your pre-dining experience: Needs Improvement, Acceptable, Excellent

Walking In

• Were you greeted? Was it warm and welcoming?
• Were you seated right away? If you had to wait, was it comfortable? Were you seated within the amount of time quoted?
• If you made a reservation, did they honor it in a timely fashion?
• Rate your walking in experience: Needs Improvement, Acceptable, Excellent

Dining – Service

• Were you greeted in a timely fashion?
• Was your server hospitable, friendly, genuine?
• Was your server knowledgeable?
• Did you get a beverage in a timely fashion?
• Was your food order taken in a timely fashion?
• Did you receive your food in a timely fashion?
• Was the food correct, as you ordered it?
• Did you have everything you needed? Utensils, plates, condiments?
• Did the server check to make sure the table was happy with your food?
• If there were courses, were they served appropriately? Not rushed? Not too long between? Table cleared appropriately? The proper utensils and condiments supplied for each course?
• Was the table cleared appropriately?
• Were you offered dessert?
• If ordered, was the dessert service appropriate?
• Was the bill brought in a timely fashion?
• Was the bill settled in a timely fashion?
• Did the server thank you and wish you a “fair well”?
• Rate your dining service experience: Needs Improvement, Acceptable, Excellent

Dining – Food

• Was the food cooked properly? As you asked or as it was described?
• Was hot food hot and cold food cold?
• Did the food taste good? Was it well seasoned?
• Rate your dining food experience: Needs Improvement, Acceptable, Excellent

Post Dining

• Were you bid “fair well” when you left by the host?
• Were you asked how you enjoyed your dining experience?
• Rate your post dining experience: Needs Improvement, Acceptable, Excellent

Comments

Please add any other comments you may have about the experience!

Name of restaurant: Cooper Hawk at Dania Point e
Type of restaurant: Upscale casual dining
Went there for dinner
Number of guest: 6
Made reservations online
We drove, restaurant was easy to find
Parking was clean, restaurant is in a outdoor shopping mall, great location. Pre-dining experience was great. No improvement.
We were greeted warmly. 4 people in my party were running late, but our table was available for immediate seating.
Server at first, was warm and welcoming. Had great knowledge of the items on the menu and answered all of our party’s questions.

The dining experience, on the other hand, was not good. We waited quite some time for our drinks.

The appetizers did come out in a timely fashion. I ordered the meatballs with crostini and they were cooked to perfection. The crispy brussel sprouts were a bit over cooked, but the aioli had great flavor.

For my entrée, I had my heart set on trying the short rib risotto, but the server informed me that they were sold out. They were also sold out of the pork belly tostadas as an appetizers which I’ve never experienced before at a restaurant. I ordered the roasted chicken risotto in lieu of the short rib. The food took a while to get to our table. I did not enjoy the dish at all. In fact, I sent the risotto back. The risotto was dry and had way too many unnecessary ingredients. The server did apologize and asked if I wanted to try something else, but due to the server taking so long with my previous or, I did not want to wait even longer for a second dish, so I declined.

The waiter did not check on our table. The table was not cleared appropriately, the bill was brought back in a timely fashion.

You may add additional comments according to what I’ve written above.

All in all, the experience was bad, I would not return to this restaurant.

ANSWER

Dining Out Evaluation

The Overview

 Name of restaurant:  Cooper Hawk at Dania Point

 Type of restaurant: Upscale casual dining

 Lunch or Dinner: Dinner

 Number of guests in your party: six

 Bill total (without tip): X

Pre-dining

We made the reservation online. The reservation process was simple and user-friendly. We drove to the restaurant with the help of Google Maps. Finding it was trouble-free. The restaurant was located in a great place, i.e., near an outdoor shopping mall. It had a great view, and the overall environment was inviting. Furthermore, the parking lot was clean and well maintained.

Acquisition of a parking spot was also easy. There was a parking spot strictly for people with disabilities. There were directional parking signs, pedestrian crossing signs, entry and exit signs, and speed limit signs. The signage was appropriate. The pre-dining experience was excellent. There is no need for improvement.

Walking In

The welcome given to us was warm. In the beginning, the server was welcoming and friendly. Despite four people in my party being behind schedule, our table was available for immediate seating. The table setting was comfortable and our walking-in experience was generally good.

Dining-service

The waiter knew the items on the menu and had a substantial knowledge of the menu items. All our questions were well answered. The dining experience, on the other hand, was not as good. We waited a long time before we could give our orders. Moreover, the server took a long time to bring food in between courses. Drinks and appetizers we ordered also took time to arrive at the table. The waiter seemed to be in a rush and never asked whether we got everything we had ordered. Furthermore, he did not comment or apologize for keeping us waiting.

Despite these inconveniences, our table was set with everything we needed. Plates, spoons, and condiments were on point. The server never came to check whether we were enjoying our meal.

Various empirical studies report that waiting times are a major source of customer dissatisfaction. According to Fraser et al. (2008), long waiting times reduce the likelihood of a customer repurchasing a service. My experience at this restaurant gives credence to this study. We were offered dessert but declined due to the long waiting time between meals. Some of my partners at the dinner were angry and frustrated by the long waits and vowed never to come to the restaurant again. This restaurant needs to improve its dining experience. A study conducted by Tasar et al. (2020) found that hiring additional cooks or servers during busy days reduced customer losses by 3% and reduced long waits by 33%. This restaurant should tried hiring more staff to cover busy shifts.

Dining- food

The appetizers we ordered, crispy Brussel sprouts, were overcooked. However, the aioli had a distinguished flavor. They also had meatballs with crostini; that were cooked to perfection. I was eager to try out the short rib risotto for my entrée, but I was informed that they had been sold out. The restaurant was also out of the pork belly tostadas for appetizers. I had to order the roasted chicken risotto instead of the short ribs. The risotto was not to my liking; it had a lot of unnecessary ingredients and was dry. I had it returned. The waiter apologized for the inconvenience and asked whether I would like to try anything else. I declined, knowing how long the restaurant takes to get your order ready.

This restaurant needs to improve on its food preparation techniques. A study conducted by Keller and Kostromitina (2020) revealed that customers are more likely to give low ratings (1 or 2 stars) if the restaurant’s food quality is poor. According to the authors, using common ingredients or lacking food diversity in the menu reduces customer experiences and increases the chances of low ratings (Keller & Kostromitina, 2020). I concur with the findings of this study. The restaurant should improve the quality of its food to improve its customers’ experiences.

Post dining experience

The bill was brought on time. We settled the bill in a timely fashion and the server thanked us for dining at the restaurant.

Comments

Generally, my restaurant experience was unpleasant, and I doubt ever returning to this restaurant again. The waiter was professional, warm, and welcoming, but none of these could make up for the terrible dining experience. Factors contributing to the negative experience include long waiting times, badly-cooked food, and unavailability of some food items. This dinner taught me that a client’s dining experience is more important than the restaurant’s setting and staff’s professionalism. The setting and professionalism of staff may contribute to the restaurant experience, but I feel dining experience is more important. After all, people do not go to restaurants to interact with staff but to eat. Therefore, restaurant managers should always strive to optimize the dining experience to obtain loyal customers.

References

Fraser, R. A., Zahari, M. S., & Othman, Z. (2008). Customer reaction to service delays in Malaysian ethnic restaurants. South Asian Journal of Tourism and Heritage, 1(1), 20-31. https://sajth.com/old/03%20sajth%20article%201_I%20Proof.pdf

Huang, J., Rogers, S., & Joo, E. (2014). Improving restaurants by extracting subtopics from yelp reviews. iConference 2014 (Social Media Expo). http://www.ideals.illinois.edu/handle/2142/48832

Tasar, B., Ventura, K., & Cicekli, U. G. (2020). A simulation model for managing customer waiting time in restaurants: scenarios and beyond. British Food Journal. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/BFJ-09-2019-0685/full/html

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