Outback Steak House

1. Background

Outback Steakhouse is a steakhouse with an Australian concept. Even though steak is majority of items of the menu, you can also find chicken, seafood, pasta and other varieties of food. In 1988, Outback Steakhouse opens their first location in Tampa, Florida. Eight years later, they make their first international expansion in Toronto, Canada in 1996. In addition to their operations in the United States, Outback steakhouse also has restaurants located internationally in 20 different countries. These international operations include: Australia, United Kingdom, Venezuela, Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, Puerto Rico, Philippines, Mexico, Malaysia, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Guam, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Canada, Brazil, Beijing, and Bahamas.

To differentiate itself from competitors, Outback Steakhouse focuses its business to consistently provide excellent food and service. Also a strategy to separate itself from others is creating the experience of the Australian Outback. They do this by offering generous portions at relatively low prices and setting a "relaxing" ambiance for guests.

A timeline about the history of Outback Steakhouse

1. 1988: Outback Steakhouse opens in Tampa, Florida.

2. 1991: IPO (initial public offering) NASDAQ.

3. 1994: Inc. Magazine names founders of Outback Steakhouse "Entrepreneurs of the Year".

4. 1995: Outback Bowl Sponsorship Announced.

5. 1996: Outback Steakhouse opens its 1st Outback International Restaurant in Toronto, Canada.

6. 1998: Outback Steakhouse opens its 500th restaurant.

7. 2002: Outback's first of several overseas trips to Afghanistan to feed the troops.

8. 2006 Company changes name to OSI Restaurant Partners, Inc. (Former: LLC).

9. Service Operations Analysis

Procedural Dimensions

a. Timeliness

 Definition: Timeliness is the amount of time it takes for the product or service to reach the customers.

 Benchmark: Good timeliness at Outback is expected for the entire course of the meal, from the time the customers walk in to the time that the customers get their checks. Furthermore, change should be delivered customers within 2 minutes of receiving a form of payment.

 Actual: The Outback Steakhouse that we visited did not meet this benchmark. The server (named Austin) was not quick enough to deliver our change in a timely manner. He took longer than 5 minutes.

 Strengths and Weaknesses:

* Strength 1 - The entrйes and appetizers came out in a very timely manner. It took about 5 minutes for the appetizer and about 10 minutes for the entrйe.

* Strength 2 - Not only did the food come out in a timely manner, our food was piping hot.

* Weakness 1 -Our hostess took a few minutes to look up from her podium to greet us, as if we were being ignored or not valued.

* Weakness 2 - The server cleared our salad plates too quickly, which in turn left us feeling rushed and unimportant.

b. Incremental Flow

 Definition: Incremental flow of service requires that service be delivered in regular increments, providing an even and steady flow of service to the customers.

 Benchmark: The entrйe should be received within 10 minutes of serving the appetizer and/or salads.

 Actual: Our entrйes came out 12 minutes after the appetizer was delivered.

 Strengths and Weaknesses:

* Strength 1 - We noticed our server following the rules of the 2-minute/2-bite rule with his other tables.

* Strength 2 - Our server waited the right amount of time between clearing our entrees and delivering our desserts.

* Weakness 1 - The incremental flow started breaking towards the end of our dining experience when we were waiting longer than we needed to for the check/change.

* Weakness 2 -We believe that the reason for the break in flow towards the end was the fact that our server had to cover for his co-worker when she was on break.

c. Anticipation

 Definition: Products and service should be provided before the customer has to ask for them. Employee should use their judgment to foresee what the customers might need.

 Benchmark: Server should refill customer drinks before they have to ask.

 Actual: We had to ask our server to refill our waters.

 Strengths and Weaknesses:

* Strength 1 - Our server, Austin refilled our bread without us having to ask.

* Strength 2 -Our server anticipated our need for separate checks and offered it before we had to ask.

* Weakness 1 -Austin, from the Westminster property failed to offer us any condiments or sauces that came with our meal in a timely manner

* Weakness 2 - By the time we got the steak sauce that we all wanted with our steaks, our meat has gone cold.

d. Communication

 Definition: Communication is an exchange of clear, thorough & accurate messages between all parties involved.

 Benchmark: Servers are to update customers on their sequence of service, for example if their food is going to be late.

 Actual: Our server met this benchmark.