Walk Through Audit Of

Walters Mitho Mitho Restaurant

Operations and Service Management

Submitted to
Mr. Benzin Dahal
Course Instructor
Operations and Service Management

Submitted by
Rahul Rathi
Niraj Agrawal
Sushanta Gautam

28th Aug, 2016

Ace Institute of Management
New Baneswor,
Kathmandu

Background Information
A Walk-Through Audit (WtA) is a process which is undertaken by staffs, managers or
independent advisors acting as surrogate customers for evaluating and improving the
services. WtA captures what actually happens as people interacts within and between the
processes in an organization. Conducting a walk through helps in obtaining a complete
understanding of the process flow of transactions, the perspective of the different
stakeholders about the process, identification of the gaps in service perception etc. The audit
eventually helps to provide value addition and improve the effectiveness of the process.
The WtA was done in order to establish the service quality of Walters Mitho Mitho
Restaurant by the means of employing an audit questionnaire to evaluate the service of
business from the stand point of managements and customers. This audit helped us to know
about the perception of different stakeholders like manager, employees and the customers
rather than that of the owner.
The reasons for which WtA is carried out are as

Access the physical tangibles issues as well as the service scripts.

Identify the service gaps and rectify them
Identify whether the process is in control and has efficiency in operation
Helps manager and managements to see the process from the stand point of the
customers

Introduction of Walters Mitho Mitho Restaurant

Walters Mitho Mitho Restaurant is a high-end restaurant which has been serving customers
from the last 20 years. For 17 years, it was located in Jhamsikhel. Due to road expansion
activities in the area, it preferred to relocate to a more spacy area, leading to the shift to
Bhaisepati on Dec 5th, 2016.
Mitho Mitho Restaurant offers beautifully shaded Munich-style Beer Garden, a cozy and
sunny garden lounge, outdoor bar with winter proofed indoor familiar guest rooms. It has a
private lounge and dining system for buffet dinners. The spacious area also includes playing
area for children. The major objective of the restaurant is to serve food from different regions
of the world. It offers variety of dishes like German-Austrian dishes, Mexican dishes and
Middle Eastern dishes.

The restaurant also provides catering system for corporate bodies and other institutions. One
of its clients is The British School. Mitho Mitho Restaurant also provides recommendation
to workers for working abroad upon prior request and after meeting certain standards. The
owners also plan to expand and open a bakery shop in Bhaisepati.

The Audit
Identified Service Process: Walters Mitho Mitho Restaurant
Location: Bhaisepati
Date of Survey Administration: 11th August, 2016
No. of Respondents: 20 Customers and 5 Staffs and manager

Methodology
The questionnaire method for the survey was used and the questionnaire was mainly divided
into five parts. The five parts are tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, empathy and
satisfaction. The questions were made to know the reactions of customers, staff and
management. Same questionnaire were used to know reaction of different respondents. A
total of 25 respondents were taken, out of which 20 were the customers and 4 were staffs and
one from the management of the Walters Mitho Mitho Restaurant. The whole research was
monitored by us and any help regarding the questions were sorted by us. Since, primary
method of data collection was used, the questionnaires that were distributed to respondents
were collected immediately once they were answered. The answer were scaled from 1 to 5
where 1 represents strongly disagree and 5 represents strongly agree.

Analysis

After the analysis from the data obtained from the questionnaire, the results are presented in
the form of graph and charts which shows the assessment of gaps present between varying
perception of customers, staffs and management.
The reason behind asking for the response with the customer is that staff and manager are
often unfamiliar of the problems as they are not as subtle as the customers. So, in order to
know about the problem is to ask with the one facing them that is the customer.

Comparison by Factors
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

Tangibles

Reliability Responsiveness
Customers

Staf

Empathy

Satisfaction

Management

Figure 1: Comparison on the basis of factors

The above graph shows the comparison of the responses provided by the customer,
employees and management on all the criteria mentioned in the questionnaire. It can be said
that above figure depicts the overall response of the customers, staffs and management in
terms of the Walters Mitho Mitho Restaurant service system on the five parameters which
are tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, empathy and satisfaction. This figure help us to
know the gap between the response of customer and management and also the gap between
employee/staff and management.
Here it seems that management thinks that it is providing high service in terms of the
tangibles factor but the customer perceive they are getting less. The case is same in terms of
reliability. The customers rated the restaurant high in terms of responsiveness which also
exceeds the anticipation of the management. The customers rated that they are getting less on

the empathy factor as a whole that what the management expects whereas the satisfaction
level seems to be almost same for both the respondents group.

Tangibles
Physical outlay
lighting
Greeting
Parking Space
Location
-

Customers

2
Staf

Management

Figure 2: Tangibility Service Audit Gap

Dimension of Audit gap: Tangibles

To analyze the service, we will be reviewing each segment of the audit individually. The
tangible aspects of a service organization represent its physical outlay, equipment and
appearance of personnel, these are elements that relate to elements that relates to the
supporting facility. The gap caused by the tangibility of the business results from
managements failure to provide physical evidences to meet perceptions of the clients
expectations.

The expectations of the clients at Walters Mitho Mitho restaurant is based on a high level of
quality and being a restaurant of its nature the physical appearance of the restaurant plays a
great deal of importance. However as it relates to the tangible aspects of the business there
are some concerns that must be addressed by management as there are some short falls that
were highlighted from the audit that was conducted. Based on the responses of the average

clients and management, the overall service of the restaurant was good but there are still
some gaps which need to be tackled in order to provide great satisfaction to their customers.
Some factors thats should be taken into consideration includes the physical outlay, location,
parking space, and greeting. This was evident by the responses gathered from the
questionnaires answered by the clients as oppose to those answered by the management team.
The chart above depicts the ratings from clients, employees and the management of Lillians
restaurant with regards to the tangible aspects of the facility. The following statements were
made: restaurant is conveniently located, parking space is well managed and adequate, staff
always greets customers, lighting is adequate and appropriate and finally the condition of the
physical facility and dinning space is managed properly.
After the analysis of data it was obtained that the average rating by customer and employees
seems to be same for location, greeting and physical facility but were rated high by the
management in all these aspects. Hence we can see the service gap. The management
expectation of service in these aspects is higher than that of customer expectation. Every
respondent rated almost the same in terms of lighting so it seems the customer expectation
are met. In terms of parking space, both employees and management seems to have rated 4
but customers rating are below (3). Hence, parking is considered as the major issue for the
customer. Under tangibility dimension, the overall rating by the clients, employees and
management are 3.7, 4 and 5 respectively.

Therefore four out of the five area of tangibility that were investigated showed a gap that
management needs to address in better serving its clients hence giving them a great level of
satisfaction. Among the four area of tangibility, especially the parking space, greeting with
customer and physical facility are the major areas of concern because its were more
deviation is felt. Hence, Managers should seek the help of the clients in obtaining ways in
which they could better satisfy them in making the tangible aspects of the facility more
appealing. Immediate commitments should be facilitated in greeting the customers, managing
the parking space and creating better physical facility in order to meet or exceed the
expectations of their clients.

Reliability
Communication between staf

Competent Staf

Service consistency

Dishes exxpectation
0
Customers

0.5

Staf

1.5

2.5

3.5

4.5

Management

Figure 3: Reliability Service Audit Gap

Dimension of the Audit gaps: Reliability

After the analysing the information we observed that the perception gaps between the
management and the staff varied and in some cases were rather wide. Management strongly
agrees on communication between the staff and competency of the staff while on the other
hand the employees dont find it that optimal. This shows that there is an obvious perception
gap. Management should therefore pay more attention to the details of the employees to see if
they are to a standard of quality. The customers also felt the service gap in terms of
communication between staff and the staffs competency. The customer dont finds the staff
as competent and felt that there is poor communication between the staff members. The
management must provide training to its employees so as to assure that there is consistency in
the service and proper communication among the employees to better provide the services.
Management must be better concerned on these factors and immediate response is required.

Both the management and customers almost rated the same in terms of service consistency
but the employees rating is bit higher. As the customer expectation in the service consistency
is met, hence the management is satisfied with it. However as there is the gap between the

employee and management perception so management should consult with the employees
and reduce the perception gap between them.
The employees rated same as management in terms of dishes expectation. However, the
customer rating was higher. It means that the customers are well satisfied by the service of
the restaurant in terms of dishes taste and quality and the management is able to meet the
expectation of the customers in terms of the taste of the food. They are very happy with the
dishes they get as they find their expectation and the actual food taste are matching, making
them really happy and satisfied.

The overall rating by the customers on the reliability dimension is 3.9 whereas that by
employees and management is 4.13 and 4.5 respectively. Hence, the management must go
something to bridge the gap in the service perception. The management must make a careful
consideration on the factors like communication between employees and competent
employees. These factors must be considered carefully to bridge the service gap.

Responsiveness
Failure Recovery Time
Clean table
Prompt bill
Prompt serving
Guest preceived
0

0.5

Customers

1.5
Staf

2.5

Management

Figure 4: Responsiveness Service Audit Gap

Dimension of Audit Gap: Responsiveness

3.5

4.5

The responsiveness aspects includes statements like guests are attended to as soon as they
are seated, servers return within a minute after the entre is served, Bill is given as soon
as meal is finished, Tables are cleared promptly, and recovery time for service failure is
short. The statement Guests are attended to as soon as they are seated shows an obvious
gap in perceptions between customers and management. Nobody Likes waiting, yet
customers often have to wait for service. This shows an area where improvements need to be
made, starting with management ensuring that each table is assigned a waiter as soon as a
customer is seated, to increase their perceived value. Menu boards should be updated in time
to decrease the need to look on a menu when seated, so when a waiter comes, the customer is
ready to order.
The statement Servers return within a minute after the entre is served and Tables are
cleaned promptly shows that the customers are well satisfied with the restaurant service in
these aspects as the customers rating on both of these aspects is higher than the employees
and management. The employees are constantly following up the services and customers are
getting the attention they want. The statement Bill is given as soon as meal is finished did
not show much of a gap between because responses were roughly similar where employees,
customers and management. Management needs to ensure that customers get the bill without
delay, because they are on a tight schedule.
The statement Recovery time for service failure is short showed that also clients, employees
and management rated differently. Though the customers are satisfied with the service as the
rating is 4 but a gap is evident with the perception of the management. For this the
management must ensure that a system is in place to recover the lost time. If an order is
wrong or does not meet the required expectation then other option like a complimentary dish
yielded the same result with a slight variation as most candidates were undecided. If a
mistake is made should be given to alleviate disappointment. Two of the same dishes could
also be prepared to eliminate the mistakes. Keeping the customer happy by responding to his
or her needs is the key to long-term success, and these vital tools will help to improve
customer responsiveness.

Empathy

Polite staf

Customer attended personally

0
Customers

0.5

Staf

1.5

2.5

3.5

4.5

Management

Figure 5: Empathy Service Audit Gap

Dimension of Audit Gap: Empathy

There was slight difference in client and employee rating as it relates to the perception
of employees providing individualized attention to customers, they both present a rating of 4
and 4.3. However, the management seems to have thought more of the attention that was
being shown to individual customers based on the rating given by them of 5. It is evident that
management is unaware that their employees are under performing than there perception. The
score of 4 by the customers in this particular factor or statement means that the customer are
satisfied with the service.
Employees seem to be unaware that they are being even more polite, courteous and respectful
than they perceived themselves to be considering that customers rated them at a higher value
than which they rated themselves that is 4.1. On the other hand management perceives
their staff as being far more polite, courteous and respectful than what is perceived by the
staff themselves and more importantly the customers, they gave a rating of 5. This is a serious
matter as the management may be satisfied with the level of politeness, courtesy and respect
they perceive is being extended to customers failing to realize it is actually below this level
which could eventually lead to service failures, which was represented by the clients rating

of 4.3. Results proved relatively well as their perception of their performance was mostly
below that which was perceived by the clients. These are positive results.

Satisfaction
Improvements

Recommending MM

Revist

Good service
0

0.5

Customers

1.5
Staf

2.5

3.5

4.5

Management

Figure 6: Satisfaction Service Audit Gap

Dimension of Audit Gap: Satisfaction

Under the dimension of satisfaction it includes the statements like the overall customer
service is good, I am likely to visit again, recommend Walters Mitho Mitho to others,
and greater improvement are needed to enhance service quality. Here both the customers
and employees almost rated the same in terms of overall service being good. However
management thinks that there overall service is excellent. Management is being over
optimistic with their service. Though the customer rating of more than 4 shows that they are
satisfied but management should try to bridge the gap or at least should not take wrong steps
in service delivery because of their over optimism behaviour.

The next is more of the customer feel that they will surely revisit the restaurant and would
recommend the restaurant to others. The customers are well satisfied by the services of the
restaurant. However the customer believe that the restaurant would require some
improvement not much but some of course. Both the customers and employees rated more
than 4 for revisiting and recommending Walters Mitho Mitho to others. Though the

management rating is high for both with a rating of 5 on each. The management should look
on the areas of gap that restricting to cause the gap in perception. Also the difference in the
rating by the management and the employee would demonstrate somewhat dissatisfaction
towards their job. However based on a higher rating by clients it could mean that
whichever factors are impacting on employees are not the same towards clients so these
problems could be internally based.
Management as is expected displays the highest ratings(5) towards recommending Lillians to
others seeing they are in-charge of making decisions within the organization however since
employees are just given less power it would be expected for them to give lower ratings as a
result of them being in disagreement with some rules set by management. The perception of
clients, employees and management is different towards requiring the greater improvement
which is 2.8, 3.75 and 2 respectively. As per the management there are not much area which
requires the improvements. The clients however feel that the management have certain areas
to look in consideration. But the employees of the most feel that the management have a lot
of areas to improve. The rating of 3.75 shows the employees concern for management to
improve. The management must hence talk with the employees to know there area of
dissatisfaction to minimize the gap.
The overall rating by the customers, employees and management is 4.03, 4.07 and 4.25. The
customer seems to be satisfied with the service offered by the management.

Recommendations

The restaurant must expand its parking place in the existing location. From a different
angle, it could hire some place nearby so as to solve the problem of parking. By doing
so, the capacity of the restaurant can also be increased as the number of customers
visiting the restaurant can increase simultaneously. Further, they can hire some
individuals in order to manage the parking spaces.

Though the physical outlay of the restaurant is attractive, there is a huge gap of
perception between the customers and the management. So, they must involve in
some activities to make the layout more appealing and attractive. For instance, the
addition of truss glasses, an appealing entrance gate and the use of interior designers
for internal furnishing could be some of the measures that can be taken by the
management.

The customers showed a bit concern on the greeting made by the employees. So for
this, management must develop a mechanism where the employees could know about
the customers arrival. For this they can use the bell system as used by the other
restaurant like Pizza Hut.

The customers find the location of the restaurant slightly inconvenient. For this, the
management can plan to open up its branches in different locations like Baneshwor,
New Road, and Thamel where the flow of people is high and consistently more and
also to those areas where most of its customer base lies.

As the gap is evident for the competency of the employees and attending the guests
between the customer and managements perception so the management must ensure
that proper training is given to the employees and on timely basis so that no questions
regarding the competency of employees are raised from the customers part. Also, the
guest dont have a feel that they are ignored or are not given value for visiting the
restaurant.

The perception of communication between staff has a significant difference for

customers and the management. The customers perceive that the communication
between staffs is less accurate, whereas the management has opposing views. For this,
the management must look into the matter and ensure that there is open
communication among and between the employees. The management must ensure and
create friendly environment for and among employees.

The failure recovery time as perceived by the customers is less than what
management expects. So, the management must ensure that the failure recovery time
is really fast. The management must personally look in this matter and make sure that
the staffs are made personally responsible for the customers they are serving. The
staffs should be given greater autonomy in handling such failures so that problems
can be solved effectively and efficiently.

Further the management must ensure that the employees attend the customers
personally. If the employees can make personalized service to the customers, it creates
a great deal of value for the customers. For this management must try to retain its
employees and reduce the employee turnover rate.

The review showed that both the employees and customer feel that there are certain
areas that the management must improve to optimize the service. So, the manager
must look into those factors that are being addressed by the customers and employees.
The manager can talk with the employees to know their concern and areas of
dissatisfaction. With regards to customers they can conduct survey on regular basis or
fill the feedback form to know more about their concern and expectations.

Appendix 1: Questionnaire

WALK THROUGH AUDIT AT WALTERS MITHO MITHO RESTAURANT, BHAISEPATI

Hello, we, MBA students from Ace Institute of Management conducting a walk through audit
to facilitate our studies in the course Operation and Service Management. The following set
of statements relate to your perception on Walters Mitho Mitho Restaurant. The information
is collected for the academic purpose and no attempt will be made to identify individuals
based on their answers to these questions. Please feel free to provide your opinion.
1. You are a:
Visitor

Manager

Staff Member

2. Did you arrive alone or with others?

Alone

Others

Number in Party: _______

3. Where did you hear about the restaurant?

Facebook

Internet

Friends

Other (Specify)
____________________________________________________________
4. Do you dine-in or take-out?
Dine-in
Take-out
5. How much time do you normally spend here?
______________________________________________________________________

Strongl
y
Disagre
e
1

Disagre
e
2

Undecide
d
3

Agre
e
4

Strongl
y Agree
5

Reliability
11. Dishes always meet expectations
12. Service provided is always consistent
and error free
13. Staff members are competent in
performing the services
14. Communication among the chef and
waiter is accurate most of the time

Responsiveness
15. Guests are attended to as soon as they
are seated.
16. Servers return within a minute after
the entre is served
17. Bill is given as soon as meal is
finished
18. Tables are cleared promptly
19. Recovery time for service failure is
short

Empathy
20. Employees provided individualized
attention
21. Staff are polite, courteous and
respectful to customer

Satisfaction
22. Overall customer service is good
23. I'm likely to visit this Walters Mitho
Mithos again
24. I would recommend Walters Mitho
Mithos to others
25. Great improvement are needed to
enhance service quality

Statements/Categories
Tangibles
6. Restaurant is conveniently located
7. Parking Space is well managed and
adequate
8. Staff always greets customers
9. Lighting is adequate and appropriate
10. The physical facility and dining space
is managed properly