Introduction
The hospitality sector is a service industry that greatly depends on customer perception and service quality. Notably, some restaurants can provide similar services to consumers, but the manner of service and quality differentiates the service providers. Service quality usually entails customer care, public relations, and the physical evidence present in the facility. Some of the aspects that make up the physical evidence in a restaurant include tables, chairs, and utensils.
Imperatively, customer care, public relations, and the appearance of the physical evidence are very important in the hospitality industry since each of them plays an important role in the development of consumer perceived service quality. When the facility employees exercise poor customer care and public relations, consumers develop negative perceptions about the facility and its services. On the other hand, a facility can provide the best services to its consumers but fails to ensure that its physical evidence is tidy or appealing. As such, consumers develop a negative reputation regarding the facility’s services. Therefore, the essay examines the contrasts that exist between McDonald’s and Burger King Restaurants using culture and service quality.
The contrast between McDonald’s and Burger King Restaurants
McDonald’s Restaurant
Culture
McDonald’s Restaurant is a fast-food chain located near Hispanic communities, who live in Miami. The location of the restaurant is one of the factors that determine the types of consumers, who visit the restaurant and consume its services. Since the facility is close to Hispanic communities, a majority of its target consumers are the Latin Americans, who reside in the neighborhood. To match the demands advanced by the residence, who are the potential consumers, the restaurant has to align its services in a manner that suits their expectations. Fundamentally, culture is among the elements that dictate consumer demands.
Roche (2005) asserts that a restaurant has to satisfy its consumers by providing services that are in line with their demands. Therefore, the fact that McDonald’s Restaurant is near the Hispanic community implies that the hotel tailors its services to suit the cultural needs of Hispanic communities. As McDonald’s Restaurant targets the Hispanic communities adjacent to the facility, cultural contrast emerges between the services it offers and those offered by restaurants such as Burger King.
Service Quality
The location of McDonald’s Restaurants greatly affects the quality of services offered by the facility. Imperatively, service quality is divergent and depends on the consumers, who frequent a given facility. As a result, a service that consumers from a certain region deem as high quality may appear as low quality before other consumers from a different region. Hispanic communities have preferences that differ from other communities in America, and thus, their perception of service quality differs from others in the region. Since the hotel strives to satisfy the demands of Hispanic communities, it has to design its services in a way that suits these preferences.
Smith (2013) explains that although McDonald’s Restaurant in Miami offers services tailored to match the needs of its consumers, the services are comparatively low in quality. The absence of standardized measures complicates the quality of services offered by restaurants in regions such as Miami. Since several consumers, who frequent the facility do not lodge their complaints, the restaurant does not work hard to ensure that its services match the dynamic and ever-changing demands of consumers globally.
Burger King Restaurant
Culture
The culture present in Burger King Restaurant depends on its location and the nature of its services. The location of Burger King Restaurant dictates the type of food offered by the facility. It is notable to elucidate that the restaurant’s location places it at different culture as opposed to the location of McDonald’s Restaurant. The implication of the location is a different culture, which translates into a different set of food, customer care, and public relations.
For instance, Burger King Restaurant offers high-end hamburgers as compared to McDonald’s Restaurants that is near Miami. D’Aveni (2010) affirms the presence of quality hamburgers in Burger King Restaurant by noting that the restaurant provides hamburgers that are custom-made to match consumer cultural preferences. In essence, the presence of services and products such as hamburgers is due to the demands presented by consumers, who frequent the facility. The cultural orientation of consumers who frequent Burger King Restaurant is different from the cultural perspectives of individuals who visit McDonald’s Restaurant. As a consequence, these restaurants offer different types of services.
Service Quality
In Burger King Restaurant, the services offered center on the needs of the liberal communities, who live adjacent to the restaurant. As opposed to McDonald’s Restaurant found near Miami, the communities living around Burger King Restaurant are liberal and have different lifestyles. The different lifestyles characterized by ever-changing and dynamic demands compel the facility to focus on enhanced service quality to match these preferences.
According to Smith (2013), Burger King has designed products, which are a notch higher than those that McDonald’s Restaurant offers. The implication of the custom-made products offered by Burger King Restaurant is high-quality services that satisfy consumers, who visit the facility and its chains around the globe. Since Burger King Restaurant has effective systems of lodging complaints and feedback procedures, their services are high-end and consumer-oriented.
It is paramount to assert that effective feedback systems and redress procedures are very instrumental in the creation of consumer perceived product quality and determines the position of the products offered by a hospitality facility. The differences in the type of consumers and the organization initiate a contrast that is evident in the quality and nature of services offered by Burger King and McDonald’s Restaurants.
Conclusion
McDonald’s and Burger King are restaurants that offer services to consumers in regions such as the United States. Remarkably, the type of services offered by McDonald’s and Burger King Restaurants range from fast food to restaurant services. With the increasing competition evident in the country, especially in the fast-food industry, McDonald’s and Burger King Restaurants are working hard to deliver products that match consumer expectations. The presence of their chains in areas such as Miami implies that the restaurants have to tailor their products in a manner that matches the requirements of consumers, who live near the region.
By tailoring their products to match the demands of adjacent communities, the restaurants attract potential consumers residing in the respective communities. McDonald’s and Burger King Restaurants understand that service quality and culture of the target consumers are among the major determinants of consumer perceived product quality. The understanding is a factor that initiates a great contrast, which exists between McDonald’s and Burger King Restaurants.
References
D’Aveni, R. (2010). Hypercompetition. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Roche, M. (2005). Cultural perspectives on services marketing. Bradford, England: Emerald Group Pub.
Smith, A. (2013). Food and drink in American history. California: Santa Barbara.