NN AN INVESTIGATION INTO CATERING SERVICE QUALITY OF THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE DEPARTMENT AT BLOSSOM RESORT AND SOME SOLUTIONS

DUY TAN UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ENGLISH GRADUATION THESIS AN INVESTIGATION INTO CATERING SERVICE QUALITY OF THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE DEPARTMENT AT BLOSSOM RESORT AND SOME SOLUTIONS Major : English for Tourism SUPERVISOR : PHAN THI THUY TIEN, M.A STUDENT : LE HOAI NGAN CLASS : K23 NAD6 STUDENT CODE : 23203211317 DA NANG, 2021 GRADUATION THESIS Supervisor: Phan Thi Thuy Tien, M.A ACKNOWLEDGEMENT To teacher in Duy Tan university! To my supervisor – Ms Tien! During my four years course of English of tourism at Duy Tan university with training and inspiration from teachers, family and friends, I had reached valuable experience and knowledge Those become useful and valuable lessons for my future! I would like to express my gratitude to people giving me opportunities to develop myself through my graduation paper First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Duy Tan university and all teachers of English faculty who taught and supported me a lot by great experience and knowledge They also created the best condition for me to have chances to combine theory and practical and got valuable experience Secondly, I find myself grateful to my supervisor – Ms Tien, who gave me advices, suggestions and even encouragement on how to handle the problem with her enthusiasm My graduation paper could not be finished without her Last but not least, I heartily thank my family especially my parents with all of their supports I could not overcome many difficulties without them The shortcomings are unavoidable so I hope to receive sympathy and advices from teachers I wish you all good health and success Yours sincerely Le Hoai Ngan Student: Le Hoai Ngan Code: K23.702 GRADUATION THESIS Supervisor: Phan Thi Thuy Tien, M.A STATEMENT OF THE AUTHORSHIP Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, I guarantee that this report is written completely not based on any material published elsewhere or extracted in the whole or in part from a thesis by which have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the thesis This thesis has not been submitted for award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution Danang, May 27th, 2021 LE HOAI NGAN Student: Le Hoai Ngan Code: K23.702 GRADUATION THESIS Supervisor: Phan Thi Thuy Tien, M.A ABSTRACT This study investigates serving procedures and bring out some methods to improve the quality of catering service of F&B Department at Blossom resort This service is a vital factor which its quality impacts directly to the resort operation Therefore, in this investigation, I would like to clarify the importance of the F&B Department as well as catering service in the Blossom resort By using observational and collecting method to realize the real situation of the catering service quality, then I used comparative and analytical method to clarify data and analyze and categorize customers I would like to show the strengths and also provide suggestions in the last part for subtracting the weaknesses about the resort services Student: Le Hoai Ngan Code: K23.702 GRADUATION THESIS Supervisor: Phan Thi Thuy Tien, M.A LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS F&B : Food and Beverage F.O : Front Office Q : Quantity Student: Le Hoai Ngan Code: K23.702 GRADUATION THESIS Supervisor: Phan Thi Thuy Tien, M.A LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES, PICTURES, AND CHART List of Tables Chart 1: Revenue of Blossom Resort over years 2018-2020 Chart 2: Structure of Guests of Blossom Resort in the Period 2018-2020 34 Student: Le Hoai Ngan Code: K23.702 GRADUATION THESIS Supervisor: Phan Thi Thuy Tien, M.A TABLE OF CONTENTS Student: Le Hoai Ngan Code: K23.702 GRADUATION THESIS Supervisor: Phan Thi Thuy Tien, M.A CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Rationale Tourism industry is known as one of the largest and most competitive industries in the world in general and in Viet Nam in particular It takes a responsibility as a key industry in Vietnam and plays a role in promoting the economy The tourism industry or resort industry has brought a lot of advantages such as jobs, revenues, … to improve human life and significant developments in the economic market Besides, to developing tourism, the resort business plays an important role When people have both materials and need to improve their spirits, they need to satisfy the needs of traveling, resting, eating, and changing living space Because of these reasons, Da Nang city has become one of the most centers that attract almost tourists in Vietnam And to meet all those needs, Blossom resort has provided good services for tourists when traveling in Da Nang city The resort with modern architecture and equipment, blending in the Vietnamese-Japanese style, is one of the city's buildings In particular, there is a beautiful view of the Han river and Asia park with Tran Thi Ly bridge links to the electric lights at night, visitors can see more of the city The resort also has a variety of services, fully equipped with reasonable prices The area surrounding the resort has many attractions such as the world heritage of the ancient town, museums There are also a restaurant and a lobby bar serving visitors to relax and enjoy the scenery and enjoy the food or drinks there However, along with the positive advantages in the development process, the resort also has difficulties and limitations affecting the development of business, attracting tourists to stay and eat at the resort, so I choose the topic "An investigation into catering service quality of F&B Department at Blossom Resort and some solutions" Student: Le Hoai Ngan Code: K23.702 GRADUATION THESIS Supervisor: Phan Thi Thuy Tien, M.A In this survey, I would like to learn and research in depth about the pros and cons of Blossom Resort's catering service quality of F&B Department Aims and Objectives 2.1.Aims There are main aims in this finding:  Help teachers and students acquire or comprehend knowledge about the resort  as well as catering activities inside there Survey the serving guest process of catering service Find out the roles and importance of catering service for each object then  offer some solutions to overcome limitations and advance service quality, attract customers … 2.2.Objectives The study has objectives below:      To find out and describe unique features of Blossom resort To identify and analyze the factors affecting services quality Research and evaluate resort’s reality situation in Food and Beverage field To examine catering service’s advantages and disadvantages To analyze and evaluate solutions to improve the catering service quality Scope of the study This part would pay attention to two mains areas: First of all, I look for the information that relate to resort such as scale, facilities, the quality of services, current situation, etc I use the observational method combine with references on the Internet to collect all of those results Next, I analyze and evaluate the situation of the quality of the catering service in the period 2018 – 2020 To this task, I use my knowledge and experience that I got in my internship time From that, suggest solutions and recommendations to improve the quality and attract tourists to Blossom resort in 2021 depend on current reality at Blossom resort Methods of the study Student: Le Hoai Ngan Code: K23.702 GRADUATION THESIS 10 Supervisor: Phan Thi Thuy Tien, M.A Selecting correctly and applying scientific research methods affect a lot the success of the topic I used following methods: • The observational and collecting method: The documents on this study are observed from staff’s working and collected from books, the Internet and resort’s F&B department related to catering service • The statistical and general methods: After collecting information and data, I arranged them logically This helped me to have an overview of the research • The comparative and analytical methods: This method helps me to answer questions about some important issues and factors related to research then I could offer solutions to improve it Organization of the study In addition to the table of contents, list of tables, figures, pictures and chart, list of references, the graduation thesis includes five chapters: Chapter 1: Introduction – Shows the rationale to choose the topic, the aims and objectives, the scope, the methodologies and the organization of the study Chapter 2: Theoretical background – This part will introduce theories related to the resort and catering service Chapter 3: Case description It focuses on describing the organizational structure and how catering service work at Blossom resort Chapter 4: Analysis and evaluation Analysis and evaluation catering service at Blossom resort would be described This section outlines the strengths and weaknesses of the service Chapter 5: Difficulties and solutions Depending on chapter 4, I will present some difficulties in the recent situation of service in this chapter and offer solutions for each case to improve service quality Chapter 6: Conclusion and suggestions This part is the summary of research’s finding Moreover, from my own perspective, I give some Student: Le Hoai Ngan Code: K23.702 CHAPTER : CONCLUTION AND SUGGESTIONS Summary of the Finding • 6.1 • D a Nang has long been known as a city worth living in Vietnam, where the beauty mixes ancient and modern Built in a prime location in Da Nang, Blossom resort has many development opportunities available Around the resort, there is a view of the Han River combined with the beauty of the most famous bridges in this city, the closest is Tran Thi Ly Bridge and Dragon Bridge - the symbol of Da Nang With the combination of modern technology and convenient equipment, Blossom resort has easily attracted tourists from all over the world • For Blossom resort, catering service is considered as one of the two most important services affecting the operation of the resort, only after the accommodation service The combination of many factors has made a name and a mark on tourists The main factors that can be mentioned are operating policies of the management boards, the quality of the resort in general and the food service in particular, including the quality of the facilities and employee service • First and foremost is the operating policy of Blossom resort Developing a tourism business always has many problems that can be positive or negative, so the resort always has to have advance policies to apply and prevent that risk However, there are potential risks that investors cannot pay in advance, which causes obstacles in the competition process, losing optimization in the development process as well as getting profit • The second is about the quality of the Blossom resort service as well as the caterer It is known that through the survey, customers are a bit dissatisfied with the service segment as well as the quality of the staff's work because of shortage experience, so more training for employees to improve skills and quality is necessary Because the caterer is the face of this service, directly bringing success or failure to the service, the resort needs to create an environment rich in experience, in addition to providing professional knowledge, giving hypothetical situations in which, the problem is foreseen by the caterer • Next to mention is the quality of facilities - one of the most important factors affecting quality as well as customer service satisfaction Without the equipment and facilities, there would be many inconveniences occurring To avoid this situation, the resort needs to fully install equipment from basic to advanced, and to avoid damage and degradation, it is necessary to maintain periodically • Last but not least, human resources As mentioned in the weaknesses of the resort, the lack of human resources during the peak tourist seasons is really bad It directly affects the quality of service, wasting time and effort for both visitors and caterer In addition to training professional staff, the resort also needs to recruit staff before the peak season arrives, so new employees will have enough time to adapt to the working environment and also accumulate experience • During my 2-month internship at Blossom resort, I myself have acquired a lot of useful specialized knowledge, also recognized many problems in the process of operation and service management I also realized the importance of food service not only for tourists but also for a large group like Blossom resort However, due to the lack of research as well as the research due to lack of experience, the research cannot dig deep and clearly state all the core issues, so I hope that the teachers of English faculty and also readers of this graduation thesis can give comments to make this article more complete 6.2 Some Suggestions for Improving the Catering Service Quality of F&B Department at Blossom Resort • After studying and researching from information sources related to the quality of the resort's catering services, I have synthesized and have some 6.2.1 recommendations as follows: Improving the Facilities and Equipment Quality of Catering Service • To create a good impression for customers, the resort must create a unique appearance or in other words, it is the facilities and the equipment As a 4-star resort, Blossom resort has almost furnished itself with a system of equipment and facilities corresponding to the quality of service However, with the current quality of the infrastructure as well as the increasing needs of customers, it is required that the resort have policies to improve quality • Investing in a play area for children when adults use catering service will bring convenience and comfort This area should be paid attention to the safety of the children • Regularly checking the total power source and water source of the resort to avoid problems that affect the use of the service of the customer • The lighting system is another important factor, in addition to dining, customers come to the lobby bar to enjoy a drink and read a book or work Memories by taking pictures, so the resort should invest in a modern lighting system but still ensure eye safety It is for these purposes that investing in lighting testing is very important • Due to the characteristics related to flammable substances (kitchen and bar), the fire protection system must also be paid attention to, avoiding possible bad situations • The demand for electronic technology equipment is increasing, from children to the elderly Therefore, the electrical outlets should be designed near guests' seats to facilitate work and entertainment needs The resort should install a high quality WIFI system to not interrupt the needs of customers • The restaurant's cashier counter as well as the lobby bar should be equipped with electronic payment and order devices to replace paper and pens to shorten working hours for both customers and the resort 6.2.2 Improving the Service Quality of Staff • Employees are the face of the service, who directly impress and bring the success of the service through customer satisfaction so the employee's working behavior and attitude must always be standardized and disciplined In particular, in a work environment that tends to be almost entirely Japanesestyle, the higher these standards are required So, focusing on the staff training process is a very important job for the resort • First of all, employees must be self-aware of their responsibilities at work, managers should have policies about arranging working time properly for employees because they must always have a comfortable spirit and a cheerful attitude During the work, this will affect the attitudes and feelings of the customer • The second is teamwork It is clear that the ability to work in groups is always given priority in the work because work efficiency will be higher, so in the process of serving guests, the staff must work together to understand each other and help each other complete work as quickly as possible Constructing a list of symbols is also important • Focus on the employee's communication skill in multiple languages Staff should be able to communicate in another language, especially English and Japanese, in addition to be able to improve basic communication skills of other languages such as Chinese and Korean, but should learn carefully about honorifics to show respect for customers • Inspire being caterers, these staff should also pre-train on the basic knowledge or information in the resort The characteristic of visitors when traveling or to a certain entertainment destination is that they will tend to go around sightseeing So, staff need to have knowledge as well as basic knowledge to answer questions when customers ask 6.2.3 Improving the Quality of Managers at Catering Service Area • Al though employees are direct contact with customers, in order to their jobs well, they need managers and supervisors who always support in all situations So, the management quality of the staff instructors is also very important • First, the managers must always be a role model for employees to follow There is always assertive and strict in work, but besides that, they also need to pay attention to employees The manager needs to have methods to train and maintain the professionalism of the staff Most importantly, they need to create a healthy work environment and spur employees' efforts naturally • The second that is listening Managers need to listen to employees to be able to connect employees together, so that everyone can better understand each other From there, work thanks to solidarity can achieve the highest results Not only that, managers must also join employees to listen to customers' opinions, whether positive or negative This can help them find the core problems or gain a lot of knowledge useful for the job • For young or new caterers, they tend not to open up, or there are also some ones who have not found an ideal or passionate about the job, so the transmission of energy and energy Membership is a very useful job Not only will the employees receive more inspiration, but the managers themselves will also direct their passion for themselves • Managers should synthesize work performance results and conduct staff meetings to come up with solutions to overcome the bad points, and also commend good deeds to motivate caterer 6.2.4 Other Solutions • Aside from quality solutions for infrastructure, staff or management, one important thing to mention is menu diversification and Marketing plan The needs and preferences of customers change every day, so the new menu as well as dishes and drinks make them more diverse and eye-catching, making guests have an objective view of the resort Resort should invest in catering services to discover new dishes or drinks In addition, implementing Marketing programs such as promotions to attract customers For loyal customers, the resort or F&B Department also needs to have policies such as gifting vouchers or promotions for them • • Da CONCLUSION Nang is known as one of the big cities with a mission to spread Vietnam's image to the world through tourism and economy Here, there are beauties that are not only symbols of Da Nang but also of Vietnam that anyone who looks at will recognize Thanks to the development of tourism that Blossom Resort can go into operation and achieve many achievements During the period of operation, the resort has constantly made efforts to solve difficulties in order to improve the quality of facilities, human resources or even management policies to attract customers and bring profit • After months of internship at Blossom resort, I was able to complete my graduation thesis with the topic "An investigation into catering service quality of Food and Beverage at Blossom resort and some suggestions" Through the investigation combined with the knowledge taught from the teachers at Duy Tan University, I have partly understood the importance of catering services for resort businesses and customers Moreover, I have cultivated a large amount of knowledge and experience in the service process, recognizing common situations or problems in the service process, the positive and negative in the working environment • Due to the limited specialized knowledge, I still have many shortcomings in the process of doing this graduation thesis, I hope to receive useful comments from the teachers of the English department in particular and the teachers at Duy Tan University in general as well as the readers • Once again, I would like to thank Ms Phan Thi Thuy Tien, who has always helped me in the graduation thesis process with her dedication and enthusiasm I would also like to thank the staff and managers at Blossom resort, who have always inspired and added valuable knowledge to me during my internship at the resort • REFERENCES • Websites [1] https://www.infobloom.com/what-is-a-resort.htm [2]https://www.cataloniahotels.com/en/blog/difference-between-a-hotel-and- • • resort/ • [3] hotelbriefing.blog and https://hoangcau.vn/resort-la-gi.html • [4] https://trekbaron.com/types-of-resorts/ • [5]https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/55744564/4-usual-types-of- resort-guests [6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catering [7]https://dictionary.cambridge.org/vi/dictionary/english/catering [8]https://mycateringwebpage-sarahkniesly.weebly.com/on-vs-off-premise- • • • catering.html • [9]https://www.sandydumont.com/5-characteristics-of-a-great-cateringservice/ • [10]https://www.cet.edu.vn/nhan-to-anh-huong-chat-luong-dich-vu-cua-nhahang • [11]https://toc.123doc.net/document/2092264-cac-chi-tieu-danh-gia-chat- luong-dich-vu-an-uong.htm • E books Schmidt, Arno The Banquet Business 2nd ed New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1990 Print GRADUATION PAPER Supervisor: Phan Thi Thuy Tien, M.A • QUESTIONNAIRE • Dear teachers! • I am from K23 class with the major is English for Tourism at Duy Tan University Recently, I have researched the thesis of university graduation: "An investigation into catering service quality of food and beverage at Blossom resort and some suggestions" Through this investigation, I would like to learn and analyze the customer's feelings about the service as well as the staff of Blossom resort Therefore, I really grateful if you can take a moment to give your opinion on the following questionaries to help me complete my research Your comments are extremely valuable to my research I warrant that all collected information will be kept secret and will only be used for research purposes • Your support is really highly appreciated! Background (These will only be used for research purposes) I Name: Gender:  Male Age: Occupation: The income: Contact: II Survey Where are you from? •  Japan •  China •  Korea • •  Female Other (Please specific) Student: Le Hoai Ngan Code: K23.702 GRADUATION PAPER Have you ever been in Blossom resort? •  Yes •  No What were the main reasons for your stay at Blossom resort? •  Relaxation •  Business trips • Health •  Other (Please specific) • Why you know and choose Blossom resort and its catering service? •  Internet search •  Newspapers/ magazines •  Travel agencies •  Word of mouth •  Other (please specific) Supervisor: Phan Thi Thuy Tien, M.A How well did the facilities meet your needs in the restaurant and lobby bar? •  Extremely well •  Quite well •  Moderately well •  Not at all well These processes below are what you used while staying at Blossom resort Please put  that highly describes your assessment • • • Student: Le Hoai Ngan Code: K23.702 GRADUATION PAPER Supervisor: Phan Thi Thuy Tien, M.A • Level • • S • • • • • V S N Q D • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • W • S • P • These elements below are what you used while staying at Blossom resort Please put  that highly describes your assessment • Level • • Ele me • • • • Ve S Q D • • • • • • • • nts • Sta ff’s spi • rit Sta Student: Le Hoai Ngan • • Code: K23.702 GRADUATION PAPER Supervisor: Phan Thi Thuy Tien, M.A ff’s atti tud • e Sta ff’s for eig • n • • • • lan gu age • • s Would you choose Blossom resort catering service again?  Yes  No Would you consider recommending our Catering service?  Yes  No • • • 10 Guests’ comments, questions or concerns a After using the services at Blossom resort, which things that make you satisfied? Could you please clarify why? • • • Student: Le Hoai Ngan Code: K23.702 GRADUATION PAPER b Supervisor: Phan Thi Thuy Tien, M.A What makes you not satisfied with the Catering service at Blossom resort? Could you please clarify why? • • • c In your opinion, what should and shouldn’t Blossom resort to improve the catering service quality to attract guests? • • • • Thank you once again for everything you’ve done Giving you best wishes and all the happiness in the world! Student: Le Hoai Ngan Code: K23.702 GRADUATION PAPER Supervisor: Phan Thi Thuy Tien, M.A • SUPERVISOR’S COMMENT • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Student: Le Hoai Ngan Code: K23.702 GRADUATION PAPER Supervisor: Phan Thi Thuy Tien, M.A • • • • Student: Le Hoai Ngan Code: K23.702 ... Onsen and Sauna service at Blossom resort Catering Service of F&B Department at Blossom Resort Overview about the Catering Service of F&B Department at Blossom Resort • The restaurant and the lobby... of business, attracting tourists to stay and eat at the resort, so I choose the topic "An investigation into catering service quality of F&B Department at Blossom Resort and some solutions" Student:... Resort Catering Service Quality Evaluation 2.2.1 Catering Service Definitions It is clear that one of the most important services influencing the operation and branding of a resort in particular and