research subject dookki korean tteokbokki hotpot

It was considered street food in the past.However, Topokki is currently served in restaurants with high-quality serviceWith 139,000 VND Not including VAT, you can freely choose yourfavor

NATIONAL ECONOMIC UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF BUSSINESS ENGLISH

BUSSINESS COMMUNICATION

Group 7: Trần Thị Thơm - 11194934

Nguyễn Thị Hương Ly - 11216443

Đỗ Việt Hương - 11192261

Nguyễn Thu Trang – 11195373

Class: Business Communication_01

Instructor: PhD Nguyen Thi Phuong Thu

th

Research subject: Dookki - Korean Tteokbokki Hotpot

DOOKKI VIETNAM

And case study of Communication Problem

Abstract

This report aims to understand how communication problems are illustrated

in real life In Dookki Vietnam, lack of communication skills, and unprofessional

in handling communication crises are the two main problems in their communication system that lead to unpredicted consequences

1 Brief description of Dookki

Dookki Topokki buffet is the first form of Topokki buffet in Vietnam Topokki is Korean Traditional Food It was considered street food in the past However, Topokki is currently served in restaurants with high-quality service With 139,000 VND (Not including VAT), you can freely choose your favorite dishes at Dookki with over 30 types of topping and many types of tteokbokki (Korean rice cake), fresh fruits, vegetables, and seafood Especially, Dookki has 7 kinds of “EXCLUSIVE” sauces that are only available at Dookki Coming to Dookki, you will experience the space like 100% Korean space, cooking yourself a (tteokbokki) hotpot accompanied with “REAL fish ball” and nearly 20 accompanying dishes

Target customer

The main customers are 10s~30s women and students Family unit customers’ visitation rate also increased recently A large customer base from the influence of the Korean wave and premium dining trends

So far, there are 35 Dookki restaurants along the territory of Vietnam It can

be seen that Dookki is affirming its brand image with positive customer feedback They always expect more and Dookki is ready to meet that need every day

2 Case 1: The controversy between Dookki and reviewers.

2.1 Descriptions of the situation:

Although Dookki first entered the Vietnamese market in November 2018, now, there are over 30 branches nationwide This proves the prestige and attraction

of the brand However, besides that rapid development, Dookki has encountered a lot of scandals related to the service attitude of their staff, and the hygiene and food safety issues

(Customers doubt the quality of Dookki’s food)

(Unprofessional behavior of Dookki’s staff)

In particular, the scandal of fried squid containing maggots and parasites has been rampant on social networking sites recently In particular, there was a group

of clients having a meal at the Dookki - Pham Van Dong branch, and then they found abnormal signs of fried squid (as the following picture)

(Maggot larval infection inside squid)

These clients supposed that the small white particles were maggots or parasites, so they reflected the problem with the service staff However, they only received an extremely irresponsible answer: "This is the product we imported from another firm, so we don't know” and the restaurant’s representative did not explain anything more This irresponsibility infuriated these clients After that, they posted this picture on a food review group on Facebook A lot of people agreed with the post and said that they had similar experiences This scandal then was more and more widespread on Facebook and TikTok

After this incident, Dookki posted on their page on Facebook the Squid analysis report tested by the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology They confirm that the white particles are not parasites but fibrous tissues However, this report dated from more than 2 months before the incident, which does not prove that the Squid the clients reflected was safe or not Therefore, that report does not solve any problem However, Dookki continues to be silent, which shows great irresponsibility

Even then, a lot of posts reported that there were insects in the food of the restaurant However, they also did not get any explanation from Dookki until now Does this raise questions about Dookki's food safety? Is it worth the money with such unhygienic food?

2.2 Reasons for studying this situation:

Dookki is one of the restaurants very popular with young generations in Vietnam Besides, the price is also affordable for young customers Along with the price is the quality of food and food safety and hygiene However, the scandal has raised questions about whether Dookki is concerned about the health of clients Our team thinks that this situation is a very familiar case for everyone, and we all know the brand Dookki Moreover, most of us are concerned about our health, so this case is a familiar and typical problem in our daily life Therefore, we decided

to choose this situation to write a report so that we know and avoid it if necessary

2.3 Reasons for this situation:

This incident happened because of Dookki's food safety and hygiene issues

or maybe any of Dookki’s problems However, the restaurant did not have a clear explanation to satisfy their clients or apology to them Instead, they showed irresponsibility and kept quiet, causing confusion to customers and a decrease in customers’ trust in the brand

2.4 Consequences of this situation (with evidence/facts/statistics/image)

After the client’s post at the Pham Van Dong branch, a series of other Dookki branches were also exposed to such food safety issues on Facebook and TikTok Besides, many customers said that they had stomachaches after eating at Dookki This greatly affects the reputation and image of the restaurant Many people declared that they would never eat at Dookki again, which caused Dookki

to lose a significant number of customers

2.5 Suggestion:

+ Dookki should pay more attention to the issue of food hygiene and safety, not only with Squid but many other dishes reflected by customers

+ Dookki should give a more satisfactory explanation to their customer

If they are wrong, they should admit the mistake and correct it (Dookki can leave this squid dish because there are too many controversial issues) Besides, they should publicly apologize to their clients and take responsibility if their customers have any problems after eating food at the restaurant Dookki also can inquire about the customer's health status and compensate them if necessary

If they are not wrong, they should give specific evidence to reassure their customers in a better way They need to show that they really care about their customers, always putting their customers' interests first

+ Dookki can also give promotional codes to the customers who come to eat their food next time At this time, Dookki must ensure food hygiene and safety

3 Case 2: Dookki still promotes after the scandal, which causes their customers to doubt their transparency

3.1 Descriptions of the situation

After all the controversies, Dookki was unable to provide acceptable explanations to the media and customers They ignore all the consequences and insist that they did not do anything wrong Despite receiving a lot of complaints as well as suggestions that they should consider the ways they deal with the problems, Dookki still keeps on launching new promotion campaigns by hiring influencers to post good reviews and make them appear as much as possible on social media The ways Dookki reacted to the scandals made many customers angry as they feel like being disrespected New posts about food quality and other problems such as bad customer service from customers keep appearing Then, everyone realizes that all the problems emerged a long time ago, but Dookki acted as if nothing happened and tried to conceal everything Until now, when the situation gets too bad and causes some noticeable damage to Dookki, they do not show any intention to change what they did before

Dookki’s image has been ruined as many people think of this brand with suspicion and caution in mind

3.2 Reasons for studying this situation

Dealing with scandals and solving problems with customers are important parts of business communication that can affect the company’s future Especially with a big company like Dookki, customer service is the key element that makes the difference After a scandal, the ways a company reacts to all criticism can leave either a positive or negative impression Therefore, our group chose to study this situation for better knowledge about solving conflicts between companies and their customers

3.3 Reasons for this situation

This situation resulted from Dookki’s bigotry and lack of communication skills The company is too confident about the brand name so they ignore all complaints and advice They just do whatever they want and show disrespect to their customers by trying to prove that customers are wrong without any clear evidence

3.4 Consequences of this situation (with evidence/facts/statistics/image)

After ruining their own image, Dookki is now facing some serious consequences The most noticeable is the significant fall in the number of customers coming to Dookki which leads to lower profit for the company Moreover, the company will also meet some difficulties in recovering after the scandal as they lost customer trust which is the most important part of a successful business

3.5 Suggestion

Firstly, softening customers and the media by filtering messages to conceal critical information can lead to higher damage later on Since current issues stay unsolved and crucial information that might help detect and fix those issues is withheld

This problem can be prevented or minimized by creating an open and safe workplace in which staff members can discuss negative situations and acknowledge mistakes without fear of consequences

+ Dookki should apologize sincerely for their mistakes instead of ignoring them

On the other hand, when customers complain on social media, it's generally because a business has already failed to please them through traditional customer service channels They're also extremely angry, thus further upsetting them through inaction is unwise

+ Dookki needs to provide a comprehensive communication platform that enables both active discussion and effective distribution of information

Moreover, turning a blind eye to customers' complaints is the fastest way to ruin a business Customers acquire a more deeply critical view of the brand if they are requested for feedback and then never see a response, as compared to how they would feel if they had never been asked for comment

+ Dookki should listen to customers' feedback, and then make improvements for a better service

4 What can be learned?

The two unfortunate events of Dookki have left us with valuable lessons in communication and behavior not only for the F&B industry but also for other companies as follows:

Case 1: Communication problems, especially those engaging consumers, must be

tackled quickly and thoroughly Speed is one of the most critical criteria in creating client loyalty when it comes to customer service As a result, make every attempt

to respond to your consumers in a straightforward and precise manner

- Companies must keep all their product promotion precise and relevant

- A spokesperson of a company needs to translate ethical principles into the language of business when negotiating external pressure

- If anything goes wrong, companies need to find proper ways in pursuing customer relations, be transparent and put themselves into customers’ shoes

Case 2: To begin with, the advancement of society has resulted in an explosion of

social networking platforms It is a two-edged sword, offering both an opportunity and a problem to every firm or brand that employs it For this reason, while expressing themselves on social media, the company's spokesperson and spokesman, as well as all workers, must be in complete accord Hence, it's a speech lesson

Secondly, when confronted with a communication breakdown, nothing develops consumer trust more than a direct confrontation and heartfelt apologies Since regaining image and reputation requires sincerity, honesty, and immediacy, all levels of employees must work together to resolve it Because the image of any company is primarily determined by what it tells and displays to the public, all managers and their employees should be consistent in their statements