WSJ Trends Essays Example

Trend one

In order to win their customers, many restaurants nowadays are turning towards perk-filled friendlier services. In fact, some top restaurants are welcoming their customers with a hug as a way of winning their loyalty. Top restaurants such as nomad and Will Guidara are leading in this frontier and they are now shifting their attention to the reception in addition to their traditional quality food approach (Cheshes 1). There are staffs, both male and female, who are strategically-placed in these restaurants to welcome the customers with a hug, and ensure that their emotional needs are fully satisfied before leaving the premises.
The justification of this approach is that perk-filled services will make the customers of the restaurants to feel more appreciated, honored, valued and above all loved. It helps the restaurant to provide personalized services to the customers through winning their emotions (Robinette 247). For many years, players in the hospitality industry has focused on the quality of food they offer to their customers without realizing that there are other strategies that they can use to win the loyalty of their customers. The strategy work very well especially in winning female customers who are emotionally-oriented compared to male customers. The approach is ensuring that the customers will come again after leaving the restaurant fully satisfied and feeling loved by those who are serving them (Lan, Hoegg and Dahl 412). They leave the hotel super-excited just because they way they were served.
The new strategy has enabled these restaurants to increase their customers’ base through retaining the existing customers as well as winning new customers. There have been increased cases for room booking, customers’ inflow and demand for their services. As a result, these restaurants have reported increased revenue that has translated to increased profitability.

Trend two

Their staffs are also given freedom as a way making them happy before they can handle their customers. For example, hosts, bartenders, and waiters are allowed to wear the clothes of their choices, to drink while on the job, and even to play the music of their preference over the sound system (Pérez Muñoz 649). However, this freedom is exercised within some limits in order to ensure that the staffs still maintain professionalism in their work.
The justification of this trend is that happy staffs will also make customers happy, and unsatisfied staffs are likely to make customers unsatisfied (Mo Wang et al. 312). Giving staffs extra freedom is ensuring that they are given a chance to create an environment which they feel will enable them to give their best services to the customers. It also creates a perception among the employees that the management of the hotel care and respect about their preferences just like those of their customers.
Increased freedom among the staffs has enabled them to become more creative and motivated, hence resulting to increased productivity (Brenkert 251). Many staffs are more willing to work overtime even without payment just because they are feeling they are working in the right environment. There is also improvement in the quality of services they provide to the customers since they feel valued and respected in the company. The increased productivity has resulted to increased revenue and reduced costs, hence increasing the profitability of these hotels. Satisfied customers are also willing to come back again since they are happy with the way they were served in the restaurant.

Work cited

Brenkert, George G. Freedom, participation and corporations: the issue of corporate (economic) democracy. Business Ethics Quarterly, 2.3(1992):251-269.
Cheshes, Jay. A Warming Trend in Restaurant Service. Wall street journal, July 2014. Web. March 19, 2015.
Lan Jiang, Hoegg, Joandrea and Dahl, Darren W. Consumer Reaction to Unearned Preferential Treatment. Journal of Consumer Research, 40.3(2013):412-427.
Mo Wang, Hui Liao, Yujie Zhan and Junqi Shi. Daily customer mistreatment and employee sabotage against customers: examining emotion and resource perspectives. Academy of Management Journal, 54.2(2011): 312-334.
Pérez Muñoz, Cristian. Essential Services, Workers' Freedom, and Distributive Justice. Social Theory & Practice, 40.4(2014):649-672.
Robinette, Scott. Emotion marketing: the Hallmark way of winning customers for life / Scott Robinette and Claire Brand. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001.