Service Management Model Based on Lean Service and Systematic Layout Planning for the Improvement of Customer Satisfaction in an SME in the Restaurant Sector in Peru

Abstract

The restaurant industry is a sector of great importance in Peru, which was one of the most affected during the pandemic due to the sanitary measures that prevented its normal operation. Once these measures were diminished and regular attention returned, the sector grew in an accelerated manner. With this growth, restaurants had to face a major problem: low customer satisfaction, as long waiting times and poor service became recurrent issues. Faced with this scenario, it is necessary to optimize the activities in the kitchen in order to have a better production time and to ensure the best quality in the dishes offered. Thus, a continuous improvement model based on Lean Service tools (5S, SMED, Standardized Work) is proposed to increase customer satisfaction through a faster service by making the processes in the kitchen more efficient and standardizing the quality of the dishes. In addition, Systematic Layout Planning was applied in the store to make a more efficient distribution of spaces in order to reduce waiting times. The proposal was validated through a pilot test in the case of Lean Service tools and a simulation in Arena software in the case of Systematic Layout Planning. The results obtained show a reduction in customer service time of 9.84% and an increase in customer satisfaction of 16%.