Say It Ain’t So! Is This the Real Thing? Essay

Nick HokinBBA-417Case Paper #13/30/2019Say It Ain’t So! Is This the Real Thing?Comment on the research approach. Do you feel it was an appropriate choice?David Ortega decided to use the Qualitative Research approach. He uses this approach to develop a deep understanding of how the fine dining experience offers value and insight into specific intangibles that create value for consumers in general. The Qualitative Research approach allowed him to enter casual conversations with businesspeople in the lounge of the downtown Ritz Carlton.

David is the lead researcher for the upscale restaurant group and needed to use the appropriate choice when conducting his research. After considering the different categories, he decided to use Phenomenology as his Qualitative Research orientation. As Barry Babin, and William Zikmund states in the book, Phenomenology is a philosophical approach to studying human experiences based on the idea that human experience itself is inherently subjective and determined by the context in which people live. (p.115, para 4). I do feel his research approach was the appropriate choice. The Qualitative Research approach he used allowed him to gain valuable information by having important conversations with the businesspeople. The businesspeople expectations varied and were all meaningful to the priority of the research. It was interesting to see the opinions of the respondents mentioning wine, food, Louisiana Hot Sauce, champagne, Rolexes, and even the smell of hotels. This research approach helped David better understand the total value proposition offered by restaurants, wines hotels, and other products. (p.473, para 1).David did not inform these respondents that he was doing marketing research during these conversations. Why do you think he withheld this information and was it appropriate to do so?I think David withheld this information to make sure that each of the respondent’s opinions is true. In this situation, I think it was appropriate that David withheld the information. In some cases, people are biased and will not be honest if they knew this was for market research. It’s important that David keeps the information private and respects the privacy of each respondent’s opinion. Since privacy is so important David must use confidentiality for every respondent. Confidentiality is the information involved in research that will not be shared with others. (p.91). David is also using implicit consent while interviewing the respondents. Implicit consent is behaviors that are openly performed in public implies that one is willing to have others observe them. (p.91). David uses anonymity by only listing the respondents first name, age, and occupation. Anonymity assures respondents that they cannot be identified or linked to their response in any way. (p.91) David must use marketing ethics and moral standards when conducting research from the respondents too. Marketing ethics is the application of morals to behavior related to the exchange environment. (p.88). Moral standards are principles that reflect beliefs about what is ethical and what is unethical. (p.88) The American Marketing Association’s Statement of Ethics applies here as well. First, Do no harm. This means consciously avoiding harmful actions or omissions by embodying high ethical standards and adhering to all applicable laws and regulations in the choices we make. (AMA, 2017, para 2). Secondly, Foster trust in the marketing system. This means striving for good faith and fair dealing so as to contribute toward the efficacy of the exchange process as well as avoiding deception in product design, pricing, communication, and delivery of distribution. (AMA, 2017, para 3). Thirdly, Embrace ethical values. This means building relationships and enhancing consumer confidence in the integrity of marketing by affirming these core values: honesty, responsibility, fairness, respect, transparency, and citizenship. (AMA, 2017, para 4). Using the Internet, try to identify at least three restaurants that Smith and Wollensky competes with and three with whom the new S&W Grill may compete.The top three restaurants that Smith and Wollensky competes with are, Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group, Palm Restaurants, and Ruth’s Hospitality Group. (owler 2019). Each of these competitors is considered high-end fine dining restaurants around the same expensive price range. The Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group owns the Double Eagle Steakhouse, Del Frisco’s Grille, Barcelona Wine Bar, and Bar Taco. The Double Eagle Steakhouse has a lunch, dinner, bar, prime pair, and easter features on their menu. They have Business Lunch portion on their menu which has Filet Medallions, Pan-Seared Salmon, and Saut©ed Chicken Picatta. They also have several different types of steaks and sandwiches on their lunch menu. For the dinner menu, they have Hand-Cut Steaks & Chops, Dry-Aged Steaks, Wagyu Steaks (different countries), and Seafood. Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group product is the genuine hospitality, highest quality of food, and award-winning beverage programs. (DFRG 2018, para 1). The price is high end and expensive. The promotion is their official website. Their place is, Based in Irving, Texas, Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group, Inc. is a collection of more than 70 restaurants across 16 states and Washington, D.C., including Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse, Del Frisco’s Grille, Barcelona Wine Bar and bar taco. (DFRG, para 2). The Palm Restaurants has a lunch, dinner, dessert, primebites, wine list, kids, and catering on their menu. On their lunch menu, they have soups and starts, burgers, entr©e salads, sandwiches, luncheon specialties (which are specific to the location of that restaurant), and individual sides. Their dinner menu has appetizers, salads, Italian specialties, seasonal specialties, steaks & chops, seafood & lobster, and vegetables & potatoes. The Palm Restaurants product is to, treat guests like family, serve great food and always exceed expectations. (the palm 2019). Their price is high-class expensive food and beverages. Their place is restaurants all over the United States in, Atlanta, Atlantic City, Beverly Hills, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Denver, East Hampton, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Miami, Nashville, New York City, Orlando, Philadelphia, San Antonio, Tysons Corner, and Washington DC. Their promotion is their Twitter account (@PalmRestaurant) and official website. Ruth’s Hospitality Group owns and operates a chain of casual dining steakhouse restaurants offering chicken, fish seafood, salads, desserts, and beverages. (owler 2019). They own the Ruth’s Chris Steak House which I have personally gone to on my 18th birthday. Their menu has signature steaks, handcrafted cocktails, and a world-class wine list. Their product is, Ruth’s Chris Steak House legacy began when Ruth Fertel mortgaged her home for $22,000 to purchase the “Chris Steak House,” a 60-seat restaurant located in New Orleans, Louisiana. More than 40 years later, our success continues to be driven by our adherence to Ruth’s core values, which are to deliver the highest quality food, beverages, and service in a warm and inviting atmosphere. (rhgi 2019, para 3). Their price is high for food and beverages with a high-quality restaurant. Their place is, Today, there are more than 150 Ruth’s Chris Steak Houses, including 20 international franchisee-owned restaurants in Mexico, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tokyo, Aruba, and Canada. (rhgi 2019, para 4). Their promotion is their social media platforms and official website.Three restaurants that may compete with the new S&W Grill would be Flemings, Omaha Steakhouse, and Kona Grill. The three restaurants prices and menus are like S&W Grill. Customers do not need to have a whole lot of money to be able to afford to eat at one of these restaurants. Though, the quality is close to the high-end restaurants. The product for each of these restaurants is an affordable medium to high-quality food at close to high-end restaurants. The price ranges between $15 to $60. Their place is all over the United States with many locations. Lastly, their promotion is their social media platforms and official websites. Try to interpret the discussions above. You may use one of the approaches discussed in the text. What themes should be coded? What themes occur most frequently? Can the different themes be linked together to form a unit of meaning?The type of approach David used in the text was Phenomenology because it was the best option for the respondents. This approach introduced unique opinions and experiences about fine dining with the businesspeople. This is one of the less expensive uses of conducting research compared to focus groups. This approach has themes of easily going off topic and completely different interactions each time with the respondents. David conducted his interviews in the evening between 5:45 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. He conducted these interviews in a high-end hotel, which was a great place to go since he wanted to discuss high-end fine dining. To create the conversations with these businesspeople he started talking about the $15 glass of wine he was drinking. The themes that occur most frequently between the respondents was that the surroundings and culture of the restaurant must go well with the price and quality of the restaurant. The respondents want to know that it’s real and not a fake. They don’t mind if it’s cheap or fake as long as it’s not being sold as being the real thing. These different themes throughout the research process can be linked together to form a unit of meaning. The unit of meaning comes from what all of the respondents had to say about fine dining.What is the result of this research? What should David report back to the restaurant group?The result of this research for the restaurant to compete in the high-end fine dining are they need to be the very best. The restaurant cannot advertise the very best of something when they aren’t serving the real version of it. David should report back to the restaurant group his findings of keeping the food and experience real. People that go out to the fine dining restaurants expect high-quality service and products. Anything but real will not be accepted by customers that would eat at a fine dining restaurant. For example, one of the respondents David interviewed was not happy that he bought Louisiana Hot Sauce in Louisiana, that wasn’t even made in Louisiana. The label read that it was made in Tennessee. Going to a fine dining restaurant should be an amazing experience with the drinks, food, and service, at the highest possible standard.Find the real-life S&W Grill. How does the real-life S&W Grill reflect and not reflect the research that you read in this case? Looking back at your response for Q#3, how do your choices for the S&W Grill’s competition match with the real-life S&W Grill’s 4Ps? The real-life S&W Grill reflects the research read in the case because it’s, casual spin-off of next-door Smith & Wollensky, offering steaks, burgers & late-night hours. (Smith&Wollensky, 2019). The real-life S&W Grill is very similar to what David wanted in the new S&W Grill. The real-life version also looks to have all real and non-fake food as described by the respondents. Away the real-life S&W Grill does not reflect the research read in the case is because this new location was made in real-life and never said it was made in the textbook. My choices for S&W Grill’s competition match almost perfectly with the real-life S&W Grill’s 4ps. The product, price, place, and production are all very similar, which is interesting in how this all works out.