Keeping capacity constant
Aroha knows that keeping capacity constant isn’t really an option, as customer demand fluctuates a lot over the day. Making people wait a while at lunchtime is okay, but not for so long that they go somewhere else. Aroha can’t make all meals in the quiet times, as that affects quality and creates waste. She needs to be able to serve people more quickly when demand is high, but she can’t do it alone.
Changing capacity to fit demand
Aroha considers hiring another staff member. She’d love to offer a fulltime job to someone local, but for much of the day the extra person would have little to do. That’s too much capacity, meaning a wasted cost for Aroha. Maybe she could hire someone for two or three hours in the middle of the day? She knows a few students who might like the part-time work.
Influencing demand to fit capacity
Even with an extra part-time staff member, Aroha knows they’ll only just manage all the customers at lunch time. She wonders if she can influence her customers’ behaviour to help make the lunch rush easier.
Aroha’s bagels are the most popular things on the menu — in fact, they’ve become her speciality, and the thing that many people come to her cafe for. Bagels are also very quick to fill and serve, with no cooking or reheating required. And they’re easy to take away, so bagel customers don’t necessarily need a table. Selling more bagels will mean Aroha can serve more people more quickly.
Aroha decides to promote bagels over the big brunch by:
- taking a few other things off the menu
- offering some new luxury bagel fillings
- offering bagel loyalty cards (11th one free)
- doing a special on bagels from 2 to 4pm to encourage some customers to arrive outside of her busiest period.
By influencing customer demand, Aroha calculates that she can serve more people and make the most of sales opportunities. This will allow her to afford her part-time staff member.
Capacity problem solved: Aroha can keep her customers happy without wasting time, money, or food.