Let's solve a

consulting case
Problem Statement
Your client is a
restaurant owner. It
has been experiencing
a decline in profits. It
wants you to
analyse why?
 Interview Thread
Interviewee: Since when has the client been seeing a
decline in its profits? Also, do we have the magnitude
of decline?
Interviewer: The client has been seeing a decline in
profits for the past year, but there has been a
significant decline for the past three months.
Interviewee: Is it only the client’s restaurant which has
seen the decline in profits, or other restaurants in the
area have also seen a decline?
Interviewer: Other restaurants have also seen some
dip in their profits, but the client has been significantly
impacted.
Interviewee: Now I’d like to understand more about
our client. What type of a restaurant is it? And where
exactly is it located?
Interviewer: The client has one high-end multi-cuisine
restaurant located in a high-footfall area of Agra.
Interviewee: Due to the Taj Mahal, Agra attracts a lot
of tourists. I’d like to understand the type of
customers that visit the restaurant. Are they locals or
tourists?
Interviewer: This is a fair observation. The customers
are mainly tourists, and you can consider them to be
international tourists.
Interviewee: Got it. The decline in profits could be due
to an increase in costs, a decrease in revenue, or a
combination of both. Do we have an idea on which
side the problem lies?
Interviewer: The revenues have declined significantly,
while the costs have declined marginally.
Interviewee: Since revenues have seen a major decline,
let’s first understand the reasons for its decline. A
restaurant can have multiple revenue streams,
including dine-in, take-away and delivery. It can offer
both food and beverages, including alcoholic and
non-alcoholic. Is our client into all of these?
Interviewer: The client only has dine-in restaurant
services and does not provide alcoholic beverages.
Interviewee: Okay. Has the average number of
customers being served at the restaurant in a day
reduced or the average amount spent per customer
has decreased?
Interviewer: The average amount spent per
customer has not changed, but the number of
customers visiting the restaurant has decreased.
Interviewee: The decline could be because of lower
demand or the client having supply constraints and
not being able to fulfil the demand.
Interviewer: The client has been able to cater to all
the customers who have visited its restaurant.
Interviewee: The issue lies in the reduction of
demand then.
Interviewee: The average number of customers visiting
in a unit of time can be seen as:
Total number of tourists visiting India * % tourists
visiting Agra * % visiting the client’s restaurant. The
problem could lie in any of these parts.
Interviewer: The total number of tourists visiting India
and % of those who visited the client’s restaurant,
both have declined.
Interviewee: This is interesting. Let’s first look at why
tourists visiting India have decreased. This decrease
could be either due to a change in the International
perception of India, an increase in processing hassles
such as visa approvals or a change in preferences of
the tourists due to their country’s economic reasons or
increased availability of alternative options.
Interviewer: With the current slowdown
internationally, the international tourism market has
seen a decline and India has been affected by it too.
Interviewer: Now can you look at why the % of
tourists visiting the client’s restaurant has
decreased?
Interviewee: To understand this, I would like to look
at the customer journey through the process of
dining. For this, I would like to divide the journey
into three parts. The first part of the journey will
start with the decision to eat food till reaching the
restaurant. The second part will include the
experience inside the restaurant, and the third part
will include the journey after exiting the restaurant.
Interviewer: Sure, please go ahead.
Interviewee: To finalize the client’s restaurant to eat,
the customer needs to be ‘aware’ of the restaurant.
Reviews on TripAdvisor-like sites or by food
bloggers, alongside the promotion by the restaurant
itself, are the primary sources of information.
Interviewee: Many tourists also ask for
recommendations from their friends, travel agents
and from tourist guides around the place. The
tourist will then check the price of the restaurant to
ensure ‘affordability’. Finally, once the restaurant
has been decided, the tourist will head towards the
restaurant. The restaurant should be ‘accessible’.
Mismatch in location from Google Maps, changes in
routes or route blocks due to construction activities,
difficulty in parking spaces etc. could negatively
impact the tourist's decision to visit the restaurant.
Do we know if is there any problem here?
Interviewer: Yes. A few months back, the restaurant
decided to reduce the commission of the tourist
guides because of this these guides have now
started recommending our competitor's restaurants
to the tourists. You can now move to the next phase
of the journey.
Interviewee: Interesting. This can potentially explain
why the costs also decreased, but we’ll look into it
later. Once the customers reach the restaurant,
there may be issues with the–
1. Waiting time
2. The seating arrangement once seated
3. Presentation and design of the menu
4. Cutlery and the other amenities
5. Service by the staff and their attitude
6. The general ambience of the place.
Has there been changes in any of these?
Interviewer: Can you look at the ambience part in
more detail? What all would it entail?
Interviewee: Sure. The ambience to a restaurant is
aided by the features inside the restaurant like the
music, fragrance, visual appeals of the paintings,
the overall décor, etc.
Interviewee: Here, a view of the Taj Mahal can be an
added experience for the customers.
Interviewer: That’s great. A building construction
started three months back, which has blocked the
view of Taj Mahal from the client's restaurant. This
has deterred many customers. Can you quickly also
look at the last part of your journey?
Interviewee: Once the customer has exited the
restaurant, she may avail of a service from near the
restaurant, including local shopping or visiting a
sweet shop. She may have to take a transport mode
to visit another place. The restaurant may engage in
loyalty programs as well. However, since tourist
visits are generally a one-time visit, a loyalty
program doesn’t seem to be important here. Can
you suggest if any of these have had any changes in
recent times?
Interviewer: Outside the restaurant was a famous
paanwaala shop, which got closed due to the sad
demise of its owner. This has also impacted a few
customers. Can you give some recommendations now?
Interviewee: Since blocking of the Taj Mahal’s view is
the major reason for the decline in revenue, the
restaurant can explore if relocation is possible, though
that would be tough. While continuing with the same
location, the restaurant can provide a differentiated
ambience with local Agra’s feel, provide value- added
services, and include paan in its menu. We will have
to see why the tourist guide commissions were
reduced. If increasing it is possible, that could be
done, or alternatively, non- monetary incentives can
be provided to these guides.
Interviewer: That’s great. Thank you.

that’s a wrap!
 Framework
Profits

Revenue Cost

Average no. of Average spent

Customers per Customer

Annual Tourists % tourists % visiting the

visiting India x visiting Agra x Client’s
Restaurant

Changed Indian Process Issues Change in

Perception Tourist Pref.

Economic Increase in
Downfall Alternatives
 Framework
Pre During Post

Affordability Entry & waiting Loyalty Program

Accessibility Service Quality Transport

Awareness Menu Options outside

Online Ambience

Offline Internal

Posters, External
Agents

Tourist Sound from

Guides Outside

View of Taj
Mahal
CAREER EDGE

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