Chez Damla

1. Chez Damla Group Red Devrim Yılmaz Ebru Günlü Selin Yılmaz İge Pırnar

2. Stage 1 Damla is an outgoing person with akeen sense of humor who enjoys talking with other people. She has spent her working life in the catering trade largely in public houses. After moving form London, Damla was pleased to accept the opportunity of a partnership in managing Chez Damla, a public house and restaurant situated on the coast of İzmir.

3. The other partner, Yağmur, was a younger woman with a degree in business studies. It was agreed that Damla would have particular responsibility in the kitchen and food preparation and assisting with bar work when necessary. At first, all seemed to be going well. After meals have finished being served, Damla would often help behind the bar.

4. She regularly joined customers drinking and laughing with them and quickly becoming a very popular figure. The partnership had been in operation for about a year when, much to Damla’s surprise Yağmur announced her engagement to Toprak Sergen a divorce sum years older than Yağmur. Damla couldn’t hide a certain feeling of unease of this development.

5. As Toprak Sergen has started to spend a greater amount of time at Chez Damla, Damla became more and more disillusioned. Damla felt that she was increasingly accepted to undertake too much of behind the scene work with little involvement of management decision making. When a member of the kitchen staff left, Yağmur was reluctant to appoint a replacement, claiming that Damla could undertake more of the work.

6. Relationships with Yağmur had become very strained. As a result Damla applied for and was both delighted and surprised to obtain a position of Chef at Tiger Restaurant, a nearby Gulf and Country Club Hotel. Damla immediately informed Yağmur that she was withdrawing form the partnership and left Chez Damla the same week.

7. Stage 1 – Focus Questions 1. Evaluate the situation concerning partnership rights in formal and informal issues. 2. Discuss the ethical concerns associated with behavioral aspects shown in the case

8. Stage 2 The country Club Hotel has 75 bedrooms in a modern building with conference facilities with 180 people. It is set in a beautiful countryside and with a high standard leisure center. Damla quickly struck up a friendship with the restaurant manager and gained a reputation for being a more than competent chef, uncomplaining at the long hours of work.

9. However, 2 months after Damla was appointed, the restaurant manager who had started at the country club 4 months previously left at short notice. Much to her obvious pleasure, Damla was offered the position. This didn’t please the assistant restaurant manager a younger but more highly qualified person than Damla who had been in the post for the last 10 months. Damla seemed to revel in her new appointment.

10. One of her first actions was to remove the desk form the restaurant entrance where customers would book or confirm their reservations. This was to create more open space as a welcome to customers. Damla could constantly been seen chatting and laughing with customers. She would greet at the door of the restaurant and often take their orders personally.

11. One evening after finishing the main dish, a regular and well known customer asked to speak to Damla. There were obvious signs of merriment from the customers table. “I don’t like to have to say this but the meat was overcooked, the plates far too hot to touch and service was very slow and the soup was certainly not up to standard. Last time we were here, the meal was not all that great. I didn’t want to complain before, in case it upsets you but sorry, this is just not good enough”.

12. Damla offered reassuring words and went immediately to the kitchen. Shortly afterwards, she returned with a bottle of wine. She pulled up a chair from a nearby table. “Please accept our apology with my compliments of this bottle of wine”. “thanks very much“ responded the guest. Damla replied “that’s ok, now anything else I can do for you guys?”. “No thank you” the guest replied. “Good, now you can let me have a glass of wine that I have brought you” Damla said and then saw the hotel manager standing quietly near the entrance of the restaurant looking bothered to Damla.

13. Stage 2 – Focus Questions 1. What are the qualifications and accepted behaviors of restaurant chefs? 2. Evaluate the ways of handling the guest complaints. 3. What are the ethical conditions for promoting? 4. If you were the hotel manager, how would you handle the situation?

14. Learning Objectives After having reviewed this case, the students will be looking for information on: 1. Aspects of partnerships in hospitality 2. Mobbing and ethical issues in hospitality 3. The importance of job descriptions and job specifications 4. Consumer satisfaction and dealing with guest complaints 5. Importance of service quality and the components of service quality. 6. Behavioral norms of staff in hospitality