Memorandum

To: Justin Turnquist

From: Joseph Laber JL

RE: Improving our operations at Fargodome events

Date: 2nd December, 2010

______________________________________________________________________________

The outcomes of the past events at the Fargodome have been satisfactory but I don’t feel we
are reaching our full potential in sales. I am notifying you to suggest changes in our operations
that I feel could benefit your business. I will start by bringing attention the problem, then
identify the causal factors, and finally offer my suggestions and explain how they could benefit
us.

The Problem

Your absences from these events make it difficult for you to identify the problem so I will
explain. These events are, for the majority of the time, very slow. It is only during intermissions
that we acquire a substantial amount of business. Considering each intermission is roughly 15 –
20 minutes, this gives us a small amount of time to get the large amount of people through the
line. I have noticed that we struggle at getting people through the line and by the time the
intermission ends people go back to their seats and we lose business. Therefore every second is
crucial and there exists many factors that slow the line down which I am about to discuss.

Causal Factors

I have identified several factors that inhibit our ability acquire more business. The following
will provide in detail what is causing the holdup.

The Self Serve Toppings

By offering additional toppings, after receiving their ice cream customers hold up the line while
they try putting on toppings. Some customers take 30 seconds to put their topping on which is
enough time for us to serve three additional people.
Offering Hot Beverages
Whenever a customer orders a coffee or hot chocolate, one of the two servers needs to walk a
fair distance to do so. This takes up a substantial amount of time. The hot beverages make us
$1.25 each when we could serve 3 ice creams at $5.00 a piece in the same amount of time.
Consistency of Ice Cream
Throughout the past events the ice cream has been unbearably hard. This is by far one of the
biggest issues. When the ice cream is this hard it requires the servers to work much harder, it
takes more time to scoop, and it tires us out. We can serve at a much faster rate if the ice
cream is softer.
Method of Accepting Payment
Processing every sale through a register is tedious and time consuming at events like this.
Only 1 Stand
By only having 1 stand, this requires everyone at the event who is craving ice cream to come to
our stand. This large amount of people needs to be divided in order to provide everyones’
needs.
No Definite Line
The current system that we have does not direct the customers what so ever. This causes
confusion and customers are trying to order at the register when in fact they are supposed to
order at the display case. When this happens orders are getting mixed up and it makes it hard
for us to identify who has paid.

Recommendations

Now that you are aware of what is slowing us down I am going to suggest changes that will help
better improve our service.

Self Serve Toppings

Since the toppings are complimentary and they only pose a problem, eliminating the option
from our menu will save you on the cost of candy and will improve the flow of the line. I was
previously discussing with Andrew Peterson this issue and he posed an alternative option.
Andrew stated that “we should move the self serve toppings to a table away from the line, but
within sight so that no one steals them” (A. Peterson, Personal Communication, Nov. 24, 2010).
This way a customer can still receive toppings without slowing down the line. If you decide that
you want to continue offering toppings I would recommend taking Andrew’s advice.
Offering Hot Beverages
The hot beverages that we offer produces a great profit margin I will agree to that. Considering
that we only make a $1.75 a cup and it takes a lot more time to serve than ice cream at $5.00 a
cup, offering these products significantly reduces our gross sales. Eliminating this option will
eliminate the time it takes to make and to serve. This gives us more time to sell our primary
product, ice cream.
Consistency of Ice Cream
As previously noted, the ice cream has been to firm to serve. I distinctly remember discussing
this issue with you. “We could store the ice cream in the walk-in freezer instead of the blast
freezer over night” (J. Turnquist, Personal Communication, Nov. 24, 2010), this is what you
suggested and I feel that doing so would make the ice cream soft enough to serve.
Method of Accepting Payment
Our current method of receiving payment is taking up too much of our time. All of our products
are sold at full dollar amounts and no change is used. Therefore the math is easy and we don’t
need a register to make the calculations for us. I recommend that we use a cash drawer, but
eliminate the requirement of entering what we are selling into the register. I noticed that the
cashiers commonly push the wrong buttons and need to void out sales; this takes up
unnecessary time. We could then take their money, throw it in the drawer, hand back the
change if need be, and move on to the next customer. I spoke to Jean Justin, the Baxter Cold
Stone owner whom you are well acquainted to, in regards to this issue. She stated “you should
use a 5 gallon bucket to throw your cash in as you go” (J. Justin, Personal Communication, Dec.
2, 2010). She also noted “everyone that you work with has grown a relationship with each
other and have grown to trust each other; there should be no concern of theft”. I have worked
similar events with Jean and that method was used. I found it to be very quick and easy which is
what we want.
Only 1 Stand
Having only one stand at the Fargodome is adequate, but having another could be very helpful.
Judging by the amount of business that we get and the amount of people that walk away
because of the size of our line, I think that investing in another stand could nearly double your
sales. I recommend that you inquire on this matter with Josh Krueger and find out if this option
is feasible.
No Definite Line
Not having a definable line causes much confusion for the customers. This issue has a large
impact on sales but is so easy to overcome. I recommend that we put up two signs, one stating
“Order Here” and the other stating “Pay Here”.

Overview
I have supplied you with a table that briefly describes what I have discussed. This table will
prove to be an easy reference to understand when implementing these changes.

Factor Effect Recommended Changes

The Self Serve Toppings Overwhelms customers 1. Remove the optional toppings
consequently holding up the line. 2. Position toppings away from
the line.
Offering Hot Beverages Incurs a large amount of 1. Remove these items from our
opportunity cost. menu board
The Consistency of the The consistency of our ice cream 1. Store ice cream in a warmer
Ice Cream has been unfavorable requiring freezer instead of leaving them in
extra time to serve. the blast.
Method of Accepting Processing every sale through the 1. Eliminate the process of using
Payment register requires too much time. the registers
Only Having One Stand Forces everyone to come to this [Link] with Josh Krueger about
stand investing in additional stand
Not Having a Defined The customers are confused by 1. Put up signs that direct
Line where to order. customers.

I hope that these suggestions will be taken into consideration and prove to be beneficial.
References

*Andrew Peterson (2010, Nov. 24) Personal Interview

*Jeanette Justin (2010, Dec. 2) Telephone Interview

*Justin Turnquist (2010, Nov. 24) Personal Interview