Prof. Sherman
Op. Management
5 February 2014
Jimmy’s Famous Seafood
Demetrios “Jimmy” Minadakis founded Jimmy’s Famous Seafood in 1974. With the help of his friends and family he built a bar with his bare hands. Today, Jimmy’s Famous Seafood is a family owned restaurant and bar located in Baltimore, Maryland, owned by Jimmy’s three sons, John, Nik, and Tony. This restaurant is open 365 days a year from 10:30am to 1:30am. It offers family dining, the convenience of a casual bar, happy hours from 4-7 at the bar, and two private rooms for large events of up to either 75 guests or 250 guests. I spoke with Tony to discuss the quality of his product (the restaurant) but also the way he thinks the process within his organization works as well. He believes if he makes things simpler for his employees, the restaurant will be successfully run without his supervision needed all the time.
Jimmy’s has gone through many efforts to ensure that their guest receive premium service and an overall experience that is different than a customer has ever received before. The product deals with what the customer sees when they walk into the restaurant so the décor, taste of the food and general service that they receive. The décor of the restaurant has been redone many times as an effort to continue to improve the ambiance of the place. Jimmy’s hopes to provide a warm feel to their restaurant with wood finishes and uses of color that create a warm and homely feel. The ceilings are closed, along with warm lighting, each table has a candle light. Along with the décor the food is also important within the product quality factor of the restaurant. Jimmy’s uses a fixed menu in which all chefs uses in order to keep the taste of each dish consistent. For example, all steaks are brought to room temperature before they are cooked to ensure that the steak is cooked evenly all the way through. The servers at Jimmy’s Seafood need to value what their hard work will bring to them in the end. They need to understand that following specific rules when carrying out group tasks, such as bartending at a bar, will bring satisfying outcomes. Showing employees both what they can provide for the establishment and what the establishment can provide for them will bring forth stronger commitment to the workplace and this commitment transfers to the costumer.
The service is also another important part of the product quality. Severs are essentially the face of the restaurant and are there to ensure that the guest has a good experience. Servers have to deliver the food in a timely manner and cater to the guests’ every need. At Jimmy’s servers wear all black along with black shoes, a black tie and a single gold hooked shaped tie clip. The uniformity also shows order among the servers. So the appearance and performance of the is a major component of the quality of service and subsequently a large component of product quality.
The process to how the product is made is just as important as well. For example Jimmy’s has a system which