Ruby Tuesday: Summer Internship Project Report

Summer Internship Project Report On

“Consumer Awareness towards RubyTuesday & Customers’ Response to the Launch of Loyalty Program” Undertaken At

A brand managed by

RTC Restaurants India Limited Submitted towards the partial fulfillment of Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management Submitted By Robin Kumar Jindal PGDBM 2008-2010 Roll No. 28098

Submitted To: Mr. Vikas Pall Industry Guide

Submitted To: N. Meenakshi Faculty Guide

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGIN This is to certify that Mr. Robin Kumar Jindal, a student of Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management at NIILM-CMS has worked in the RTC Restaurants (India) Limited, New Delhi under the guidance and supervision of Mr. Vikas Pall, General ManagerOperations. The period for which he was on training was for 8 weeks, starting from 3rd May 2009 to 30th June 2009. This Summer Internship report has the requisite standard for the partial fulfillment of the PGDBM. To the best of our knowledge, no part of this report has been reproduced from any other report and the contents are based on original research.

Signature

Signature

N. Meenakshi

Robin Kumar Jindal

(Faculty Guide)

(Student)

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DECLARATION This is to certify that the project report entitled “Consumer Awareness Towards Ruby Tuesday and their response to the launch of Loyalty Program” submitted by Mr. Robin Kumar Jindal, a student of PGDBM at NIILM-CMS, New Delhi, is a bonafide record of work carried out by him at RTC Restaurants (India) Limited in lieu of completion of the Summer Internship Project. All the information of confidential nature has not been disclosed in the report.

Signature

Signature

Vikas Pall

Robin Kumar Jindal

(Industry Guide)

(Management Trainee)

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT It takes immense pleasure for me to express my sincere gratitude to all the helping hands who have guided me in the completion of this project. It was a great learning experience for me to work on my project for two months in such a charged and highly motivated organisation. As a student of NIILM-Centre for Management Studies, I got an opportunity for doing my summer internship in Ruby Tuesday, a part of RTC Restaurants (India) Ltd. I would like to thank NIILM-CMS, New Delhi, for giving me the platform to work with one of the most renowned organizations. I would like to express my deep gratitude to RTC Restaurants (India) Limited, for giving me the opportunity to hone my skills and learning through a practical approach with this Summer Internship Project. I would like to give my regards to Mr. Vikas Pall, General Manager (Operations) who was my mentor and a continuous source of inspiration during these two months. Without him this project could never be succeeded. His guidance and vision helped us in exploring different ways to complete this challenging task. I am deeply indebted to my faculty guide Mrs. N. Meenakshi, who has supported me immensely throughout the project through discussions and by always showing me the right course to pursue. The information and suggestions provided by her proved to be most valuable. I owe special thanks to all the employees at RTC Restaurants (I) Ltd, 703, Chiranjiv Towers, 43, Nehru Place, New Delhi, for their support during the training period. Last but not the least, my effort will remain incomplete if I do not express my indebtedness to my teachers, friends and family members for their love and blessings and whose assistance and support are instrumental in the successful completion of this project. Robin Kumar Jindal PGDBM 2008-2010 NIILM-CMS, New Delhi

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A WORD ON NIILM-Centre for Management Studies Beginning life in 1996, NIILM-CMS is scaling new heights and making rapid strides thanks to its highest standards of academic excellence. Today, NIILM ranks among the country’s top business schools. It’s flagship Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management (PGDBM), approved by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry, Government of India, is also recognized by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) as per equivalent to an MBA degree.

This summer training is a part of the curriculum and it is as an interface between the industry and the college so as to impart a deep learning to the students.

To develop a pedagogy based on learning-through-action, the institution has floated a unique concept called Action Learning Laboratory (ALL). Using a plethora of techniques such as role-playing, simulations, workshops and skill-building exercises, ALL helps the students to communicate better and conduct themselves appropriately in a business environment. Similarly, other activity-based platforms like the CEO Forum and Osmosis seeks to increase students’ exposure to the industry and organize more interactions with top management people.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This project is based on my learning and research that I underwent during my training at Round The Clock (RTC) Restaurants (India) Ltd. It consists of the procedures involving the collection and analysis of various information required to wholly understand the customer awareness of Ruby Tuesday, whose master franchise in India is with RTC Restaurants (I) Ltd, and also to assess the response of customers towards the launch of its new loyalty program. This project was completed using primary data, gathered directly from potential and existing customers of Ruby Tuesday. A complete analysis of findings are compiled and classified into appropriate sub modules. Various interesting findings from the interview of customers have led to the culmination of this report. The primary objective of the project is to find out the level of customer awareness of Ruby Tuesday brand, especially in the areas nearby the Ruby Tuesday outlets, like Nehru Place, Janakpuri, Greater Kailash- II, Saket, to name a few. Also, the project aims at gauging the customer response to the launch of a loyalty program by Ruby Tuesday and whether it can get converted to actual increase in footfall in the restaurant outlets. To begin with, the research was conducted on 462 respondents on the basis of Mall-Intercept to find out the awareness of the brand Ruby Tuesday. Out of 462 respondents, 106 respondents gave a favorable response for Ruby Tuesday. So the further research was conducted on those 106 respondents.

Telephonic survey was conducted at the corporate office of RTC Restaurants (I) Ltd. After the distribution of Neighborhood Loyalty Card, the customers were given a telephone call to know the status of loyalty card and a general purpose questionnaire is filled by asking eight questions from the targeted 139 respondents. Out of 139, those who (80) gave a positive response to the first question (Have you dined at Ruby Tuesday?) were preceded further with the entire questionnaire.

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From the study and with the help of the survey I concluded that the loyalty program can be a better mode of increasing customer loyalty, brand awareness, brand recall, brand priorities & repeat purchase behavior. As Loyalty programs only have a limited range, so it should be clubbed with other marketing programs to make a more effective tool of marketing brands. Proper ground work must be done before launching these programs so as to avoid any irregularities & wastage of time & resources. The project has helped me immensely to get insight into the workings and trends in the restaurant and hospitality industry. I got to know about other restaurant brands under RTC Restaurant (I) Ltd as well and their different USPs in the market.

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Chapter 1: Introduction………………………………....…9 RTC Restaurants (I) Ltd……………………….…………......10 Brands Managed by RTC……………….………………...….12 Operations at RTC Restaurants (I) Ltd……………….............20 Ruby Tuesday International…………………………………..26 Ruby Tuesday Franchise……………………………………...33 Ruby Tuesday India…………………………………………..36 SWOT Analysis of Ruby Tuesday India……………………..39

Chapter 2: Literature Survey…………………………….40 Introduction to Consumer Behavior……...…………………..41 Introduction to Loyalty Programs……………………………44 Ruby Tuesday Loyalty Program……………………………...50

Chapter 3: Research Methodology……………………….52 Research Objectives…………………………………………53 Research Design……………………………………………..53 Sample Design……………………………………………….54 Scope of the Study…………………………………………...55 Limitations…………………………………………………....55

Chapter 4: Data Analysis and Interpretation…………...56 Data Analysis…………………………………………………57 Fieldwork...…………………………………………………...57 Data Representation…………………………………………..57 Comparative Analysis of Ruby Tuesday……………………..80 Analysis of Customers’ Response to Loyalty Program………84

Chapter 5: Recommendations and Conclusion……….....96 Recommendations………...…………………………………..97 Conclusion……………………………………………………98

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Bibliography………….……………………………………99 Annexure.............................................................................101 Annexure I - Consumer Awareness towards Ruby Tuesday….……..…...…..102 Annexure II - Customer’s Response to Ruby Tuesday Loyalty Program……105 Annexure III - Locations of RTC’s Outlets in Delhi & NCR…………….….106

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ROUND THE CLOCK RESTAURANTS (INDIA) LTD AN INTRODUCTION Round The Clock Restaurants (India) Ltd is the master franchise of Ruby Tuesday with exclusive rights for India. Beginning from the year 2000, the company has set up fourteen very successfully running restaurants in Delhi & NCR (national capital regions), Chandigarh, Mumbai and Bangalore. The company has setup many more restaurants in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Ludhiana, Kolkata and many major metros in India.

The very first restaurant in India Started in the year 2000, at Connaught Place, New Delhi In India the company is headed by Mr. Gaurav Jain, who is the Managing Director. RTC has employee strength of around 650.Within the last 7 years the company has spread to many restaurants all over India.

Corporate OfficeRTC Restraunts (India) Ltd 705, Chiranjeev Towers, Nehru Place, New Delhi – 110 0019 Tel No: 011 – 26447971-76 Fax No: 011 – 26447963 Website: www.rtcindia.co.in

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RTC Restaurants (I) Ltd. Organisation Structure

Various Authorities & Their Designation at RTC Mr. Gaurav Jain

Mr. Vikas Pall

Managing Director,

General Manager (Operations)

Mr. Deepak Talwar

Mr. Prasoon M Tripathi

COO, RTC Restaurants (I) Ltd.

GM-HR, RTC Restaurants (I) Ltd.

Mr. Anil Rao

Mr. Naveen Jindal

GM - Corporate Finance

GM – Projects & Maintenance

Mr. Supender Goel

Ms. Nidhi Kuchhal

GM – Supply Chain Management

Senior Brand Markating Manager

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Brands Managed By RTC

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RTC

New Concepts

Ruby Tuesday

Food Junction (Food Court)

Polka Bar & Grill

Mandarin Trail (High End- Chinese Restaurant)

Mandarin Express (Chinese)

Indian Express (Indian & South Indian)

Corn on the run (Corn Carts) In Pipeline

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World Cuisine (High End Restaurant-Chinese, Italian & Thai

Ruby Tuesday is an all Simple Fresh American Dining Restaurant chain with over 1000 restaurants worldwide and has been running successful operations since 1972. Ruby Tuesday, a publicly owned company, traded in NYSE and is spread all over North America, South America, Europe and Asia. Ruby Tuesday was launched in India in the year 2000, with its first outlet in the heart of Delhi – Connaught Place. After that there was no looking back! Today there are proudly owned restaurants in Saket, Nehru Place, GK- II, Raja Garden, Gurgaon, Noida, Mumbai (Nariman Point, Malad, Mulund), Bengaluru and Chandigarh1.

Ruby Tuesday serves an extravagant salad bar along with its mouth-watering delights: Platters, Fajitas, Enchiladas, Stackers, Burgers, Pastas, Sandwiches and the range of Indian Kebabs and Curries and complimenting these delicacies is an elaborate Bar, serving a spirited range of Ruby Classic, Frozen Specialties, Shooters, Cocktails and a large variety of Classic and Incredible Mocktails….

The goal, at Ruby Tuesday, is to provide you with WOW!! Food and WOW!! Service in WOW!! Surroundings. From the freshness of hand cut vegetables on its awesome salad bar to the smiles on its server’s faces, from the time it takes to season and slow – bake our famous “PREMIUM BABY BACK RIBS” to the last bite of our Chocolate Tall Cake, we take care about details, about getting things right and we are committed to consistency and quality.

Named after the Rolling Stone’s chart buster ‘Ruby Tuesday’, the spirit of 70’s permeates the atmosphere and music at Ruby Tuesday. Dressed up in warm inviting colors, with memorabilia like upended tiffany, style lamps, base ball and basketball legends on the wall and evergreen rock classics setting the mood for…. The WOW Casual Dining Experience…

Come experience…. SIMPLE FRESH AMERICAN DINING!!

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Annexure III: Number of outlets and their locations operated by RTC in India

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SBARRO’s roots go back to Naples, Italy where for Gennaro and Carmela SBARRO, the art of crafting Italian cuisine was a way of life. The couple and their three sons, Mario, Joseph and Anthony, immigrated to America in 1956 to pursue their dream of owning a successful business in the U. S. Their SBARRO Italian Delicatessen in Brooklyn, N.Y. was well received by the local community and was the first of what would grow to become some 1,000 SBARRO restaurants. Today, SBARRO is owned by MidOcean Partners, a premier riveted equity firm. The SBARRO name is synonymous with delicious Italian food that customers can count on for quality and taste. The company’s 8,000 employees continue Gennaro and Carmela’s tradition of providing authentic Italian dishes and flavors in SBARRO restaurants all around the world. Over the past five decades, SBARRO has grown into the world’s leading quick service Italian Restaurant Company with close to 1,600 units across 47 countries. The company offers an extensive menu of more than 200 items based on authentic Southern Italian recipes passed down through the SBARRO family. SBARRO restaurants can be found in malls, airports, universities, rest stops, hotels and stadiums throughout the world. For five out of six years, SBARRO has been ranked by Entrepreneur magazine as the #1 quick service Italian restaurants. Other brands owned by the company include Mama SBARRO and Carmela’s of Brooklyn. SBARRO is in a joint venture under the name Boulder Creek Venture, operating steakhouses including Boulder Creek Steakhouse, Rothmann’s Steakhouse, Sagamore Steakhouse, Blackstone Steakhouse and Burton & Doyle.

JOINT VENTURE OF SBARRO & RTC: SBARRO, the world’s leading quick service Italian Restaurant Company, announced on 7th September, 2006 a joint venture with RTC Restaurants India ltd to open 100 restaurants in India. SBARRO’s joint venture with RTC Restaurants (India) Ltd, SBARRO Restaurants

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(India) Ltd, developed and operated India’s first SBARRO restaurants in New Delhi in 2007, with 10 units opening every year over the next 10 years. The majority of the restaurants are located within shopping malls in major metropolitan areas such as New Delhi and Mumbai. Earlier this year, SBARRO announced agreements to open more than 75 units in regions across the globe, including Mexico, Egypt, Romania, Central America and The Bahamas. According to Peter Beaudrault, president and CEO of SBARRO, the joint venture with RTC would result in SBARRO’s largest international expansion to date and allowed to introduce the authentic Italian food to yet another culture. Again he said that with 250 malls in development, India presents a huge opportunity for SBARRO and efforts are underway of the work with RTC Restaurants (I) Ltd to establish the brand in the Indian market place. SBARRO serves fresh, traditional Italian cuisine that the cooks prepare in exhibition kitchens while the guests relax in a casual atmosphere. Their famous pizza is only the beginning of the SBARRO culinary adventure. They offer sumptuous entrees, pastas, salads, sandwiches, and homemade desserts - tastes to fit every palate. The USP of SBARRO is that it offers “PIZZA BY SLICE”. The stuffed pizza, Stromboli, Ziti Pasta, Penne with black olives, Garlic Bread and Roasted Potatoes are some of the extremely popular dishes available. One can also enjoy these mouth watering delights on various occasions like: corporate parties, kitty parties, birthday parties, get together, private functions. SBARRO is the first restaurant in India to offer pizza by the slice and a full Italian menu. Menu items are tailored to the religious and ethnic preferences of the Indian culture and exclude beef products and meat-based pasta sauces. Additionally, SBARRO chefs have created a variety of new vegetarian dishes to appeal to the largely vegetarian population. SBARRO’s contemporary Italian design, with sleek finishes, bright lighting, and an open kitchen is offset by cozy seating to create an environment that is interesting, lively and comfortable. Friendly, attentive service is what makes SBARRO the perfect place for social, business and group dining.

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Chinese cuisine is defined by carefully balanced flavors and time tested recipes that call for minimal cooking of finest ingredients. Mandarin Trail offers a truly upscale dining experience with an authentic oriental ambience. It relishes a gargantuan menu that comprises of rare recipes and cuisine from far Eastern China and a well-endowed stylish live kitchen. Mandarin Tail is truly an Authentic Chinese Cuisine fine-dine restaurant, traces its roots from the Mandarin region of China. It has tried to capture some of the traditional cooking style that exists in the Mandarin region of China. Situated at 3rd Floor in The Great India Place Mall, Noida, Mandarin Trial boasts a spacious, contemporary setting space for over 82 diners including a stylish lounge bar and live kitchen, beautifully design by Mr. Sumit Nath. While the furniture mainly constitutes of comfortable couches and relaxed chairs, the walls furnished with pictures to give ambience a perfect look and the hanging lights at the lounge goes with its theme. Such an enormous restaurant deserves a gargantuan menu to match and Mandarin Trail certainly has this. A menu that boasts of a range of soups, starters, dim sums, and a wide variety of mains from the vegetarian or non-vegetarian a-la-carte menu. Some of the special dishes include silken tofu lai style, tangy eggplant with sesame seeds, crispy conjee lamb, and sautéed prawns butter garlic. The list is endless. Dishes such as Wok-fried noodles, seasonal vegetables, spicy garlic sauce, Wok fried noodles with slice fish in xo sauce, sautéed prawns in lemon coriander sauce, are some of the other tempting dishes on the menu. The main menu is based on culinary delights from Mandarin regions of China and would leave you spoil for choice with over 107 dishes to choose from, including a selection of mouth watering appetizers, lamb, chicken, seafood and vegetarian dishes.

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To compliment the food, mandarin trail offers a wide array of spirits and cocktails specially crafted by our bartender.

Polka is a bar and restaurant renowned for its culinary appeal. The food at polka is light, contains minimal oil and apposite quantities of spices. Polka rediscovers the flavors and attempts to preserve its essence and at the same time embellishes it with a taste of the new trends. The lounge exudes sophistication not only in its contemporary yet the pop art movement of its great Roy Lichtenstein, but also its plush and soothing ambience. While the furniture mainly constitute of comfortable couches and relaxed chairs. The bar aims to be young and trendy. One can both heads for the bar and make his/her presence felt over the wide array of wine and spirits. The house DJ plays mesmerizing music that is specially created for Polka. The tracks are spun masterfully and exclusively for the place especially for the different nights. Polka Bar & Grill is a tribute to people who are warm, expressive and in love with life itself. Polka symbolizes all this and much more, bringing with it an element of fun, warmth and freedom. Polka rediscovers the flavors with the veritable spirit of Indian and Chinese cuisine. With signature dishes including vegetarian entrees, tandoori dishes and kebabs, the customers palate will never be the same. Furthermore, enjoy the multi-level experience of Chinese cuisine with Chinese dish name (description like: refined flour stuffed with ground lamb and baked in a clay oven) Chinese dish name (description like: long-grain Basmati rice cooked with lamb, Hyderabadi style), or Chinese dish name, flavored with aromatic herbs, to name a few. The Polka bar offers a selection of the finest wines & spirits, carefully handpicked by their beverage experts. The Polka bar promises to exhilarate the customer’s senses and give a 19

relaxed space to unwind with friends and colleagues. Polka is assuredly the only bar in town offering a classic experience within the ambience of an Island bar and restaurant. The house DJ spins mesmerizing music masterfully & exclusively for Polka patrons. Polka has a very huge range of imported flavored sheesha. In today’s fast changing world, Polka provides a place where people can get together for a corporate launch or chill at night in a fun place. May it be the food, the drinks, the décor or the music, everything is unique and truly a mix of old and the new.

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OPERATIONS AT RTC RESTAURANTS INDIA LIMITED Restaurant Hierarchy Area Manager

Restaurant General Manager

Assistant Restaurant General Manager

Restaurant Manager

Assistant Restaurant Manager

Shift Leader FOH

Shift Leader BOH

FOH

SPG

Server

BOH

Prep

Bartender

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Pantry

Grill

Sauté

FOH: FOH means Front of the House. This is the team of people who happen to have direct interaction with the customers that is why they are called people at the front of the house.

FOH is headed by a Shift Leader (FOH) and he is responsible for ensuring normal operations at the FOH.

FOH has following types of positions 

SPG



Server



Bartender

BOH: BOH means Back of the House. This is the team of people who generally do not have direct interaction with the customers that is why they are called people at the Back of the house. Instead they co-ordinate and respond to the activities and actions of FOH team which are in turn directed by the requests of the customers.

BOH is also headed by a Shift Leader (BOH) and he is responsible for ensuring normal operations at the BOH.

BOH has following types of positions 

Prep



Pantry



Grill



Sauté & QA

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General interaction structure among Customer-FOH-BOH

CPU: CPU is the abbreviation of Central Production Unit of the restaurants. There is one common CPU which internally segregated to ensure supply of food & beverage items and raw materials to all the restaurant units of north India without interfering with each others requirements. The Central Production Unit is headed by CDP Mr. Shirish Singh. Few Facts about CPU Northern Region  Located at Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh  Backbone of units located in and around Delhi and NCR  Provides all supplies of raw materials- vegetables, cut meats, sauces, gravies Main Function(s)  To ensure uninterrupted supply of processed & raw materials for food & beverages.  To standardize operations and products.  To maintain consistency.  To make the production cost effective.

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Uninterrupted Supply

Cost Effective Production

CPU

Standardized Operation & Production

Consistency

CPU Structure: Just as a UPS has the role of providing regulated power supply to a computer system and prevents it from fluctuations of external power supply, likewise the CPU ensures timely supply of materials (food and beverages) by acting as a buffer between the market and the restaurants. CPU has four major sections 

Receiving



Stores



Pantry/Kitchen



Shipping and Distribution

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CPU

Receiving

Stores

Pantry/Kitchen

Shipping and Distribution

Receiving: The receiving section takes up requisitions sent by Restaurant Support Center for various materials to be supplied at various units on daily basis. Stores: This is the real warehouse of the CPU. It keeps and records all the raw materials to be used for further preparations. The major items include various sauces, condiments, herbs, special high glutenin flour, gravies etc. The amount of inventory to be kept is based on the consumption pattern of last three months (3 months moving average) Pantry/ Kitchen: Here the raw materials are processed, cooked, seasoned, garnished, packaged, vacuumized, and sealed and transformed into a state and portions in which they are readily consumable at the BOH of the restaurants. The raw as well as prepared food items are classified into perishable and fast perishable items and refrigerators and deep freezers respectively.

Item Nature

Stored in

Temperature Range

Non Perishables

Cool & Dry Rooms

(25 to 15) Degree Celsius

Perishables

Refrigerator Rooms

(5 to 0) Degree Celsius

Fast Perishables

Deep Freezer Rooms

(-5 to -20) Degree Celsius

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The temperatures are continuously monitored and logged by electronic thermometers. There is also fairly good backup of heavy generators in case of power failure

Shipping Shipping at CPU refers to all the inbound logistics. Just as the restaurants are the internal customers of the items internally produced by the CPU, likewise CPU is the external customer for the external supplies of raw materials.

All the raw material from those external suppliers is received at the shipping bay. It is then compared against the set standards or measures like weight, dimensions, color, taste, smell, lean, cut, temperature etc. In case the samples do not meet up to the standards the lot is rejected. This becomes fairly important in case of fast perishable items like meat and milk products.

Item

Provider

Source Country

Cheese

Amul

India

Chicken

Venky’s

India

Pork Ribs

Not Disclosed

Brazil

Distribution Distribution at CPU refers to all the outbound logistics to the restaurants. The Receipt section forwards the list of all the items to store and pantry, for which the request had arrived from the RSC. They transport the materials to distribution section, internally after making the necessary entries. The distribution section loads those items into transport vehicles / Refrigerated Trucks and they are then dispatched from CPU for delivery at the restaurants. All supplies are transported in refrigerated vans to units at night after operations are over.

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INTERNATIONAL

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Brief History The first restaurant was founded in 1972 by five University of Tennessee students, and is now headquartered in Maryville, Tennessee. The first location was adjacent to UT's Knoxville campus on Twentieth Avenue near Cumberland Avenue. The building still stands, but it is now occupied by a bar called the Roaming Gnome, next door to Stefano's Pizza, on the corner of Cumberland, both of which are local institutions in their own right. In April 1982, Ruby Tuesday became part of the Specialty Restaurant Division of Morrison, Inc. The merger provided the chain with additional financial support to continue its growth. In March 1996, the shareholders of Morrison's approved a distribution and divided Morrison Restaurants, Inc. into three separate companies: Ruby Tuesday, Inc. (RTI); Morrison Health Care, Inc., (subsequently purchased by Compass Group); and Morrison's Fresh Cooking, Inc., (now owned by Piccadilly). Ruby Tuesday, Inc., therefore, is the successor of Morrison Restaurants, Inc. and is now one of America's largest casual dining companies. At the time of the distribution, Ruby Tuesday, Inc. operated many other restaurant brands in addition to their flagship Ruby Tuesday brand, including L&N Seafood Grill, Silver Spoon Cafe, Mozzarella's Cafe, The American Cafe, and Tia's Tex-Mex. In the summer of 1998, Ruby Tuesday relocated its Restaurant Support Center from Mobile, Alabama to Maryville, Tennessee, where the company built an on-site training facility, WOW-U, in addition to a lodging and dining facility, RT Lodge. These facilities are used daily as a training and development center for the Company's restaurant managers. In November 2000, Ruby Tuesday completed the sale of The American Cafe, Silver Spoon, L&N Seafood, and Tia's Tex-Mex restaurants to Specialty Restaurant Group, LLC. This divestiture allowed Ruby Tuesday to concentrate exclusively on the growth and development of its flagship brand. Many of the locations in the Midwestern and Northern US can be found in mall locations, while many of the Southern stores, such as those in Kentucky and Tennessee, are stand-alone stores.

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On April 12, 2007, the Ruby Tuesday, Inc. changed its NYSE ticker symbol from RI to RT. In August 2007, Ruby Tuesday acquired a local self-serve Fresh Asian Dining Restaurant, Wok Hay. In October 2008, a second location was opened in a recently converted Ruby Tuesday restaurant building.

Size and expanse of chain Currently, Ruby Tuesday, Inc. has Company-owned and/or franchise Ruby Tuesday brand restaurants in 44 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and 13 foreign countries. As of 5 June 2007, the Company owned and operated 680 Ruby Tuesday restaurants, while domestic and international franchisees (including Hawaii, Mexico and India) operated 199 and 54 restaurants, respectively. In February 2008, the 1st branch in the Philippines opened in TriNoma. Ruby Tuesday, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (Symbol: RT).

No more "Bar-and-Grill" In 2007, the Company began re-branding itself, moving out of the "bar-and-grill" segment of the industry, with changes including higher-quality menu items and handcrafted beverages. As a part of re-branding, the company began remodeling its restaurants as a part of "a three year plan to reposition, reinvent and reinvigorate the Ruby Tuesday brand". Ruby Tuesday CEO and Chairman Sandy Beall explains the re-branding in his letter to shareholders, found in the company's FY2007 Annual Report: Elevating Ruby Tuesday above the crowd to a memorable, high-quality dining experience is critical to our growth and success. ... We began by bringing our guests fresh, exciting new menu choices, then raised our standards of service, and are now creating an innovative new look and style for each and every restaurant. This revitalization will appeal to our loyal core guests while attracting a new generation of consumers.

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"Implosion" In August 2008, Ruby Tuesday created a campaign to show how radical these changes would be. On August 5, over "live" streaming internet video, a demolition crew was supposed to implode the final "old Ruby Tuesday" in where they said was Mount Holly, Ohio but was actually in Harriman, Tennessee, to show their commitment of change in front of a small crowd. However, to the crowd's shock, the restaurant next door called "Cheeky's Bar and Grill" (which looked like any other casual dining chain) was imploded. After the events, the senior VP of marketing for Ruby Tuesday (in actuality, an actor) posted a formal apology and a video of said apology on the Ruby Tuesday website and on TV. The idea was merely an elaborate marketing ploy to raise attention to the newly remodeled restaurants. In actuality, the implosion was a miniature done by a Hollywood special effects crew, and then edited into the footage of the pre-recorded webcast to make it look like an accident.

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Story "Ruby Tuesday" is a song recorded by The Rolling Stones in 1966, released in January 1967. The song was a number-one hit in the US and a number three in the UK.

"Ruby Tuesday"

"Ruby Tuesday"

Single by The Rolling Stones

Single by The Rolling Stones

from the album ”Between the Buttons”

from the album Flashpoint

Over 30 years ago, a young man named Sandy Beall called together four college buddies from the University of Tennessee and hatched an idea that would become one of America's favorite casual dining restaurants.

Sandy Beall, Chairman, Ruby Tuesday

Ruby Tuesday is driven by uncompromising freshness and quality, gracious hospitality and a growing list of Five-Star restaurants destined to be the envy of the casual dining business.

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At Ruby Tuesday, we're fully committed to preparing and serving food of uncompromising freshness and quality - with signature choices like our premium Handcrafted Burgers and our bountiful, Fresh Garden Bar - and we're grateful that our restaurants are made possible by passionate employees who make it their business to delight each and every guest with an excellent dining experience. From our ongoing efforts to bring you the best menu in casual dining and the best Handcrafted Burgers anywhere, to the gracious smiles and genuine hospitality that greet you at our doors, Ruby Tuesday wants to make our Simple Fresh American Dining your favorite dining anywhere.

Mission Quality. Passion. Pride. Quality means freshness. It's fresh 100% USDA Choice or Prime ground beef formed into perfectly grilled, Handcrafted Burgers that redefine an American classic. Quality is seasonal vine ripened tomatoes and crisp leaf lettuce still glistening with garden dew. It’s applewood smoked bacon and premium cheeses and an uncompromising commitment to providing you the best. Passion is people. People who love what they do and take your enjoyment personally. Passion is what to expect from the people who take your order, the people who craft your meal (and peek out from the kitchen to see your delight) and the people who are designing our comfortable, stylish Five-Star restaurants that are destinations in themselves. Everyone you meet here is happy you've come, and they're genuinely dedicated to having you visit with us frequently. Pride makes us a family. This is our home. You are our guest. And we will attend to your dining experience with a degree of care and attention to detail unrivaled anywhere. A deep desire to serve others is the secret weapon of a gracious host. And it's why, at Ruby Tuesday, we want you to always leave with a smile.

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This trio of "non-negotiable" sets Ruby Tuesday apart. They fuel us, bind us and compel us. They are the tools of a business culture comprised of talented, committed individuals focused on the same thing: consistently delighting our Guests. A primary goal of Ruby Tuesday is to find and select investors who are seeking a powerhouse franchising investment. We are looking for proven business people who share our values of quality, passion and pride and can translate these values into success. In the next five years, Ruby Tuesday is anticipating rapid growth and high returns. By joining the franchise family now you will open the door to a passionate culture that yields sweet returns.

Locations around the World Our quality, passion and pride won't be hard for you to find Canada

Chile

Egypt

Guam

Greece

Hawaii

Hondura

Hong Kong

Iceland

India

Kuwait

Puerto Rico

Romania

Saudi Arabia

Trinidad

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Ruby Tuesday Franchise The franchise philosophy at Ruby Tuesday is to leverage the strength of the proven, casual dining restaurant2 and culture to deliver a lower risk, solid return offering to select investment partners. Since beginning the franchise program in 1997, they have created a franchise structure that not only attracts qualified franchisees to Ruby Tuesday, but supports them in strategic ways that allow them to make solid returns on their investment. They must be doing something right. They have signed agreements for the development of new franchised Ruby Tuesday restaurants with 46 franchisees throughout the United States and in 16 foreign countries. Ruby Tuesday believes that the goals and objectives they share with their franchisees can be achieved when they share a common vision and both possess the necessary experience and financial strength. Joining the Ruby Tuesday franchise family will open the door to an exciting future. Since 1972, they have set the highest standards in culinary excellence and restaurant innovations. Ruby Tuesday have positioned them as a leader in restaurant technology, have been recognized for their commitment to and the effectiveness of ongoing training, and achieved the highest level of operational expertise. Franchise opportunities are now available for interested investors and potential restaurant franchisees in many areas of the world, both internationally and domestically.

Franchise Profile  Multiple restaurant and/or hospitality experience  Solid financial backing  Successful business experience in the desired market  Time and development commitment  Aligned goals and values with Ruby Tuesday  A passion to successfully operate a proven brand 2

A casual dining restaurant is a restaurant that serves moderately-priced food in a casual atmosphere. Except for buffet-style restaurants, casual dining restaurants typically provide table service.

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Ruby Tuesday knows what it takes to build and sustain a successful business. Their franchise support team has many years of restaurant experience that they share with franchisees during every phase of development - from inception, to restaurant establishment and ongoing operations.

Ruby Tuesday believes in One Brand, One Standard and One System. To maintain and protect the Ruby Tuesday brand, the same tools, processes and procedures that have created the successful brand are leveraged across the franchise family. Services include owner/operator training, real estate assistance, facility design, management training, new restaurant opening procedures and ongoing operational support. The Ruby Tuesday Support Team Covers All the Bases.

Real Estate Development The Real Estate department provides guidance to franchisees on matters related to real estate, development and the design and construction of restaurants. At Ruby Tuesday, the selection of real estate is so important that their Founder and/or Vice President of Real Estate visits and approves every location that is built in the United States. In addition, they provide assistance in the design and construction of restaurants based upon their innovative building prototypes.

Operations Support Ruby Tuesday accepts only the best franchise operators. To support their efforts, they provide Vice President-level support, communication and consultation for every franchisee. They work with their franchise community to develop strategies for building sales, optimizing profits and ensuring the strategic development of the market.

Marketing The Marketing department makes certain that the Ruby Tuesday brand stays top of mind with Guests from coast to coast. In addition, building brand awareness and spending over $75 million in nationwide advertising, the Marketing department also provides local restaurant marketing materials and support materials designed specifically for the franchise community. 35

World-Class Culinary Department By leveraging their over 900+ restaurants and 35+ years of menu research and development experience for the brand, the restaurant operators can be assured that every menu item will meet or exceed the Guests' expectations as part of an incredible dining experience.

Every menu update and promotional item is introduced to the restaurants by seasoned, trained operators. Complete roll out manuals and materials are created to ensure smooth implementation of every menu item.

World-Class Information Technology Department Ruby Tuesday's Information Technology Department has created the tools necessary to provide real-time access to virtually any information one needs to successfully manage their business anywhere in the world. From downloading pricing to ones Point of Sale systems, to creating proprietary tools that improve Guest satisfaction and ones bottom line, like KDS (Kitchen Display System), BDS (Bar Display System) and their legendary BOSS (Back Office Store System), the IT Department provides you with the real-time operational reports and statistical information one needs to maximize success.

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Ruby Tuesday INDIA Ruby Tuesday began operations in India in the year 2000. RTC Restaurants (India) Ltd is the master franchisee with exclusive rights for India. Since its inception in India, 14 very successful restaurants have become operational and many more are planned in all the major cities nationwide.

The very first restaurant in India Started in the year 2000, at Connaught Place, New Delhi In India the company is headed by Mr. Gaurav Jain, who is the Managing Director. RTC has employee strength of around 650.Within the last 7 years the company has spread to 14 outlets all over India.

Ruby Tuesday is driven by uncompromising freshness and quality, gracious hospitality and a growing list of Five-Star restaurants destined to be the envy of the casual dining business.

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Food & Drinks

Chicken Fresco Chocolate Tall Cake

Combo - Minis

Premium Baby Back Ribs

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SWOT Analysis of Ruby Tuesday India INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT  Strength:  “Tex-Mex” (short for Texas-Mexican) cuisine, its USP.  High class services - quality, ambience, and music.  A blend of international standards with an Indian touch.  It adheres to Ruby Tuesday International standards, which includes all aspects of menus, clothes, ambience, music, etc.  Ability to import high quality international non perishable raw materials like flour, sauces, etc.  Biggest variety in the bar menu in its class of restaurants.

 Weakness:  Lack of advertising through the visual media and promotional activities.  Lower number of outlets as compared to its competitors.  Highly priced items as compared to its competitors like TGIF, Geoffrey’s.

EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT  Opportunity:  Fast growing market of the restaurant business.  Lack of competitors in the fine dining market.  Abolition of Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) and Commodity Transaction Tax (CTT).  Huge untapped market constituting of the neo rich Indian middle class.

 Threat:  Lesser brand awareness in the market.  Stiff competition from the lower priced restaurants like McDonalds, KFC, etc.  High rate of attrition in the industry.

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40

Introduction to Consumer Behavior Who is a consumer – Traditionally consumer have been defined very strictly in terms of economic goods & services i.e., where a monetary transaction is involved. However, this concept has been widened to include goods & services where monetary exchange is not involved. Example: the services of a voluntary organization have been included in this definition & users of the service of this organization are also viewed as consumers. So a consumer is one who actually purchases a product or services from a particular organization or shop. However, the customer is an individual, for wider term that includes not only the actual buyer or customer but also all its users. The term consumer behavior is defined as the behavior that consumers display in searching for, purchasing, using, evaluating and disposing of products and services that they expect will satisfy their needs.

Consumer Awareness The study of consumer awareness is the study of how individuals make aware to take decisions and to send their available resources i.e., time money and efforts on consumption related items. It includes the study of what they buy, when they buy it, where they buy it, how often they buy it and how often they use it.

Take the simple product toothpaste consumer resources want to know what type of toothpaste consumer buy (gel, regular, striped in a tube, with a pump); which brand (national brand, private brand, generic brand), why they buy it (to prevent cavities, to remove strains, to brighten or whiten teeth); where they buy it (in a super-market, drug store, convenience store) etc.

The term Consumer Behavior describes two different kinds of consuming entities: the personal consumers and the organizational consumers.

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CONSUMER

PERSONAL

ORGANISATIONAL

The personal consumer buys goods

The second category of consumers-

and services for his or her own use

the

(for e.g. Shaving cream, shampoo),

encompasses for profit and not-for-

for the use of household (a V.C.R.),

profit

or as a gift for a friend (a book).

agencies (local, state, and national), and

orgainsational

businesses,

institutions

consumers-

government

(e.g.,

schools,

hospitals, and prisons) all of which must buy products, equipment & services

in order to

run

their

organisation. Note: - The whole study of my project is based on personal consumer because consumer buys goods & services for their own use or consumption.

Customer Values, Attitude and Life-Style Customer value is defined as the ratio between the customers’ perceived benefits (economic, functional and psychological) and the resources (monetary, time, effort, psychological) used to obtain those benefits3. Perceived value is relative and subjective. For example, diners at Ruby Tuesday, where meal with beverages may be very expensive, may expect unique and delicious food, immaculate service, and beautiful 3

Leon G. Schiffman & Leslie Lazar Kanuk- Consumer Behavior, 8th Edition, Pearson Education

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décor. Some diners may receive even more than they had expected and will leave the restaurant feeling that the experience was worth the money and other resources expended (such as a month-long wait for a reservation). Other diners may go with expectations so high that they leave the restaurant disappointed.

Consumer’s attitude toward a product or specific brands off a product is a function of the presence (or absence) and evaluation of certain product-specific beliefs and/or attributes. In other words, consumers generally have favorable attitudes toward those brands that they believe have an adequate level of attributes that they evaluate as positive, and they have unfavorable attitudes toward those brands they feel do not have an adequate level of desired attributes or have too many negative or undesired attributes.

Conducting consumer attitude research with children, especially gauging their attitudes toward products and brands is an ongoing challenge. What is needed are new and effective measurement approaches that allow children to express their attitudes toward brands. To this end, researchers have labored to develop an especially simple and short attitude measurement instrument of questioning children between 8 and 12 years of age.

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INTRODUCTION TO LOYALTY PROGRAMS Loyalty programs are structured marketing efforts that reward, and therefore encourage, loyal buying behavior — behavior which is potentially of benefit to the firm.

In marketing generally and in retailing more specifically, a loyalty card, rewards card, point’s card, advantage card, or club card is a plastic or paper card, visually similar to a credit card or debit card, that identifies the card holder as a member in a loyalty program. Loyalty cards are a system of the loyalty business model. In the United Kingdom it is typically called a loyalty card, in Canada a rewards card or a points card, and in the United States either a discount card, a club card or a rewards card. Cards typically have a barcode or magnetic strip that can be easily scanned, and some are even chip cards. Small key ring cards (also known as key tags) which serve as key fobs are often used for convenience in carrying and ease of access.

A retail establishment or a retail group may issue a loyalty card to a consumer who can then use it as a form of identification when dealing with that retailer. By presenting the card, the purchaser is typically entitled to either a discount on the current purchase, or an allotment of points that can be used for future purchases. Hence, the card is the visible means of implementing a type of what economists call a two-part tariff.

The card issuer requests or requires customers seeking the issuance of a loyalty card to provide a usually minimal amount of identifying or demographic data, such as name and address. Application forms usually entail agreements by the store concerning customer privacy, typically non-disclosure (by the store) of non-aggregate data about customers.

The store, one might expect, uses aggregate data internally (and sometimes externally) as part of its marketing research. These cards can be used to determine, for example, a given customer's favorite brand of beer, or whether she is a vegetarian.

Where a customer has provided sufficient identifying information, the loyalty card may also be used to access such information to expedite verification during receipt of cheques 44

or dispensing of medical prescription preparations, or for other membership privileges (e.g., access to a club lounge in airports, using a frequent flyer card).

Loyalty programs Loyalty programs have been around seemingly forever (Sperry and Hutchinson Co. launched “Green Stamps” in 1896!). Yet restaurants lack far behind other service industries with high competition and buyer frequency — like grocery stores, hotels, and airlines.

Why is it the case that so few restaurants offer loyalty programs? According to Direct Magazine, it’s often due to the cost and complexity of implementing a program and system. Sometimes too, it’s the feeling by a restaurant owner that a loyalty program is just a glorified coupon program – “The purpose of a loyalty program is not points or rewards or plastic cards or discounts. These are just means to an end. It’s rather to discover who the restaurant’s customers are, and to track their behavior, find out their preferences, cater to those preferences and keep two-way communication going. The result should be an ever-stronger relationship with customers that increases frequency, per-check revenue, marketing efficiency and competitive advantage.”

The battle for restaurant patrons can be fierce and ruthless if not downright bloody. Restaurants are high frequency markets with cutthroat competition. This makes them an ideal business for loyalty programs. So why don't more restaurants use them?

One problem is that many restaurant owners have severe misconceptions about their value and cost. They think the loyalty program is too expensive, won't work, or is too much hassle to administer. The key to a successful loyalty program depends on understanding how it really works and what it can and cannot do.

The purpose of a restaurant's loyalty program is to increase order frequency and spending from your most loyal customers. The first thing to realize is that unless you are a

45

McDonalds or a Dominos, your most loyal customers return for your food, not your prices. Price driven customers will visit you only when they can get a deal. They will follow the coupons, not their taste buds.

Price driven customers may be frequent customers, but only as long as your price is right. Your loyalty program is not going to entice cheapskates away from low end eateries to your door. Instead, it will make loyal customers feel special. This in turn will encourage them to come back more often and to spend more at your restaurant.

Who are your most loyal customers? Most restaurant owners believe that about 60% of their customers are frequent buyers. This is not the case. Analysis of over a million credit card transactions show that about 15 percent of your customers purchase from you frequently. On the other hand, the small number of loyal customers account for a third of your revenues.

This small group is who your loyalty program should target. The goal is to encourage this small loyal following to come back more often and spend more money when they do.

How to achieve the goal? To work correctly, the loyalty program has to meet some very specific conditions. One of the more significant findings of previous researches shows that as people make progress towards a loyalty program goal, their efforts to achieve the goal increase. That is, the closer customers are towards receiving their loyalty reward, the more frequently they purchase from the restaurant.

That's the driving force which makes a loyalty program possible. Researchers have also discovered that when progress is measured by points rather than total rupees spent, customers will try harder to reach the program goal. And finally, it was also learned that customers are more likely to actively participate in the loyalty program if they are given a reason for doing so, even if it is as spurious as:

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"Thank you for signing up for our online ordering service. As a token of our appreciation we invite you to take part in our Online Pizza Points reward program."

What Not To Reward? The biggest mistake a restaurant owner can make when selecting a loyalty reward is to offer some sort of discount. The most loyal customers are there for the food, so it is better to reward them with something tasty, imaginative and above all, edible.

Loyal customers don't care about discounts, they care about food. There are plenty of ways to deal with bargain hunters, but the loyalty program should not be one of them. Ideally, there should be a number of tasty, enticing and savory rewards to please a variety of palates. Research has also found that the value of the reward is not a primary factor.

It is far more important that the reward be intrinsically desirable to the customer. You can be creative with the rewards. For example, to offer sample combos of some of the more popular entrees. Not only does this seem very special to the customer, but may lead to future purchases of the item since it lets the customer try before they buy.

The loyalty program achieves its goal by inviting each customer to participate, providing a selection of rewards for the participants to choose from and by awarding a point to each participant when they place an order. Each participant is kept advised of his or her progress and when they have accumulated enough points, they can trade them in for their reward.

Does this sound simple and obvious? You bet it does. Does it work? Yes indeed. It is critical that customers know their progress towards reaching the program goal. With an online loyalty program this is done automatically. Every time a customer signs in to their account, they see their loyalty program points.

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With paper or card based programs, they should see a punch card or some tangible evidence of their progress.

The results of a loyalty program are measurable. Loyalty programs are long term investments, but when properly implemented, they are well worth your time and effort.

Working Statistics show that customers belonging to a loyalty program visit a business, on average, twice as often, and spend four times as much money.

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It is five to seven times more expensive to find a new customer than to retain an existing one. This means that every rupee spent on marketing to an existing customer will return 5x more profit than the same dollar on new customers.

With numbers like that, it is critical that the marketing to existing customers is as effective as possible. Past results, have shown that our cards enjoy a 22% better response rate over other direct mail campaigns.

The power of the data base comes into play with extensive business reporting. Members information like sign ups by month, sales year to date and sales by month are provided. Also the top percentage of customers by dollar spent amount and by visit frequency keeps you informed about progress.

Quick reports, daily reports, monthly and quarterly reporting keeps you fully informed about how your customer relationship system is meeting your short and long range goals for the business.

In this age of “drive-by Internet reviews“, a properly designed loyalty program that couples an in-store component with an online component can even help reduce the feeling of increasingly anonymous user-generated drive-by reviews, by building engagement and conversation between the restaurant and the diner.

Loyalty programs in India I-mint is India's largest coalition loyalty program, with approximately 5 million members. BPCL's PetroBonus is a pioneering program and also one of the largest in the country with about 2 million members for the fuel card program. It also has variants for fleets and convenience store customers. Likewise IOC's Fleet Card Program XTRAPOWER has recently crossed 1 million mark. IOC has launched a loyalty program XTRAREWARDS for Retail Customers. The Maruti Suzuki AutoCard, launched in association with Citibank and Indian Oil had 370,000 cardholders as at October 2008.

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RUBY TUESDAY LOYALTY PROGRAM Neighborhood Advantage Program Basic objective of Launch of Neighborhood Advantage Program is to increase the sales at the Outlets (Units) of Ruby Tuesday (RTC Restaurants) and related restaurants.

The reason for the launch of this loyalty card is to create awareness about the restaurants and inform people about the various benefits which they can have by dining there. The raise in sales is being expected by increasing the amount of footfall due to grown interest and awareness about the restaurants and the associated paybacks.

This program is for all guests who reside in close proximity to various RTC restaurants. This is a “Free Benefits Card” specially designed for discerning neighbors who dine out regularly.

As a neighborhood advantage club member, one can avail the benefits and privileges at Ruby Tuesday, Sbarro, Mandarin Trail and Polka outlets across India. As a neighborhood Advantage Card holder one can avail al of the benefits listed below:

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

This card is Free of Charge



Discount benefits are applicable at all Ruby Tuesday, Sbarro, Mandarin Trail & Polka outlets across India.



One can collect Loyalty Points every time one dine with these mentioned restaurants and the points can later be redeemed for free meals

Benefits at Ruby Tuesday, Sbarro, Mandarin Trail & Polka Discount

Loyalty Points on every Rs 100/- spent

Ruby Tuesday

15%

10

Sbarro

10%

10

Mandarin Trail

15%

10

Polka

10%

10

Loyalty points are provided on net amount after discount, excluding applicable taxes and service charge For example: if your order amount at Ruby Tuesday is Rs 2000/-, you get discount of Rs 300/-. You earn loyalty points on balance amount of Rs 1700/-, i.e. 170 points that can be redeemed later. This way you save Rs 470 on your visit with this card.

Minimum points required for redemption at different restaurants are: Ruby Tuesday

500 Points

Sbarro

250 Points

Mandarin Trail

500 Points

Polka

250 Points

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“Consumer Awareness towards Ruby Tuesday & Consumer Response to the Launch of Loyalty Program”

52

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES  Assess the customer awareness of Ruby Tuesday brand.  Know the customer preferences while visiting Ruby Tuesday.  Understanding the values, attitude and life-style of RubyTuesday customers.  Response to the launch of the loyalty program.  Suggest plans and recommendations to garner higher footfalls into RubTuesday outlets.

RESEARCH DESIGN Type of Research: The research was a combination of both Descriptive and Qualitative type of research. Descriptive Research includes surveys & fact-finding enquiries of different kinds. Its major purpose is to describe the state of affairs as it exists at present & the researcher has no control over the variables. It includes attempts by researchers to discover causes even they cannot control variables.

Qualitative research, on the other hand, is concerned with qualitative phenomenon, i.e. phenomena relating to or involving quality or kind. Qualitative research is especially important in the behavioral sciences where the aim is to discover the underlying motives of human behavior.

As the data used is collected through questionnaires & it deals with attitudes and behavior of peoples which comes under descriptive & qualitative type of research. Questionnaires were used to do the research.

53

SAMPLE DESIGN Sampling may be defined as the selection of some part of an aggregate or totality on the basis of which a judgment or inference about the aggregate or totality is made. It is the process of obtaining information about an entire population by examining only a part of it in which generalizations or influences are drawn based on the samples about the parameters of population from which the samples are taken.

Simple Random Sampling is used in analyzing consumer behavior and perception. Initially the questionnaire4 was administered to 462 respondents, randomly selected by mall intercepts, and further research was conducted on those respondents who were aware of Ruby Tuesday. It was found that only 106 respondents were aware of Ruby Tuesday. For the purpose of analyzing the customers’ response to the launch of loyalty program5, telephonic survey method was used. The respondents were chosen randomly who were situated in the closed proximity of Ruby Tuesday outlets. The phone numbers were taken from the RWA Directory of GK-I, GK-II, Mandakani & Nilgiri Appartments, Saket etc. A total of 129 respondents were given a phone call and further survey was conducted who had visited Ruby Tuesday at least once. It was found that 80 respondents out of 129 have visited Ruby Tuesday.

Sample size: 106. (Mall Intercepts) Sample size: 80 (Telephonic Survey)

Sample location: close proximity of Ruby Tuesday restaurant outlets in New Delhi.

4 5

Annexure I: Consumer Awareness towards RubyTuesday. Annexure II: RubyTuesday Loyalty Program

54

SCOPE OF STUDY The research was carried out to know the customer behavior and perception of customers about Ruby Tuesday. The main motive was to find:  Attitude of the customer.  General perception of the customer about the products and services offered by Ruby Tuesday.  How did they come to know about Ruby Tuesday?  Experiences while dining in Ruby Tuesday.  Suggestions and scope of improvement for brand Ruby Tuesday.

This data is very important for Ruby Tuesday in order to know the customers’ preference and thus help in increasing the Number of Transactions.

LIMITATIONS 1) TIME During the internship, time was the main constraint. It was only 2 months, and it was not possible to access the response of customers who have taken the neighborhood advantage card. Due to this we were not able to take more samples and hence the sample size has to be restrained.

2) VAST AREA OF STUDY Due to time constraint we are unable to meet the potential customers in Noida and Gurgaon and hence were unable to get the customer feedback of neighborhood advantage card from these two regions of NCR.

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DATA ANALYSIS Based on what the various respondents’ opinion, the data collected was analyzed using figures. No rigorous mathematical analysis could be done. All estimations are solely on judgment. For questions percentage was calculated and represented in the form of charts.

After representing the data in the form of charts the same were interpreted to get in-depth knowledge about the problem as well as general information, which helped the researcher to come at appropriate conclusions about the study and to give relevant recommendations.

FIELD WORK The survey was conducted for 25 days in New Delhi. Some major places where survey was conducted are Nehru place, Janak Puri, Greater Kailash-II and Saket.

Data Representation To represent the data collected through mall-intercepts and telephonic survey, I used some graphical charts, tables and statistical tools.

57

TABLE NO. 1 ABOUT THE VISITING PATTERN OF RESPONDENTS

Respondent Category

Frequency

Percentage

Once a Year

20

19%

Once a Month

27

25%

Once a Week

7

7%

Twice a Year

11

10%

Twice a Month

26

25%

Twice a Week

9

8%

Can’t Say

6

6%

Objective Here the underlying objective was to know the dinning pattern of respondents. It may help in targeting those customers who can make more numbers of transactions.

Interpretation It is evident from the above table that about 19% of the respondent goes out for dinning once a year, 25% goes out once a month and 7% goes out for once a week. It is also clear that about 10% of the respondents go out for dinning twice a year, 25% goes out twice a month and 8% goes twice a week. About 6% of the respondents are not sure about their dinning pattern.

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ABOUT THE DINNING PATTERN OF CUSTOMERS

6% 19%

8%

Once a week Once a month Once a year Twice a week Twice a month Twice a year 25%

Cant Say

25%

10%

7%

59

TABLE NO. 2 ABOUT THE AGE OF THE CUSTOMERS

Respondent Category

Frequency

Percentage

Below 18 years

5

5%

18 to 30 years

43

40%

30 to 45 years

38

36%

Above 45 years

20

19%

Interpretation

It is evident from the above table that about 5% of the respondent were below 18 years, about 41% were between 18 to 30 years, and about 36% ere between 30 to 45 years and about 19% were above 45 years.

60

ABOUT THE AGE OF CUSTOMERS

40%

45%

36%

40% 35% 30% 19%

25% 20% 15%

5%

10% 5% 0% Below 18

18 to 30

30 to 45

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Above 45

TABLE NO. 3 ABOUT THE AWARENESS OF RUBY TUESDAY AMONG THE RESPONDENTS

Respondent Category

Frequency

Percentage

Yes

106

23%

No

351

77%

Interpretation

It is evident form the above table that about 23% of the respondents were aware about Ruby Tuesday whereas 77% were not aware about Ruby Tuesday.

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ABOUT THE AWARENESS AMONG RESPONDENTS

77%

80% 70% 60% 50%

23%

40% 30% 20% 10% 0% YES

NO

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TABLE NO. 4 ABOUT THE INCOME (in Rs. ) OF RESPONDENTS

Respondent Category

Frequency

Percentage

Below 10,000

0

0%

10,000 to 49,999

8

8%

50,000 to 99,999

23

22%

100,000 to 149,999

36

34%

150,000 to 199,999

25

24%

200,000 or more

14

13%

Objective Here the underlying objective is to know which income group buyers should be targeted so as to increase the number of transactions.

Interpretation It is evident from the above table that total household income of about 8% of the respondents fall within income group 10,000-49,999 rupees, 22% fall within income group 50,000-99,999 rupees, 34% fall within income group 100,000-149,999, 24% fall within income group 150,000-199,999 rupees, whereas 13% of respondents fall within income group of 200,000 or more.

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About The Income (in Rs. '000) of Respondents 0% 13%

8%

22%

24%

33%

Less than 10

10 to 50

50 to 100

100 to 150

65

150 to 200

More than 200

TABLE NO. 5 ABOUT THE PURPOSE OF VISITING RUBY TUESDAY

Respondent Category

Frequency

Percentage

Quality of Food & Beverages

67

63%

Fast Service

64

60%

Nearest to Customers

56

53%

Interest of Customers

78

74%

Ambience

73

69%

Interpretation It is evident form the above table that about 63% of the respondents said that they were visiting the Ruby Tuesday outlets because of the quality of food offered, 60% were visiting because of fast service, 53% were visiting because it is nearest to them, 74% just because of interest and 69% said that they were visiting Ruby Tuesday because of ambience. This table does not represent that the total number of respondents is 106 because there were some respondents who choose multiple categories in order to respond, i.e., some respondents marked two or more than two options in this category. Frequency in each category represents that an option was marked by those number of respondents out of 106.

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About The Purpose of Visiting RubyTuesday

74%

80% 63% 70%

69%

60% 53%

60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Quality

Service

Nearest

67

Interest

Ambience

TABLE NO. 6 ABOUT THE SOURCE OF AWARENESS AMONG CUSTOEMRS

Respondent Category

Frequency

Percentage

Friends and Peers

38

36%

Print Advertisements

37

35%

Radio

18

17%

Corporate Tie-ups

9

8%

Others

4

4%

Objective The main objective of this statement in the questionnaire is to find out which is the most widely used source of awareness so that the company can plan its advertising tool(s) to create awareness among a large number of people.

Interpretation It is evident form the above table that about 36% of the people new about Ruby Tuesday through word of mouth from their friends, peers, relatives, colleagues, etc. 35% of the people had seen an advertisement in the print either in a newspaper, magazine or in leaflets. A sizeable amount of 17% had heard of Ruby Tuesday on the radio and FM channels. Awareness through corporate tie – Ups (like with credit card companies) accounted for 8% of the people. Rests were through other mediums like internet, social networking sites, etc. 68

ABOUT THE SOURCE OF AWARENESS AMONG CUSTOEMRS

40%

35%

36%

35% 30% 25% 17%

20% 15%

8% 10% 4% 5% 0% Others

Print Advertisements

Friend and Peers

69

Radio

Corporate Tie-ups

TABLE NO. 7 ABOUT THE LOALITY OF CUSTOMERS FOR RUBY TUESDAY

Respondent Category

Frequency

Percentage

Patient

39

37%

Depend on Circumstances

37

35%

Impatient

30

28%

Interpretation

It is evident form the above table that about 37% of the respondents were loyal to Ruby Tuesday, 35% said that their loyalty to Ruby Tuesday depended on circumstances and 28% were impatient about it.

70

About The Loyalty of Customers for RubyTuesday

37%

35%

40% 28%

35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Yes

Depend Upon Circumstances

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Can Change

TABLE NO. 8 About the Visiting Pattern of Customers When Ruby Tuesday Outlet is Not Available to Their Locality

Respondent Category

Frequency

Percentage

Visit nearest Outlet

45

42%

Order for Free Home Delivery

15

15%

Visit Other Restaurant

46

43%

Interpretation

It is evident form the above table that about 42% of the respondents will visit the nearest outlet of Ruby Tuesday when it is not available to their locality, 43% will search visit an outlet of any other restaurant, while 15% respondents says that they will order for a free home delivery.

72

About The Visiting Pattern of Customers When RubyTuesday Outlet is not Available to Their Locality

50%

43%

42%

40%

30% 15% 20%

10%

0% Visit Nearest Outlet

Visit Other Restaurant

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Order Home Delivery

TABLE NO. 9 ABOUT THE BENEFITS (TO CUSTOMERS) PERCIEVED BY THE RESPONDENTS FROM RUBY TUESDAY

Respondent Category

Frequency

Percentage

Yes

48

45%

No

23

22%

Can’t Say

35

33%

Interpretation

It is evident form the above table that about 45% of the respondents who were aware of Ruby Tuesday and who had dined at Ruby Tuesday really feel benefited by Ruby Tuesday because of its foreign environment casual dinning, 22% were not benefited and 33% were not sure.

74

About the Benefits Perceived By RubyTuesday Customers

45% 50% 33% 40% 22% 30% 20% 10% 0% Yes

No

75

Can't Say

TABLE NO. 10 ABOUT THE ADVERSE EFFECT ON WELFARE OF SOCIETY

Respondent Category

Frequency

Percentage

Yes

29

27%

No

30

38%

Can’t Say

37

35%

Interpretation

It is evident form the above table that about 27% of the respondents felt that Ruby Tuesday is adversely affecting the welfare of society. About 38% felt that there is no adverse affect of Ruby Tuesday, whereas 35% were not sure about it.

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About The Adverse Effect of RubyTuesday on Welfare of Society

38% 40%

35%

27% 30%

20%

10%

0% Yes

No

77

Can't Say

TABLE NO. 11 ABOUT THE SATISFACTION OF RUBY TUESDAY CUSTOMERS

Respondent Category

Frequency

Percentage

Yes

46

43%

No

26

25%

Can’t say

34

32%

Interpretation It is evident form the above table that about 43% of the respondents said that they are satisfied with the services offered by Ruby Tuesday, while 25% said that they are not satisfied with Ruby Tuesday and it need to improve itself on certain parameters and 32% respondents were not sure about their satisfaction.

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About the Satisfaction of RubyTuesday Customers

43% 50% 32% 40% 25% 30%

20%

10%

0% Yes

No

79

Can't Say

Comparative Analysis of Ruby Tuesday In order to compare the performance of Ruby Tuesday in the casual dinning market, respondents were asked to mark it on several parameters according to the following five preferences: 1 = Strongly Disagree 2 = Disagree 3 = Neither Disagree Nor Agree 4 = Agree 5 = Strongly Agree

In order to find the perceived level of performance of Ruby Tuesday in comparison to other casual dinning restaurants in India, I was required to find out the overall level of performance. For finding this, only comparison statements (12.a-12.f) have been considered. This has come at: Mean

3.632075

Median

3.666667

Mode

3.666667

Standard Deviation

0.431999

Sample Variance

0.186623

Kurtosis

-0.20405

Skew ness

-0.44584

Maximum

4.5

Minimum

2.666667

Sum

385

Count

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So, we can say that the perceived level of performance of Ruby Tuesday in comparison to other restaurants in India is at 3.632, which is in between ‘Neither Disagree Nor Agree’ and ‘Agree’. This value is closer to ‘Agree’, i.e. better performance.

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We can also check that whether this performance is affected by the dinning behaviour of customers in a particular category.

H0: µ (mean of sample) =3.632 H1: µ ≠ 3.632 In words: Null Hypothesis

: the level of comparative performance is equal for all dinning pattern of customers.

Alternate Hypothesis: the level of comparative performance is different for different dinning pattern of customers.

Taking those respondents first who dine Twice a Week. Average of all the respondents from Twice a Week category

Respondents

Details

3.5 Mean

3.833333

4 Median

3.833333

3.666667 Mode

3.666667

3.5 Standard Error 4 Standard Deviation

0.268742

3.833333 Sample Variance

0.072222

3.666667 Kurtosis

-0.53254

4.166667 Skew ness

0.524762

4.333333 Maximum

4.333333

3.666667 Minimum

3.5

3.833333 Sum

42.16667

Count

11

Sample mean = 3.833, Sample standard deviation (σ) = 0.268 & Sample size (n) =11

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Because σ is known , sample size(n) is less than 30 & we know about the direction of the claim of empowerment which is less than. So, we use z-test. Here population mean (µ) =3.632, level of significance = 5% Z (tabulated Value) =1.96 Formula of z-test (two tail), Z calculated = 2.487 Since Z calculated > Z tabulated, we have enough evidence to reject null hypothesis. This means that the perceived level of performance by Ruby Tuesday as compared to other restaurants is affected by the dinning pattern of those customers who dine Twice a Week at 95% confidence interval.

Similarly, we can calculate the z (cal. Value) of the entire dinning pattern by using ANOVA and in all the cases the null hypothesis is rejected, i.e. the perceived level of performance of Ruby Tuesday depends on customers’ dinning pattern.

Anova: Single Factor SUMMARY: Dinning Pattern Groups Count Once a Year 7 Twice a Year 9 Once a Month 27 Twice a Month 26 Once a Week 20 Twice a Week 11 Cant Say 6

Sum 26 35.33333 89.83333 97.5 73 42.16667 21.16667

Average 3.714286 3.925926 3.32716 3.75 3.65 3.833333 3.527778

Variance 0.099206 0.271605 0.193336 0.180556 0.116667 0.072222 0.026852

Margin of Safety 0.702254 0.155372

F calculated 4.519813

ANOVA Source of Variation Between Groups Within Groups

SS 4.213524 15.38186

Degree of freedom 6 99

Total

19.59539

105

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P-value 0.000433

F critical 2.191549

Interpretation So, we can say that the perceived level of performance by Ruby Tuesday in the casual dinning restaurants industry is in good condition and is currently between equilibrium and better stage. This applies to all the aware respondents taken into account in this research.

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Research Question: How can background variables of respondents like age, income, source of awareness be linked to comparative performance variables? (… i.e. do the average scores for six factors differ on the basis of age, income, source of awareness etc.?) Brief description: There are many factors that affect the consumers buying behavior. These factors may act as a major influencer when consumers make a decision to dine outside. These factors have a direct relationship with consumers’ perception. Therefore, in order to find out the relationship between these background variables of consumers and their perception about the performance of Ruby Tuesday as compared to other casual dinning restaurants, this research was carried out.

1. AGE H0: µ1 = µ2 = µ3 = µ4 H1: µ1 ≠ µ2 ≠ µ3 ≠ µ4 Here, we will test whether the means of various age-groups of all the respondents, taken individually, are equal. We will test this with the ANOVA Anova: Single Factor SUMMARY: Age Groups Below 18 Years 18 to 30 Years 30 to 45 Years Above 45 Years

Count 5 43 38 20

ANOVA Source of Variation Between Groups Within Groups

SS 0.27357 19.32182

Total

19.59539

Sum 18.66667 158.1667 135.8333 72.33333

Average 3.733333 3.678295 3.574561 3.616667

Variance 0.077778 0.14338 0.224771 0.245906

df

MS 0.09119 0.18943

F 0.481393

3 102 105

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P-value 0.695943

F crit 2.693721

Interpretation: Here, F calculated < F critical at 95% confidence interval. So, we fail to reject the null hypothesis. This means the perceived level of performance is same for all the age groups of respondents.

2. INCOME H0: µ1 = µ2 = µ3 =…………….till µ6 H1: µ1 ≠ µ2 ≠ µ3 ≠…………… till µ6 Here, we will test whether the means of all the respondents, taken individually according to their respective income, are equal.

Anova: Single Factor SUMMARY: Income Groups Less than 10000 10000-50000 50000-100000 100000-150000 150000-200000 More than 200000

Count 0 8 23 36 25 14

ANOVA Source of Variation Between Groups Within Groups

SS 0.453374 19.14201

Total

19.59539

Sum 0 30.5 81.5 131.1667 91.16667 50.66667

df 5 100

Average #DIV/0! 3.8125 3.543478 3.643519 3.646667 3.619048

Variance #DIV/0! 0.114583 0.202569 0.224052 0.144259 0.198413

MS 0.090675 0.19142

F 0.473696

P-value 0.795086

F crit 2.305318

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Interpretation: Here, F calculated < F critical at 95% confidence interval. So, we fail to reject the null hypothesis. This means the perceived level of performance is same for all the income groups of respondents.

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3. Source of Awareness H0: µ1 = µ2= µ3= µ4= µ5 H1: µ1 ≠ µ2≠ µ3≠ µ4≠ µ5 Here, we will test whether the means of all the respondents, taken individually according to the source from which they get to know about Ruby Tuesday, are equal.

Anova: Single Factor SUMMARY: Source of Awareness Groups Others Print Advertisements Friends and Peers Radio/FM Corporate Tie-ups

Count 4 37 38 18 9

ANOVA Source of Variation Between Groups Within Groups

SS 2.189499 17.40589

Total

19.59539

Sum 14 134.1667 143.1667 64.5 29.16667

Average 3.5 3.626126 3.767544 3.583333 3.240741

Variance 0.185185 0.225934 0.137447 0.10866 0.222994

df

MS 0.547375 0.172336

F 3.176216

4 101

P-value 0.016739

F crit 2.461698

105

Interpretation: Here, F calculated > F critical at 95% confidence interval. So, we have sufficient evidence to reject the null hypothesis. This means the perceived level of performance was affected by the source from which people came to know about Ruby Tuesday. Friends and Peers played an important role in influencing the dinning decision of consumers while Corporate Tie-ups and others means had least affect.

4. Locality H0: µ1 = µ2= µ3 H1: µ1 ≠ µ2≠ µ3 Here, we will test whether the means of all the respondents, taken individually according to their dinning behavior is a Ruby Tuesday is not available to their locality, are equal. 86

Anova: Single Factor SUMMARY: Locality Groups Visiting Nearest Ordering Home Delivery Visiting Other

Count 45 15 46

Sum 164 51.66667 169.3333

Average 3.644444 3.444444 3.681159

Variance 0.19899 0.181217 0.170156

ANOVA Source of Variation Between Groups Within Groups

SS 0.64579 18.9496

df

MS 0.322895 0.183977

F 1.755088

Total

19.59539

2 103

P-value 0.178023

F crit 3.084577

105

Interpretation: Here, F calculated < F critical at 95% confidence interval. So, we fail to reject the null hypothesis. This means the perceived level of performance is same whether a Ruby Tuesday outlet is available to the locality or not.

In all the four basic factors measured above, it was found that age, income and locality of customers does not affect the perceived level of comparative performance of Ruby Tuesday. But source of awareness among customers is the major factor which influences the customer’s perception about Ruby Tuesday. Therefore, the company should put much focus on these sources of awareness.

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ANALYSIS OF CUSTOMERS’ RESPONSE TO LOYALTY PROGRAM 1. Experience of visiting Ruby Tuesday – About the Dinning Experiance at Ruby Tuesday 58% 60%

42%

50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Yes

No

Inference – Amongst the people who have heard of Ruby Tuesday, only 58% of them have actually visited the restaurant. This shows a poor conversion rate from the brand awareness to the actual footfall in the restaurant. The reason for this could be anything from high prices to being new to the concept of fine dining or the “American type of cuisine”.

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2. Spending of the consumer per visit – Expenditure per visit by the Customer 33%

31%

35% 30%

24%

25% 20%

12%

15% 10% 5% 0% Less Than 1000

1000-1500

1500-2000

More than 2000

Inference – The customers tend to spend a lot while visiting Ruby Tuesday as it is evident from the data with 31% of the respondents spending more than Rs.2000 per visit. 24% of the respondents spend between Rs.1500-2000, while a maximum 33% of the respondents spend between Rs.1000- 1500 per visit to the restaurant. Only a small number of 12% spend less than Rs.1000 per visit. This reinforces Ruby Tuesday as a restaurant with a bar for the high classes of the society. It is truly a fine dining restaurant, at least in terms of its prices.

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3. Percentage of income spent on restaurants – Proportion of Income Spent on Restaurants 40%

36%

34%

35% 30%

23%

25% 20% 15% 10%

7%

5% 0% 5%-10%

10%-20%

20%-30%

More than 30%

Inference – A maximum of 36% of the people spend anything between 10%-20% of their monthly incomes on dining and drinking outside of their respective homes. A close 34% of the people spend even more, between 20%-30% of their monthly incomes at restaurants. A sizeable amount of 23% of the people spend the most part of their incomes, that is more than 30% of their monthly incomes on dining and drinking outside. Only 7% of the people spend only 5%-10% of their monthly incomes in restaurants, preferring rather to eat at homes most of the times.

This clearly shows that it is in the nature of people in New Delhi to dine out and they are also willing to pay for it handsomely.

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4. Awareness of the “Tex-Mex” cuisine of Ruby Tuesday –

Inference – Only 28% of the people who have heard of Ruby Tuesday were aware of the type of cuisine the restaurant serves, which is the Texas-Mexican cuisine (Tex-Mex). This indicates the level of customer awareness towards the Ruby Tuesday brand is quite shallow. Most of the 72% of the unaware people thought it served mostly burgers and salads.

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5. Customer preference to discounts and loyalty program –

About The Preference to Loyalty Cards 39% 40%

32%

35%

28%

30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0%

1%

Discount Coupons

Paid Loyalty Card

Free Loyalty Card

No Loyalty Card

Inference – Most, that is, 39% of the people preferred a free loyalty card which would fetch discounts as well as reward points. A slightly lesser number, 32%, preferred just discount coupons, which can be used only for one visit. But, a sizeable number of 28% were willing to pay for a loyalty card that would fetch bigger discounts and more reward points for the customers to redeem in the future. Only 1% neither wanted any discount-coupons nor any loyalty cards.

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6. Awareness of the Loyalty Programs of Ruby Tuesday –

Inference – It is evident from the above chart that 41% of the respondents who were aware of Ruby Tuesday, knew about the existence of its loyalty programs as well. This also shows the shallow knowledge of the consumer regarding the services provided by Ruby Tuesday to its customers.

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7. Choice between the Loyalty Programs – 72%

28%

Inference – 72% of the people, who are aware of the existence of a loyalty program at Ruby Tuesday, do so about the paid loyalty program called “Ruby Regular” loyalty program. The rest 28% of the people know about the newly launched “Neighborhood Advantage Card”, which is a free loyalty program.

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8. About the increase in frequency of visits to Ruby Tuesday if a loyalty card is owned–

Inference – Maximum number, i.e., 52% of the people thinks that owning a loyalty card will spur them on to visit Ruby Tuesday more frequently than before. 32% think otherwise and say it will not affect their frequency of visits to the restaurant. The remaining 17% of the people can not say about it.

This shows that loyalty programs are and will be a hit amongst the customers and will drive the restaurants by increasing the number of footfalls in it.

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RECOMMENDATIONS 1) Ruby Tuesday has less brand awareness, as compared to its direct competitors and other restaurants like AppleBees®, Bennigans®, Ponderosa, Houlihans and TGI Fridays®, and McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Indochine, etc. Thus, the management should devise more marketing strategies to increase its brand awareness as well as the awareness of its products. This would be helpful in beating the present competitors as well as facilitate in the future as the fine dining market is still growing in India.

2) Ruby Tuesday should advertise heavily through leaflets and flyers in the neighborhood areas and colonies of its outlets. This would encourage the potential customers to come in and also to activate the newly launched loyalty card that has been distributed free of cost in the neighborhood colonies of the Ruby Tuesday outlets.

3) Apart from the existing print and radio advertisement, Ruby Tuesday should go in for television advertisements. This would help create brand awareness as well as a brand image (with the help of its products being viewed in the ad) amongst the potential customers, as television now is the medium having the maximum reach direct into the homes of the people.

4) There is a growing market for fine dining experiences amongst the neo-rich and the increasingly wealthy Indian middle-class these days. Ruby Tuesday should try and tap this potential market.

5) Ruby Tuesday should improve upon its quickness and quality of services and the servers, respectively, in the outlets. Also, the music at the outlets needs to be fresh, innovative and non repetitive.

6) Proper training and soft skills should be imparted to the servers, so that they have adequate knowledge of the cuisine as well as of the bar, and are more courteous to the customers. 97

CONCLUSION Customer delight continues to be the key driver’s of today’s marketing operations, especially in the casual fine dining sector. There is tremendous competition in the restaurant industry, with both domestic and international players existing, and leadership can only be achieved by constantly delivering customer delight and each time creating an experience worth remembering for in the whole life of the guest.

Although there is an immense market for the fine dining segment, it has not been tapped enough by Ruby Tuesday, mainly due to its lack of brand awareness amongst the customers.

Also, after the introduction of the new loyalty program, Ruby Tuesday should identify its loyal customer base, and then cater to their wants and needs specifically. Aggressive marketing and swift promotion of the program in the major colonies and areas should see fast results in terms of increasing footfalls in the outlets and newer activations of the free loyalty cards each day.

Ruby Tuesday should be proactive and create enough customer awareness in the market so as to take advantage of the upcoming Commonwealth Games in the city of New Delhi.

With over more than 6000 athletes from all over the world, it will be one of the biggest sporting extravaganzas of the country ever, having a major international presence, which can be cashed in by Ruby Tuesday.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY BOOKS  Kotler Philip- Keller Kevin Lane, Marketing Management, 12th Edition, Pearson Education.  Naresh K. Malhotra, Marketing Research- An Applied Orientation, 5th Edition, Prentice Hall Inc.  Leon G. Schiffman & Leslie Lazar Kanuk- Consumer Behavior, 8th Edition, Pearson Education.

WEBSITES 

www.rubytuesday.com



www.google.com



www.rtcindia.co.in



www.wikipedia.org

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Annexure I CUSTOMER AWARENESS TOWARDS

RubyTuesday Name:

Phone:

Designation:

E-mail:

1. How often do you go for dinning outside? a) Once a year

b) Twice a year

c) Once a month

d) Twice a month

e) Once a week

f) Twice a week

g) Can’t Say 2. Your Agea) Below 18 years b) From 18 to 30 years c) From 30 to 45 years d) Above 45 3. Are you aware of Ruby Tuesday? a) Yes

b)

No

4. What is your total household income (in Rs.) per month? a) Less than 10,000

b) 100,000 - 149,999

c) 10,000 - 49,999

d) 150,000 -199,999

e) 50,000 - 99,999

f) 200,000 or more

5. For which purpose do you visit Ruby Tuesday? a) Because of quality product b) Because of quick service c) Because it is the nearest to you d) Just because of Interest e) Ambience f) All of the above

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6. How did you come to know about brand Ruby Tuesday? a) Friends and Peers b) Print Advertisements c) Radio/FM d) Corporate Tie-ups e) Others

7. If Ruby Tuesday outlet is not available to your locality, you would prefer to a) Visit the nearest outlet of Ruby Tuesday b) Order for a free home delivery c) Visit any other restaurant to your locality

8. Do you really feel benefited by Ruby Tuesday? a) Yes b) No c) Can’t say

9. Are you loyal to brand Ruby Tuesday or can you change the brand? a) Will stick to Ruby Tuesday b) Depends upon circumstances c) Can Change

10. Do you think that Ruby Tuesday is adversely affecting the welfare of society? a) Yes b) No c) Can’t say

11. Are you satisfied with the services provided at Ruby Tuesday? a) Yes b) No c) Can’t say

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12. Please round the number as per your choice.

a)

b)

c)

d)

e)

f)

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

The Speed of Service at Ruby Tuesday is better than other restaurants.

1

2

Quality of food served at Ruby Tuesday is better than other restaurants.

1

Beverages offered at Ruby Tuesday are better than other restaurants.

Neither Agree Nor Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

3

4

5

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Ambience is better in Ruby Tuesday than other restaurants.

1

2

3

4

5

Cleanliness in Ruby Tuesday is better than other restaurants.

1

2

3

4

5

Music Played at Ruby Tuesday is better than other restaurants.

1

2

3

4

5

13. Please give your suggestions for improving the brand image?

________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

Thank you for participating in our research…… ----Regards, Robin Jindal Management Trainee (May-June 09) RTC Restaurants (I) Limited 705, Chiranjiv Tower, 43, Nehru Place New Delhi – 110 019 Mob: +91 991110 7519 104

Annexure II

RubyTuedsay Loyalty Program 1) Have you dined at Ruby Tuesday? Yes

No

2) How much approximately do you spend when you dine at Ruby Tuesday? Less than 1000 1000-1500 1500-2000 More than 2000 3) What percentage of your monthly income do you usually spend dining outside? 5%-10% 10%-20% 20%-30% More than 30% 4) Do you know that Ruby Tuesday serves “Tex-Mex” cuisine? Yes

No

5) What would you prefer to have? Discount Coupons Paid membership card with higher discounts Free membership card with lesser Discounts No membership/Loyalty card 6) Are you aware of any Ruby Tuesday loyalty programs? Yes

No

7) If “Yes”, then which one? Ruby Regular (Paid membership + Higher discounts) Neighborhood Advantage Card (Free membership + Lower discounts) 8) Would owning a loyalty card increase your visits to Ruby Tuesday? Yes

No

Can’t Say

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Annexure III

Locations of RTC’s Outlets in Delhi & NCRUNIT Ruby Tuesday

NO OF OUTLET

LOCATIONS Saket - PVR Anupam Complex

8

Nehru Place - Satyam Cineplex Greater Kailash II Janak Puri - Satyam Cineplex Raja Garden - TDI Mall Rohini – Unitech Metro Walk Noida – The Centre Stage Mall Gurgaon – DLF City Centre Mall Mandarin Trail

1

Noida - Great India Place Mall

Polka

2

Kailash Colony Market Faridabad - Crown Plaza Mall

Sbarro

Nehru Place - Satyam Cineplex

13

Saket - PVR Market Noida - Great India Place Mall Kaushambi - EDM Mall Noida - Centre Stage Mall Janakpuri - Distric Centre Gurgaon - DT Mall Gurgaon - Ambience Mall Laxmi Nagar - V3S Mall Rajouri Garden - TDI Mall Greater Kailash II Kailash Colony Market Connaught Place

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