Report on The Cheesecake Factory

The high hopes and anticipation for The Cheesecake Factory to make its entry into Vancouver are just rising as it has been “recently crowned America's Favorite Casual-Dining Restaurant” (Breslouer, 2016). With a menu ofover 250 choices it is no doubt that the families of Vancouver are excited for this restaurant to join their land. However, the people of Vancouver are becoming very health conscious and it is even mentioned by Ellis (2015) ”If all Canadians were as slim, active and tobacco-free as British Columbians, the country would reduce its economic burden from bad health by 10 per cent”. Therefore, the menu consisted of high calorific measures might scare away the costumers leading to a fall in the revenue.

The few SkinnyLicious dishes that TCF offerswill not be enough to please the costumers and instead they have to replace one of their favorite dishes like the chicken salad sandwich that “reportedly provides 1480 calories and 23 grams of saturated fat” (Frey, 2018). It is crucial for the restaurant to find a way to cook healthier meals and find alternate ingredients. Another strength of The Cheesecake Factory is the fact that they have a very low employee turnover while maintaining high skilled workforce. Studies have shown that “the firm spends an average of $2,000 on training per hourly worker each year and everyone within the organization benefits from training and development initiatives” (Ruiz 2006).

TCF’s huge interest in hiring a lot of employees for their new location and accommodating their employees with the right training will be able to further decrease the unemployment rate of Vancouver. However, the company should keep in mind the rising minimum wage. For instance, the government has announced that the “minimum wage will further rise to$13.85 on June 1st, 2019, to $14.60 on June 1st, 2020 and to $15.20 on June 1st, 2021” (Brown, 2018). Thus, TFC should consider how much they spend on the training of their employees and possibly find an alternative or a cheaper way to train them. Moreover, the Cheesecake Factory has a Sustainable Sourcing Policy to practice their social and environmental responsibilities.

For example, “the foundation of our animal welfare goals are based on the belief that every animal has intrinsic rights and should have basic freedoms during their entire life cycle”(The Cheesecake Factory, 2018). Advertising their support of animal welfare through televisions and newspapers will allow the Cheesecake factory to gain customers but also gaina positive image. On the other hand, it is true that The Cheesecake Factory is a corporate restaurant that exists to maximize their profit while using the cheapest ingredient they can get away it. A prime example would be the miso salmon, a dish often praised by costumer worldwide.

The menu describes the dish as “Fresh Salmon Marinated in Miso and Baked. Served with a Delicious Miso Sauce, Snow Peas and White Rice” (Philpott 2009). However, researches show that “like 90 percent of salmon consumed in the U.S.–is factory-farmed” (Philpott, 2009). For that reason, if the company describes themselves as socially and environmentally responsible they should not deceive the costumers by telling them the salmon is fresh. In fact, a recommendation would be giving information to the people about what exactly factory-farmed salmon is and possibly finding a different route to actual fresh salmon which is something Vancouver might be able to offer. Another possible threat towards the entrance of The Cheesecake Factory into Vancouver would be that they would have to compete against the new trend of small but very unique restaurants. This is all due to the fact that “Vancouver's ridiculously out-of-reach real estate prices are turning restaurant ownership into a high-rollers' game” (Gill, 2016).

Instead of waiting long for sit down meals, the people are starting to prefer small decorated cafes or bistros that offer Instagram worthy food. In order for TCF to compete against this new trend, they should spend more of their revenue in creating new decorations inside and outside the restaurant. A personal recommendation would be adding in vintage lights, furniture, and decorations. Also, TCF should invest in new technologies such as a survey system or an online reservation for their busy weekends to matchthe developing environment of Vancouver.