Operations management: customers complaint case case study examples

Executive Summary

A business issues are defined by several factors including those which are internal and the external ones both of which defines its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. In that respect, the SWOT analysis has been applied to identify the existing problems for the business in reference as well as in identifying suitable solutions for the problems.

For the business, some suitable quality improvement recommendations include

– Improving company policies like the ones requiring extensive consultation and written authorization between departments before a decision can be made.
– Improving customer relationship by enhancing prompt response to customer issues and open communication that seeks to inform the customers on the business policies regarding their issues of concern.
– Extensive training of the business’ employees on their jobs in order to equip them with necessary skills that are suitable for effective execution of their duties.
– Establishing suitable control measures to help in ensuring that customers get their laundry in the right condition and time.
Finally, operations management is concerned with delivery of value to customers as well as with business performance enhancement. On the other hand, customers presents challenges that the management needs to address by serving their needs in a manner that balances between the differing customers’ and operations quality perception.

Section A.

– Problems and solution
A SWOT analysis model utilizes the analysis of an organization’s internal and external environment to indentify its capabilities in terms of its strengths and weaknesses as well as opportunities and threats. In that respect, the company’s internal environment determines its strengths and weaknesses all which rely on its nature, structure and resources. On the other hand, the external environment determines the threats and opportunities that a business faces in its operations. On the other hand, the models is also suitable in devising suitable strategies for addressing problems in consideration of the business capabilities as defined by the strengths and weaknesses as well as the opportunities and threats that are inherent to its operations. Therefore, strategies should seek to utilize the business’ strengths in addressing possible threats and taking up available opportunities. In addition, the solutions should also address the company’s weakness and avert possible threats through utilization of strengths and opportunities. (Heizer, 2010)
In that respect, the problems in this case can be identified with the models application with the problem of the misplaced customer’s clothes and inability to meet the customer’s demand being a as a result of the following weaknesses on the side of the business

Weaknesses

– There is poor communication between the business and the customers hence a misunderstanding that makes the customer feels neglected. This could be addressed by establishing clear procedures for customer complaints. This could also address the problem of poor customer service in terms of delayed customer’s service and inquiries reply.
– The failure by the new system in terms of operations/functioning that resulted to ineffective control of customers’ orders. This would require upgrading the system to effectively deliver the expected service level in terms of speed and accuracy.
– Lack of accountability by the business departments as it is seen that none of the department can identify and accept responsibility for the customer’s items misplacement. The problem would require the business to establish clear structure with departments having specific responsibilities that they should be accountable for.
– Poor employees training on the system’s use as indicated in the response letter that employees did not have adequate training on the new systems use due to time limit. Solution to this problem would be undertaking employees training in order to enhance their understanding of the new system. (Finkelman & Goland, 1990)
On the other hand, the business faced some external factors that contributed to the problem as can be defined by the threats available as stated below

Threats

– Technological challenges with application of the new system that would require extensive employees training.
– Over demanding customers would require the business employees to have good customer service skills in order to enhance the ability to handle such clients who should possibly negatively impact on the business image. (Finkelman & Goland, 1990)
In the problems, the business should harness its strengths in and utilize its opportunities to address and cover its weaknesses. In addition, the business should seek to avert possible threats in order addressing any possible negative impacts of the possible threats. (Heizer, 2010) Such strengths and opportunities include.

Strengths

Some of the strengths that define the business’ capabilities which could be used to solve the problems presented by these weaknesses and threats include
– Strategic location at the Adams and Broadway’s intersection
– Technological systems application which presents potential to enhance efficiency in orders control and management. This could be utilized to enhance customer and orders information hence enhance response to customers, issues.
– The business had experienced employees who had been working with the business even before the introduction of the new system hence are capable of educating customers on the new procedures to enhance customer service. (Finkelman & Goland, 1990)

Opportunities

On the other hand, the key opportunity available to the business that can be utilized in addressing the problems is the technological advance that presents more effective means of operations management in terms of customer and orders information management. (Finkelman & Goland, 1990)
– Quality improvement recommendations and rationale.
Quality of services is crucial in developing a suitable relationship between a business and its customers hence a need for businesses to enhance its development. Thus, with the business in reference being involved in service delivery, quality is measured by the effectiveness and efficiency in which the services are offered in terms of the laundry service and customer service. In that respect, quality improvement by the business could help address possible customer issues like the one experienced by the complaining customers. (Heizer, 2010) Based on the customer’s complaint, suitable improvements for quality and their rationale are
– Need to improve on the company policies like the ones requiring extensive consultation and written authorization between departments before a decision can be made. This would shorten the time that it would take to respond to customers issues hence avoid the situation like the one described in the operations reply that their response to the customer was slow as a result of the extensive consultation that was needed in order to establish facts be-hide the issue.
– Improve customer relationship which could be achieved by enhancing prompt response to customer issues and open communication that seeks to inform the customers on the business policies regarding their issues of concern. This could address the problems that could arise from the customers’ lack of understanding of the business policies regarding the handling of their concerns and help them in getting constant feedback on the progress. (Finkelman & Goland, 1990)
– The service quality improvement also requires an extensive training of the business’ employees on their jobs in order to equip them with necessary skills that are suitable for effective execution of their duties. Such an improvement could be suitable to enhance the speed of service delivery as well as ensure consistency on the level of the service that customers need. This would also serve a great purpose as the employees would be able to educate customers on the services’ realistic expectations hence create the right quality perception.
– The service could also be improved by having suitable control measures that would help in ensuring that customers get their laundry in the right condition and time. This would help address issues like misplacement of customers’ items or the case of customers wrongfully taking items that do not belong to them like it had happened with the customer’s laundry. (Heizer, 2010)

Section B.

– Customers and operations perception of quality
The statement that customers’ perception of quality differs with that of the operations perception is true on ground of the expectations and the goals the two pursues as summarized below:

Customer perception

Customers’ perception on quality is determined by the value that products and service seems to offer in order to meet their needs. In that respect, meeting the customers’ needs entails low cost, access convenience and timely delivery. Thus, a change in those promises by a service usually changes their perception irrespective of the operations perception. (Heizer, 2010) In reference to this case, the business’ opening of a store at the convenient location at Adams and Broadway’s intersection whose initially service featured long working hours, helpful staff and shorter waiting lines in a short service that only required the client to make the payment, collect their laundry and leave has created the customer’s perception about the business service and quality that they would expect. This had met the customer’s value definition hence they could even take the service’s quality as suitable and attractive despite the high price the business was charging. On the other hand, when the expectations were not met as a result of the system’s inconvenience which caused long waiting lines and misplacement of items, the customer’s quality perception in terms of the service’s time saving, convenience and ease changed. (Finkelman & Goland, 1990)

Operations perception

On the other hand, operations’ perception of value is defined by what brings in customers while addressing other factors like the service and products’ cost to the business. Therefore, value to the operations differs with that of the customer’s perception in that customers are solely focused on the benefits that they can get from the business products and services whereas the operations perception is based on both the ability to attract customers by meeting their needs as well as addressing other concerns that are crucial to its performance like the cost of operations. In addition, operations are focused on delivering quality that is guided by the business policies unlike the customers’ value perception that is dependent on their individual needs. Therefore, the operations quality perception in this case is dependent on various factors as can be deduced from the management’s response to the customer complain citing the cost factor of agreeing to the customer’s demands. (Heizer, 2010)

Reference list

Finkelman, D. & Goland, T. 1990. The Case of the Complaining Customer. New York: Harvard
Business Publishing.
Heizer, J. 2010. Principles of Operations Management. 8th ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.