Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Cam Thi Vu
BSM 405
Submitted to
I. Executive summary
1. Case problems
A large number of complaints from customers was received in our store. These complaints cover
a broad range of areas such as customer service, checkout logistic or store atmosphere.
2. Case outline
Every Tuesday for nine weeks, Tip Top Market diligently recorded all of the complaints or
comments sent in by customers. There were a total of 184 complaints on those nine Tuesdays
On July 15th, several changes were implemented to reduce out- of-stock issues, improve store
maintenance and reduce checkout lines and pricing problems but no improvement was reflected.
3. Recommendations
Out-of-stock problem
- Implementing a perpetual inventory system and creating Point of sale system
- Building forecast model
Store maintenance problems
- Periodically upgrade and maintain equipment in the store such as air conditioner, shopping cart,
ATM and make sure to keep the store clean.
- Arrange and reposition the stalls more reasonable so that customers can easily find the goods.
Food quality problems
- Find reliable suppliers for raw material.
- Regularly checking expired date and review the process of preserving food
Employees behavior
- Provide training courses for employees.
Pricing problems
- Price adjustment and sales promotion
Checkout problems
- Provide training course for cashiers to work more efficient.
- Set up new checkout counters
The check sheet gives information about the number of complaints from customers every
Tuesday from June 1st to July 27th. As can be seen from the check sheet, there was a
considerable increase in the complaint about out-of-stock problem. It started with only two
complaints to 12 complaints from June 1st to July 27th. Conversely, complaints about food
quality tended to decrease over the following weeks. Complaint about food quality problem
accounted for the highest number in the first week of seven claims, but until July 13th, there was
no complaint about this issue anymore. Then, store maintenance seems to appear as a serious
problem with our supermarket. We always get at least three complaints per day about this
problem. Other issues still receive complaints every week, and there is no sign of decline.
As mentioned above, there were changes applied on July 15 to reduce out-of-stock
complaints, improve store maintenance, and reduce checkout lines and pricing problems.
However, it seems that these changes have not worked to reduce the claim. Out-of stock
complaints still rose every week, and complaints about long waiting lines at checkout and pricing
issues still received regularly. Therefore, new strategies are needed to improve these situations.
For example, we should consider adjusting the price of some products to stimulate shopping or
set up new checkout counter to reduce the waiting line. Besides, a training course for all
employees is needed. Employees must understand about customer communication and always
70 100.00%
90.00%
60
80.00%
50 70.00%
60.00%
40
50.00%
30
40.00%
Frequency
20 30.00% Cumulative percentage
20.00%
10
10.00%
0 0.00%
The Pareto diagram shows the relative frequency causes of complaints of customers in
our supermarket. Applied 20:80 rule, it is clear from the diagram that out-of-stock issues, store
maintenance and food quality problem are having the most significant effect on customer
dissatisfaction. The other categories have trivial effect. Therefore, if we concentrate our effort in
the top three categories, then we could be able to reduce 80 % of complaints. However, as
mentioned in check sheet analysis, complaints about the food quality problem are on downward
trend. Thus, we just need to maintain this situation and focus on out-of-stock and store
maintenance issues to decrease 60% of complaints. We need to solve these problems as soon as
possible because these problems can have lasting consequences concerning customer loyalty and
lifetime value.
As mentioned from above, to improve out-of- stock problem, perpetual inventory system
and Point of sale system are needed. Once these systems are implemented, goods will be ordered
as they are sold. It also allows managers to observe the trend in the market and be able to store
goods that have high demand in their area. Thus, it helps reduce paperwork so managers can
focus on different tasks. Besides, managers should create a forecast model in order to look at past
data of sale and easier to determine which goods are needed to order.
Additionally, the store should regularly be maintained. Many customers complain that
our store is too hot or too cold. Therefore, the air conditional should be repaired or replaced. The
second most complaint about this problem is about the hygiene of the store. We should consider
hiring more sanitation staffs. If we already have enough staff, I recommend opening training
courses for them to work more efficiently and savings cost. Besides, shelves should also be
rearranged to help customers find items easier. We can sort goods by different category to solve
this problem. Moreover, music played in the store also needs to be changed to stimulate shopping
20
15
Number of complaints
10
The run chart shows figures for number complaint during the period from June 1st to July
27th. As we can see from the chart, the numbers of complaints from customer fluctuate slightly
around 20 complaints per day. There is no sign that the changes applied on July 15 reflected
improvement. Therefore, the similar level of complaints will continue in the future until more
III. Attachments