In: Operations Management
You own a chain of 3 dry-cleaning stores in a medium-size town. A problem in customer service has surfaced recently. When you spend the day, or even part of the day in a particular store, clerks seem to provide excellent customer service, spotters are making sure all stains are removed from garments, and pressers are doing a good job of pressing difficult items such as silk blouses. Yet during those same visits, customers complain to you about such things as stains not being removed and items being poorly pressed in some of their previous orders; indeed, several customers have brought garments in to be redone. Customers also sometimes comment on having waited too long for service on previous visits Discuss the extent to which you believe that you have a motivation problem in your stores. 2. Using concepts you have studied in this unit, design a plan to increase the motivation of clerks to provide prompt service to customers even when they are not being watched. 3. Design a plan to increase the motivation of spotters to remove as many stains as possible even when they are not being watched. 4. Design a plan to increase the motivation of pressers to do a topnotch job on all clothes they press, no matter how diff
Ans 1 ) The situation presented in the given case indicates a situation in which the reputation of the organization is affecting negatively due to the absence of maximum contribution and involvement of the manpower. The output of the manpower is really getting affected adversely due to lower motivation among the employees and this is resulting in the poor service to the customers. In fact, this situation can be seen In almost every department of the company that is going to have a very negative impact on customer service and ultimately on the growth of the business.
Ans 2 ) By having a better understanding of the practices used by the different employees, it is important to facilitate a greater level of guidance and monitoring to the employees but at the same time, some sort of pressure has to be exerted to improve their dedication and quality of work. This can be done by having the proper supervision on every employee and along with this, daily verification has to be ensured which has to be performed randomly and quite regularly. Apart from this, a chart in which the record of different services is made must be maintained so that the service allocation can be determined and it will be helpful in addressing the complaints of the customers too. Apart from this, in order to motivate the manpower, some sort of perks and rewards can be given depending on the performance and work quality.
Ans 3 ) We can have a proper record of all the details of each spotter that will exhibit the contribution of that person and it will also be helpful in overcoming the creation of the negative and safe picture. This will also help in improving their work satisfaction and at the same time, some incentives can be given to the spotter who performs best in a given month. Apart from this, if a spotter redoes any act, no incentives will be given to him due to the loss of the rework. This will make sure that the work is done correctly on the first attempt itself.
Ans 4 ) The feedback of the customer will be the most important parameter. In order to motivate employees and exert greater pressure, the feedback of the customers can be utilized by the company to rate the service performed by the different staff members. This feedback can be used in order to give the incentive to those who perform better.