Executive Summary
Best Food Superstores experienced the problems connected with the definite aspects of the customer service policy in Somewhere, Ontario. The problem is in the system’s weaknesses when the price on the label does not match the actual price fixed in the main computer at the cash desk, and the consumer should get or not the compensation for the possible overcharge. Moreover, the question is also associated with the employees’ responsibility for solving the problem and their knowing of the store policy.
There are two possible variants to overcome the situation, the main difference between which are in the fact of paying or not the full refund. The alternative to giving the customer only the overcharge can be considered as the most effective solution for solving the conflict. Moreover, this variant is rather advantageous for the company and satisfies the customer’s needs. The employees should know the principles fixed in the policy and act according to these rules.
Background
Best Food Superstores is the national chain of grocery stores in which supermarkets are located in many cities of all the states of the country. Best Food Superstores is one of the leading grocery chains in Ontario, which specializes in retailing fruit and vegetables, meat, fish, and delicatessen products, frozen foods, and dairy products and providing all the popular brands in the territory. In this region, the market is divided between two companies, which are Best Food Superstores and Sobeys. Sobeys is the main competitor of Best Food Superstores in the majority of cities in Ontario. This fact influences the development of the customer’s policy in the chain of Best Food Superstores.
Statement of Problem
One of the supermarkets of Best Food Superstores chain is located in Somewhere, Ontario. It is the most popular grocery store with consumers of the city. Nevertheless, there are facts when customers point out the weaknesses of providing consumer service policy in the supermarket, which is connected with the issue of overcharging and solving the question. The problem is in the fact that the service employees (cashiers, customer service managers) are not satisfactorily competent in the situation of overcoming the difficulties with the consumers and providing the principles of social responsibility and ethics in relation to the consumers for solving the problems connected with pricing errors and overcharge.
It is the result of the weaknesses in the customer service policy and of the fact that the staff does not follow a consistent approach to solving the problematic questions. Thus, it is necessary to improve the customer service policy and provide the consistent rules associated with the system of solving the problems with overcharge and price errors to guarantee the employees’ following these rules.
Situation Analysis
To analyze the aspects of the problem, it is necessary to use the SWOT analysis for the company.
Strengths
- Best Food Superstores is one of the most reputable grocery store chains in the region, which employs about 1,900 people in Ontario, and the whole amount of consumers who choose the chain is more than 22,000 in Somewhere, Ontario.
- Best Food Superstores sell natural products of high quality, which is examined according to the general standards accepted by the whole chain of the stores in order to satisfy its customers.
- The customers are attracted to the brand because of its image and the great variety of products of different popular brands that follow the standards of high quality.
- There is also the unitary approach to the control of the quality and effectiveness of the store’s activities.
Weaknesses
- The customer service policy requires its further improvement because of the drawbacks in determining the standards according to which it is necessary to make refunds, control overcharge, and price errors in order to satisfy the consumer’s requirements in relation to the principles of corporate ethics and follow the policy of the company.
- There are problems with the determination of the responsible persons who can solve the problems associated with the issues of refunds, overcharge, and price errors. The employees do not know the principles of the company’s customer service policy and cannot adequately solve problematic situations (Somewhere, Ontario).
Opportunities
- It is necessary to improve the principles and aspects of the customer service policy to provide the brand identity for the store chain as the company whose main task is to satisfy the consumer’s needs.
- It is significant to improve the quality of the personnel’s work with the help of providing the necessary seminars for the employees and increasing the control over the quality of the service using the fines.
Threats
– The main risks are connected with the aspects of the external business environment and the role of the company within the industry. Sobeys is the main competitor of Best Food Superstores in Somewhere, Ontario. The decline of the percentage of the consumers who are inclined to do shopping in Best Food Superstores can be connected with the fact of the service quality decrease and standard pricing errors, which can reduce the level of trust for the company.
Analysis of Alternatives
It is possible to implement two variants of solving the current problem. The first variant includes the measures for working out the unitary customer service policy according to which the customer will get the full refund, the item free of charge, and the employee’s apologies when the situation the price on the label does not match the actual price in the receipt. The service manager should be responsible for this. The variant has advantages for the consumer but less advantageous for the store.
The second variant for solving such a situation is to provide only the overcharge and the employee’s apologies for the inconvenience. The cashier should be responsible for solving the problem. This variant is advantageous for the store because of the absence of the necessity to make a full refund. However, consumers can be unsatisfied with the solution.
Recommendations
To follow the interests of the company and of consumers according to the principles of customer service policy and corporate ethics, it is possible to use such a variant for overcoming the problematic situations when the cashier is responsible for providing only the overcharge without the full refund because such a solution can satisfy the consumer’s requirements and cannot be disadvantageous for the company.
Implementation
To implement the improvements to the customer service policy effectively, it is necessary to make these principles unitary and consistent for all the stores of the chain and provide the conditions under which all the employees would know these requirements to follow them in practice. It is significant to determine the persons responsible for making decisions of different levels of complicacy when the problems are connected with price errors, overcharge, and refunds. The customers should have the opportunity to learn the aspects of the customer service policy in this store (according to which they can get only overcharge, but not the full refund), and the employees should act only according to these rules and norms.