Sample Design
Home Depot stocks a variety items for home use. When a customer checks in at the Depot, customer service representatives readily provide professional assistance on the products they intend to purchase. The buying process begins when a customer makes informed decisions on the kind of product to purchase and the options available including warranties.
The study and analysis was based on qualitative and quantitative data obtained from a questionnaire administered on customers who called in to help identify areas of business process improvements for Home Depot. This formed the source of primary data used in the study. Ethical considerations formed an important aspect of the study (Bryman & Bell 2007).
The sample design consisted of a population of 50 customers on whom the survey was conducted. Inspecting various aspects of Home Depot yielded primary data for evaluating the efficiency and professionalism of Home Depot employees and its services and other company operations. According to Bryman and Bell (2007) the analysis was basically anonymous with clearly informed consent on the part of customers.
Customer Service Levels
A structured questionnaire was administered to customers on an excel spread sheet which formed an important tool for data collection. An analysis of the data indicated that customers were satisfied with the services offered which were characterized with professional attention.
In addition to that, it was noted that customers were provided with adequate information about Home Depot products enabling them to make informed decisions on the products they purchased. The use of the cash register machine was identified as an integral part of the business and over 90% of the customers found it convenient. Additional assistance could be offered by Home Depot employees.
Areas of Improvement
The purchasing process however had points of weaknesses. Braunstein (2007) notes that an analysis of responses indicated a deviation and a negative skew on a statistical mean, median, and mode of the distribution of customers who returned items already bought.
Though their distribution was small, yet in the business context, there was need to further educate support staff on the need to be professional in handling post purchase issues and enhance their professional skills in identifying and detailing customer products. In addition the need to employ skilled personnel with technical knowledge on Home Depot products, these could enhance service delivery. However, an analysis indicated that Home Depot management was keen in addressing customer needs (Braunstein 2007).
A statistical analysis on a normal curve indicated customer satisfaction with products sold at Home Depot as the in-flaw of customers was on a discrete binomial distribution. The findings expressed positive satisfaction on good product value for their money in addition to well trained attendants in the area of store provisions.
Here customer satisfaction was the key concept (Braunstein 2007).
According to the findings, 90% of customers indicated that the store layout provided easy access to the purchased product. And those who returned products, constituting only 0.2%, expressed satisfaction on the professional manner in which they were handled. Despite that, the service time for a customer who returned a product was a bit longer and seemed to be a bone of contention. Post purchase services needed improvement. A need for enhancing service delivery by employing skilled personnel for post purchase services was vital.
Impact on Family
Most family members made a come back for more products from Home depot in addition to most products possessing the characteristics desired by them all indicting products integrated market needs in their designs. Statistical results indicted members from the same family purchased products from the same Depot an indication of satisfaction with Home Depot products.
References
Braunstein, J. W. (2007). Research Methodology Help for Dissertation Students. Web.
Bryman, A., Bell, E. (2007). Business Research Method. 2nd ed. Web.