2. Get ready

Read each of the following problem descriptions.

1. Nancy McDonald trains and manages all of the customer service representatives at Quest Specialty Travel, which includes up to eight employees working at the same time with customers on the phone or in person. The problem is that sales of extra and supplemental services such as travel insurance are low, though customer service reps have a script to encourage sales of these items.

2. Ellen Latsky is the tour developer for Quests European tours. She thinks the Tuscan Adventure tour should be one of Quests most popular tours. Customers report that the price is too high, the 12-day tour is too long, and the size of the tour group is too large. Ellen wants to eliminate that tour and design a new one, which would be a major change for Quest.

3. As marketing director for Quest, Ron Dawson needs to increase sales overall for the company. He usually encourages tour developers and salespeople to pursue the typical Quest customer: married baby boomers in the 41-60 year-old age group who do not have children living at home and have household incomes over $75,000 per year. He wants to open new markets, such as younger travelers, travelers with disabilities, and specialty group travel, such as for clubs and alumni associations. However, salespeople fear that they wont be able to sell as many tours to these new markets and their bonuses will be decreased.

4. Juan Ramirez, head of the Human Resources Department at Quest, has been interviewing potential tour assistants. If Quest does increase its tour sales by 12 percent as expected, the company will need more tour assistants. If it doesnt increase sales, the company will need to lay off tour assistants.

3. Now you try it

In the following space, note which type of adaptive technique would be appropriate to use when solving Problem 1. Give an example of a solution to the problem.

Click here to provide an adaptive technique and an example of a solution.

In the following space, note which type of adaptive technique would be appropriate to use when solving Problem 2. Give an example of a solution to the problem.

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In the following space, note which type of adaptive technique would be appropriate to use when solving Problem 3. Give an example of a solution to the problem.

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In the following space, note which type of adaptive technique would be appropriate to use when solving Problem 4. Give an example of a solution to the problem.

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Submit the document to your instructor as requested.