Building a Customer Service Strategy: Your Ongoing Case

Let's go back to the ongoing case you selected. This will be either your current employer, a specific organization you want to work in, or one of the two hypothetical organizations described in Chapter 1: Independent Auto Sales and Service (IAS) or Network Nutrition Distributors (NND). Now consider the following questions as you develop a customer service strategy:

Strategy Planning Activities

1. This chapter talks about three strategies to dealing with customer wait times. These are (1) manage the reality, (2) manage the perception, and (3) make the wait invisible. Assume that you are a manager for the company or organization you selected for your cases. Write a recommendation report describing how it could apply each of these three strategies to create A-plus timing and convenience. Be specific about exactly what you would recommend.

2. How, specifically, would you conduct an A-plus idea-gathering session focusing on convenience issues? Before brainstorming possible ideas, what information would you want to gather? How would you get that information?

3. Of all the ideas on convenience and timing discussed in this chapter, which one or two would be likely to give your company the greatest immediate benefit? How could you implement it?