Crispy Cream

Sam has arrived! Those are the words that his friends use to tease him about his new found riches and popularity in Central Jamaica.

For over 20 years, Sam had worked with Big Tub Enterprise, manufacturers and distributors of ice cream in Kingston and St. Catherine. Then Sam decided that it was time to branch out so he took out a bank loan, and with the help of Lisa, the chief ice cream maker at Big Tub, he launched the Crispy Cream company. And it has been a success story from day one! Today Crispy Cream makes and sells ice cream of various flavours to shops, supermarkets, schools, and householders across most of Central Jamaica.

Cispy Cream is different as they provide some products and services which other ice cream makers do not. For example, they offer strawberry flavours, Ribena cream, Kisko ice cream, and a host of other delightful items that kids love. In addition, they deliver their products directly to large companies and also through the traditional Fudge Man. They also export a limited volume of their ice cream to New York, Toronto and Miami; and, of course, whenever visitors from those locales come to Jamaica, they are always eager to visit a Crispy Cream outlet to experience the fresh, flavourful taste. Though Crispy encourages its customers to buy from the scores of shops and retail outlets carrying its products, many clients travel long distances to come into Crispys main store in Portmore, as they claim that the ice cream there tastes fresher and more scrumptious.

Crispy Cream is operated by a full array of 120 staff including mixers, quality control personnel, packers, delivery men, community outreach staff, HR and administrative and accounting folks, as well as support personnel such as security, cleaners and cooks. Sam is all too aware that he operates in a very competitive environment but the key to his success is in partnering with some important parties in order to secure the best deals. They have done this fairly successfully over the years, but now Sam is contemplating expanding his business into three other parishes; he knows that Crispy Cream is far from perfect and he believes there is more to be done to give them a distinctive edge over their rivals. As part of this introspection, Sam holds a meeting with his key officers to take a critical analysis of the company, with a view to soaring even higher, and he discovers the following:

Human resources they have some dedicated and ardent workers in key areas such as reception and service delivery, but that is all there is dedication and hard work; there had to be more to them. Some major suppliers, such as transport operators were occasionally the source of glitches and embarrassment for the management when they didnt perform as expected. Crispy Creams website, though pretty and exciting, was not as user-friendly as it could be. Similarly, their promotional brochures, though filled with dazzling mouthwatering pictures, could be more informative. Over 20% of their clients report that they/ their kids did not get the experience they anticipated at the Crispy Cream outlets. Workers in general were extremely courteous and sensitive to their clients needs; however, there have been ad hoc reports of security personnel behaving in an unfriendly manner towards kids and their parents.Though kids are pampered and provided with lots of flavor options, play areas, and gifts when they purchase directly from a Crispy Cream outlet, a few parents still opt instead to purchase from their community supermarkets or from the regular fudge man. Further, some parents actually dictate the flavors that their kids should purchase. Sam is not awed by what he discovers as they have a fairly large share of the ice cream market and Crispy Cream is a highly rated organization. He realizes, however, that they have much work to do if they are to grab the edge from their main rivals, and stay ahead.

1. Compile a Customer Experience Statement for Crispy Cream.

2. What kind of characteristics could Sam be seeking in his front line people? How could he begin making the changes?

3. How would an understanding of moments of contact assist Sams deliberations?

4. Is the physical or the emotional customer experience more critical in this scenario? Discuss.

5. Is the embodiment of the brand evident in the case? Explain.

6. Intended paths versus natural paths is there any evidence here? Discuss.

7. More than 20% of clients reported not getting the experience they anticipated. Is it a case of over-anticipation, under-delivery, or both? What could be the causes?