Read the case study below and answer the questions at the bottom.

BankUSA: Forecasting Help Desk Demand by Day Case Study

"Hello, is this the Investment Management Help Desk?" said a tired voice on the other end of the telephone line at 7:42 a.m. "Yes, how can I help you?" said Thomas Bourbon, customer service representative (CSR). "I've got a problem. My best customer, with assets of over $10 million in our bank, received his monthly trust account statement. He says we computed the market value of one of his stocks inaccurately by using the wrong share price, which makes his statement $42,000 too low. I assured him we would research the problem and get back to him by the end of the day. Also, do you realize that I waited over four minutes before you answered my call?" said the trust administrator, Chris Miami. "Mr. Miami, give me the customer's account number and the stock in question, and I'll get back to you within the hour. Let's solve the customer's problem first. I apologize for the long wait," said Bourbon in a positive and reassuring voice. The Help Desk supports fiduciary operations activities worldwide by answering questions from company employees, such as portfolio managers, stock traders, backroom company process managers, branch bank managers, accountants, and trust account administrators. These internal customers originate over 98 percent of the volume of Help Desk inquiries. Over 50 different internal processes and organizational units call the Help Desk. Some external customers such as large estate and trust administrators are tied directly to their accounts via the Internet and occasionally call the Help Desk directly. The Help Desk is the primary customer contact unit within fiduciary operations, employing 14 full-time customer service representatives (CSRs), three CSR support employees, and three managers, for a total of 20 people. The three CSR support employees work full-time on research in support of the CSRs answering the telephone. The Help Desk handles about 2,000 calls a week, and the pressure to reduce unit cost is ongoing. Forecast accuracy is a key input to better staffing decisions that minimize costs and maximize service. The accompanying table shows the number of calls per day (Call Volume). The senior manager of the Help Desk, Dot Gifford, established a team to try to evaluate short-term forecasting. The "Help Desk Staffing Team" consists of Gifford, Bourbon, Miami, and a new employee, David Hamlet, who has an undergraduate major in operations management from a leading business school. This four-person team is charged with developing a long-term forecasting procedure for the Help Desk. Gifford asked the team to make an informal presentation of their analysis in 10 days. The primary job of analysis has fallen on Hamlet, the newly hired operations analyst. It's his chance to make a good first impression on his boss and colleagues.

CASE QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. What are the service management characteristics of the CSR job?

2. Define the mission statement and strategy of the Help Desk. Why is the Help Desk important? Who are its customers?

3. How would you handle the customer affected by the inaccurate stock price in the bank's trust account system? Would you take a passive or proactive approach? Justify your answer.

4. Using the data on call volume in the accompanying table, how would you forecast short-term demand?