Task 1 Client satisfaction report

a. An overview of Soaps and Suds

• Organisational business structure: The organisational business structure of Soap and Suds is that of a family run business and hence the structure shows overlapping of the roles and responsibilities of individuals at different job positions. The ownership and composition of the management usually composes of similar people in the structure. As a privately owned organisation it also has private ownership of the assets. Considering it is a small organisation there is no specific demarcation of roles as noted in the business structure and ownership model in the organisation is that of a distributed family-owned business where the ownership had been passed down to the descendants (De Massis & Foss, 2018).

• Industry: Soaps and Suds is a small scale car wash business operating locally and hence it can be regarded to be operational in the automobile industry. Specifically the organisation can be considered to be part of ancillary industries in the automobile industry that offer support services to the automobile industry.

• Size/number of employees: It is a small scale business with its operation to be only local. Considering the scope of the business there are 4 permanent staff and 12 casual staff that handle the operations of the business. Two directors manage the overall operations.

• Products and/or services: Although Soap and Suds is a local car wash business, it offers varied range of services that includes standard car wash to full car detail. There are also provisions for paint protection treatment of the cars under the services of the business. They also offer a range of accessories for cars such as mats and air fresheners.

b. A summary of recent survey data for Quarter 2

The data of the customer satisfaction for quarter 2 has revealed significant areas of satisfaction and dissatisfaction of the hundred customers’ survey that includes both returning customers (62) and first time customers (38). The degree of customer satisfaction at Soaps and Suds had been measured across three important areas of satisfaction that are facility and convenience, service provided by the staff and the overall satisfaction. The customer responses have also been gathered about the areas that they liked the best and the area they least preferred in the customer service. 

Table 1: Facility and Convenience

As seen in the table above (table 1), the customers have been satisfied with the convenience of the location and the cleanliness of the facilities provided however they are not satisfied with the hours of operation, waiting time. They have also expressed their lack of comfort while waiting for the services to get done. 

Table 2: services of the staffs

In the second survey that recorded the satisfaction degree of the customers regarding the service provided by the staffs, the customers have been satisfied with the explanation of the services by the staffs and they also found the staff to be helpful and friendly towards them. 64 customers agreed that the staffs are professional and knowledgeable in offering their services (table 2). 

Table 3: Overall satisfaction

In the assessment of the overall satisfaction of the customers regarding the services being offered at Soaps and Suds, 51 out of hundred customers had been impressed by the overall services being offered to them. However contrary one fourth of the customers surveyed (25 customers) did not show their willingness to return to Soaps and Suds for any services (table 3). This might also be attributed to the cost of services that has affected the overall satisfaction of the customers considering 41 customers found the cost of the services to be poor. Based on such considerations 16 customers also did not consider Soaps and Suds appropriate to refer to others for any kind of car wash service or accessories. Based on the overall satisfaction of the customers the overall impression of the business has been satisfactory yet there are areas for improvement so that customer referral and satisfaction can be enhanced. 

The areas in which the customers have been found to be highly satisfied with the services of Soaps and Suds is that the staff are knowledgeable about the services they are offering and that the service quality is good. However the gaps in the customer satisfaction had been attributed to the expensive cost of services and the long wait times that add to the frustration of the customers.

c. Three problem areas in the delivery of customer service

The three problem areas that had been identified based on the survey of customer satisfaction in quarter 2 are the expensive cost of services, the long wait times. Moreover the customers are also not satisfied with the hours of operation of Soaps and Suds. The first problem area that can be elaborated here is that of expensive cost. Car wash service has low switching costs for the customers and if Soaps and Suds is offering their services or accessories at higher cost then the customers would not be satisfied and they would move to some other car wash shop (Mokhtar & Shamsudin, 2020). 

Furthermore, car wash is such a demand service that it cannot be considered as a necessary service and is also not a recurrent service. If the wait time is very long then the customers would not be in client towards waiting for long as it might cause them frustration and they consider it wastage of time. The degree of frustration of the customers can affect customer satisfaction as noted in this service survey.

The customers are also found to be not satisfied with the hours of operation of business. This might also suggest that the business is not consistent with the opening and closing hours that might cause inconvenience to the customers. Many times customers must have visited the shop for car wash service and the shop might not have been opened or it would have been closed too early. The irregularity in maintaining the hours of operation without maintaining consistency is another problem area identified.

d. Strategies to improve future customer service delivery

Solution for managing cost expenses:

• One of the ways of cutting costs is reducing the labour cost in the business based on the kind of wash equipments used for car washing. For instance, Soaps and Suds might install automated technology to replace that might include cleaning tire rims (Fragassa & Ippoliti, 2016). labour reduction need to be focused upon in the areas of key car washing functions while maintaining face to face service of the staffs with the customers. 
• Apart from cutting cost and optimising car wash, the range of services can also be expanded. Soaps and Suds can engage in public car washing services such as bus washing services that would help to guarantee additional customers and revenue streams can be enhance that could help to reduce the cost expenses charged from customers. 
• There can be collaboration with green chemical companies for using environment friendly cleaners to replace toxic chemical use (OSAGIE, 2018). Sustainable cleaning services can be offered at same cost to the customers who would now be willing to pay higher prices for such additional services. 
• Apart from the basic wax services and wash services, additional cleaning needs of the customers can be addressed in a total vehicle cleaning package that would make the customers more willing to pay for higher costs and also the cost of the business would be reduced.

Solution for managing wait time:

• Wait line management can be practiced in the business by arranging multiple openings in the area of service so that multiple cars can be serviced and washed at a given time. 
• There is also a need for right car wash equipments for reducing the length of time required for car to get washed. The efficiency of the staff would not matter if we do not have the right kind of equipments and all systems can cause more breakdown and delays. Hence the business was required updated equipments from wash tunnels to conveyors and dryers. 
• An automated bill generation system can also be arranged in the business where the car washing service can be automated based on the token number (Gupta & Shukla, 2016). Based on such token numbers the customers can also manage their timings that would not add to their frustration. Automated bill generation can also reduce the wait for the bill generation.

Solution for hours of operation:

• One of the most significant solutions for managing the hour of operations would be to make the hours of service to be 24X7. This can be achieved through rotation of the labours in the site of the service so that the service can be offered at any time of the day without compromising the customer needs. 
• In case of any long wait time in the service centre, there should also be provisions for the customers to drop their cars that can be later delivered to their destination. In this manner the inconvenience with the hours of operation can be minimised.

e. Implementation plan

f. Promotion of recommended strategies 

Signboards, billboard advertisement, brochures and pamphlets can be used for promoting the new services and changes in the services. There can be also be social media handling by opening a social media account of Soaps and Suds on Facebook and Instagram for posting new services, sharing value offers and promotions. 

Task 2 Maintaining systems, records and reporting procedures

Areas with increased or decreased customer satisfaction

Areas of increased satisfaction 

Facility and convenience: 

Based on the comparison of the survey results in quarter 2 and quarter 4 it has been noted that in the area of facility and convenience, the convenience of location, waiting time and comfort while waiting has also been improved as customers are more satisfied in these areas than in Quarter 2.

Staff:

Staff service has registered increased satisfaction from the customers in all respects. Between quarter 2 and 4, customers have experience more satisfaction regarding the explanation of the services, answering of questions, friendly and helpful staff and their professional and knowledgeable approach has increased.  

Overall satisfaction:

It is noted that between the two quarters, there has been improvement in the overall impression of Soaps and Suds. Customers are more willing to return to the Soaps and Suds and are more likely to refer it others also. The cost of the services had witnessed significant improvement and thus the satisfaction of customers has enhanced. 

Areas of decreased satisfaction

Facility and convenience: 

The comparative study of the survey data between Quarter 2 and 4 has revealed that the dissatisfaction of the customers has further increased with hours of operation 

Written summary of changes identified (screenshot attached in appendix)

To,

The Director

Soap and Suds

Respected Sir,

After the implementation of the strategies to address the gaps in the services in Quarter 2, in three key areas: waiting time, hours of operation and cost of services, significant improvement have been noted in the customer satisfaction with respect to the services being provided. The efficiency of the staff has remained constant between the two quarters and has further improved in Quarter 4 (excel template attached). Positive changes have been noted in the cost of services that is no more an area of dissatisfaction for the customers. Furthermore, the waiting time and comfort of the customers waiting had also been enhanced. However, the area of contention and dissatisfaction still lies in the hours of operation that requires more focus from the end of the management for enhancing customer satisfaction.

This is to bring to your notice that the overall impression of Soap and Suds among customers had been enhanced and that is evident in their willingness to return and refer. 

Thanks and regards