Proposal concepts and frameworks

¶ … improve the quality of the customer services at Wal-Mart

Transmittal memorandum

Attached is a proposal to enhance the quality of the services offered by the staffs at the local Wal-Mart store. The implementation of this proposal would materialize in increased levels of customer satisfaction and subsequently, higher sales volumes and revenues for the economic agent.

The current proposal commences with the presentation of the problem in order to offer an understanding of the need for customer service quality improvement. The problem is generally pegged to low levels of customer satisfaction, which can be addressed through improvements in service quality.

In order to attain this objective, it is recommended for the store to implement a series of human resource strategies. These strategies would be centered on the superior training and motivation of the employees and they would be reflected in higher quality of services provided during the interaction with the customers. The ultimate advantage of this effort is that of improving customer satisfaction and supporting as such increased sales.

3. Introduction

3.1. Scope

The current proposal discusses the dissatisfaction of customers regarding the quality of the services offered by the local Wal-Mart store.

3.2. Purpose

The purpose of the current proposal is to provide a series of recommendations on how the levels of customer satisfaction can be increased through improvements in the customer services offered by the Wal-Mart employees.

4. Background

4.1. Problem

Wal-Mart is the number one retailer in the United States. The company implements a business model focused on the lowest possible price. The philosophy at the organization is that of saving people money so that they can live better (Website of the Wal-Mart Stores Inc., 2011). This business model has generated tremendous success for the retailer, who has followed an ascendant trend with both revenues as well as opened stores.

The success of Wal-Mart's business model is attested today, as the company continues to register increased revenues. In 2011 for instance, the organization's net sales were of $418,952 million, revealing a 3.4 per cent increases comparative to the previous year (Wal-Mart 2011 Annual Report). This figure represents a double triumph. On the one hand, it attests the company's evolution and success in time, relative to itself. On the other hand, it attests the company's success relative to the industry and against the generally demising economic state when the economic agents go bankrupt and the populations reveal decreasing purchasing powers.

At Wal-Mart then, each penny counts and the company strives to offer as much value as possible for the money spent by the customers. This subsequently means that the retailer has to cut costs as much as possible. Throughout its existence, Wal-Mart has been accused of numerous actions completed in the name of the lowest price. In his documentary Wal-Mart: the high cost of low price, Robert Greenwald (2005) reveals some of these accusations:

The company would be paying its staff members minimum wage

The company would be providing minimum health insurance to the employees

The employees would be asked to put in extra hours which would then be unpaid. For instance, five minutes before their shifts ended, the employees would be asked to complete a new task that lasted for an hour and the time would not be counted as extra work

The company was also accused of importing products from cost effective regions, in dubious and unsafe transportation conditions. For instance, customers had often argued that they bought frozen products that had been unfrozen and were not in the best possible condition.

4.2. Procedure

In the setting previously described, the customers complain of the low quality of the services. The Wal-Mart employees are under paid and over worked and their interaction with the customers does not stimulate customer satisfaction.

In order to substantiate this initial perception of low levels of customer satisfaction, a survey was conducted on the individuals shopping at the local Wal-Mart stores. 100 responses were collected throughout the one week of surveys. The respondents were primarily middle aged women, as they are generally in charge for doing the grocery shopping for the households and are such the more common and reliable customers at the store.

This survey concluded that the customers were dissatisfied with the quality of the services, finding which prompted a second survey, this one among the Wal-Mart employees in the local store. Responses were not compulsory but were stimulated through anonymity.

4.3. Findings

The customer survey conducted during the one week retrieved the following conclusions:

The customers are shopping at Wal-Mart due to the price value of the commodities

The customers find that the Wal-Mart employees are impolite and unhelpful

The interaction with the employees is the unpleasant part in shopping at Wal-Mart.

At the level of the employee survey, this revealed the following:

The employees were dissatisfied with the low salaries they received

The employees were dissatisfied with the long hours they had to work

The employees were dissatisfied with the rigidity of the positions

The employees were dissatisfied with their limited promotional opportunities

The employees had the sensation of doing a mechanic work, for minimum wage and with no future prospects for improvement.

5. Proposal

5.1. The recommendations

In light of the survey findings, it is recommended that the company developed and implemented a series of strategies aimed at increasing employee motivation and on the job satisfaction, which would subsequently materialize in superior service quality and superior customer satisfaction. Still, in the development of a human resource program, emphasis is placed on the dual satisfaction of the two imperative needs -- the reshaping of staff motivation and the preservation of low costs. With this objective in mind, the following agenda is proposed:

The preservation of the current salary levels in order to prevent major shifts in personnel expenditures

The offering of promotional opportunities. At this level, the company should commit to not hiring middle managers from outside the company, but to promoting from inside those employees which had revealed high skills and performances. This promotional opportunity would enhance morale and performances and foster a healthy sense of competition among the staff members (White, 2010).

The creation of flexible working schedules. This feature would allow the employees to better balance their professional responsibilities with those of their personal lives, leading ultimately to better employee morale (Schermerhorn, 2010)

The offering of training and development programs and opportunities. This fosters a sense of achievement with employees, who feel that they are valued by the firm, but who also feel more confident in their professional future due to the newly acquired skills.

The implementation of performance-based bonuses. This would address the issues of salary dissatisfactions, but would also allow the company to cap its personnel expenditures.

5.2. The schedule

The proposed schedule for the implementation of the HR program is as follows: