Customer Survey

WRIGHT’S SUPRERMARKET, Colchester
(Customer survey 19th March 2002)

Dear Mr. Green
I was asked to make a customer survey in your supermarket. Thank you for choosing us. Our personnel asked over one hundred of people in various age and now I am presenting you these results of the research, where are three obvious points. Your shoppers are not satisfied enough with:
1. Opening hours
2. Product availability
3. Customers service
There are two aspects what you have to pay the attention to. The first one is to make your customer comfortable while shopping in the store, make them happy and fully satisfied. The second one is to take into a count, that you are not only one on the market. There are several competitors in the neighborhood. Let us take into consideration, that if you persuade competitor’s customers to go shopping into your store, this will certainly increase your turnover, what directly influences your profits in a positive way. In the first part I will respond to complaints and support you with useful tips how to eliminate them.

1. Opening hours

1.1. As you can see, enclosed to the survey, there were complaints oriented on opening hours. On the doors of supermarket is written that you are closing at 7 p.m., but customers often find the store already closed at quarter to 7. Neighboring supermarkets have opened since 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. A brilliant step will be - start opening at 8 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. It has several advantages, like: people have your store on their way to work in the morning, so it is mind us well to have the shop opened while they are passing by. Similar should be done in afternoon. People want to buy fresh items for dinner, so why not allowed them to do so? Next solution would be to delegate one person whose task will be to keep time of opening hours. 1.2. Another problem is about selling on Sunday. Nowadays, it became popular to go for a walk to supermarket. For many people is this day the only one, when they are able to do the shopping together with their families. There are some disadvantages, too: You will have to hire some more shop-assistants, because of enlarging work hours. Even though this will certainly increase your costs a bit, the revenue will be higher and you should keep in mind - these people are your potential customers only on Sundays!

2. Product availability and quality

1.1. Next part of complaints were oriented on product availability and quality.

People do not find bread and milk at the end of day. These issues make bad impression to your company. Interesting suggestion will be to create in-store bakery. You will be able to offer fresh bread also in afternoon and you will see, when it is necessary to bake and when not. The smell from bakery enhances customer’s tastes and encourages them in shopping. Your bread supplies will not depend on suppliers. In-store bakery will require a new special place and additional staff (bakers and responsible staff). 2.2. In the survey were complaints directed on products which past their sell-by date. Possibility how to avoid this issue is to buy new computer system and review stocking procedures. You will even know what products do you have in shelves and which of them are closing to their sell-by date. In this case - it is better to decrease price and sell them with less or none profits like trash them and get into a loss.

3. Customers service

Third part of complaints were oriented on customers service, especially on long queues by the cash registers, ignorance of assistants and on that cashiers never put shopping in bags. 3.1. Long queues are typical for Sundays, Fridays, lunch breaks and some seasons when the turn-over hits the top. There are several solutions for solving of this problem. You can buy new cash-desks and take on new shop-assistants. In this case your cost will increase, but you will have more registers ready for unexpected cases and all you will have to do is temporarily enlist some more brigadiers. Next solution is to train your cashiers, so they will perform their work better and faster. As a bonus - you can announce competition named: “employee of the month award” and give the winner some extra money in bonuses. The question is - are there enough registers to serve customers?
3.2. Ignorance of assistants might be considered as a significant problem. It surely does not make a good name of your company. When shoppers ask shop-assistants for help to find a certain product, they expect fast and appropriate answer. An excellent step would be to hire some full-time mobile assistants (or just temp staff) on skate, whose will know where are all the products located. They will be prepared to help cashiers and customers to solve any troubles, they might get to, while they are in the store. 3.3. Some of the complaints was that cashiers never put shopping in plastic bags.

This activity is slowing-down their job, so I would recommend to recruit new full-time employee or just temp staff, whose job will be to put the shopping into the bags. Each of them will stand next to the cashier and will help them to serve the clients of your shop.

In this part of report I will give advises for mentioned problems in the customers survey. • My recommendation to opening hours is to extent them and have the store open also on Sundays. Even though your total costs will be higher, the gap between the expenses and the earnings will surely make you happy. If you want to be 100% sure that this step will increase your profits, let us take into account better to make an additional research aimed especially on opening hours. • In case of product availability and quality will be the best way how to crack this problem to buy new, modern computer system which is necessary, in these days, if you want to have review in stocking procedures and do not loose on old products or empty shelves. • Customer service play important role in business, therefore it should be paid higher attention to this issue. Long queues it is possible to eliminate by trained cashiers, but this is not enough. In weekends, Fridays, lunch breaks would be great to hire temp staff, whose task will be to help cashiers in these rush time. My recommendation inclusive ignorance of shop-assistants is to recruit full-time staff on skate.
I believe I have explained all aspects of the results of the customer survey, but you should have in mind, that peoples requests are changing, so I propose to make next research in three months. For further questions or any unclear information please do not hesitate to contact me. Your faithfully,.