The VTI workshop and car care faces the challenge unsatisfied and complaining customers. The customers claim that the auto shop lacks proper hygiene standards with a lot of dust in the shop. Additionally, the customers claim that the workers do not take good care of the cars when repairing since most of the cars get back to the owners with dents, scratches and stolen parts. The auto shop has also failed to uphold a good worker attitude in the garage. The clients claim that most of the employees have bad attitudes and do not offer customer friendly services. The personnel also delay in service delivery and customers end up taking longer than expected for some minor repairs (S.K Breja, 2011).
Furthermore, the auto shop faces the issue of lack of upgrades and improvements in the physical appearance and other complimentary customer services. The auto shop still uses the old equipment installed ten years ago when the auto shop started operations. Likewise, the place lacks a proper customer ambience such as having an old carpet and no fruits and snacks at the customer waiting area (S.K Breja, 2011).
The auto shop also lacks properly trained personnel since the employees do not undergo any training when on the job. The persons working at the auto shop started operating ten years ago and none of them has trained on the new trends in auto services. Moreover, the shop lacks efficient customer handling procedure for taking customer orders and booking appointments for the customers (S.K Breja, 2011).
Reason for lack of standards
The auto shop lacks standards of operations due to poor management that does not concentrate on setting proper operating standards. The old management did not care about the customer complaints until Bill took over and started listening to the customer feedback. The customers had many complaints that exposed how the auto shop offered poor services and lacked the proper customer ambience (Nigel Slack, 2010).
Additionally, the company lacked the proper technological upgrades of equipment and the staff lacked proper training to offer quality services. The shop continued using old equipment, which had already become outdated over the years. The old equipment hindered the car care’s efforts of upholding high operational standards. Additionally, lack of trained staff prevented the ability to offer proper standards due to lack of knowledge about the customer needs and customer service trends (Nigel Slack, 2010).
Group decision model
The fishbone model assists in making decisions for the better future of the company and tailoring operations to suit the customer needs. Bill wishes to offer high quality services to satisfy the customers. Therefore, the cause and effect method properly guides when solving the problems faced by the auto shop (Mind Tools, 2018). VTI auto shop and car care management requires brainstorming on the problems facing the shop and reasons for dissatisfied customers. The search for problems should identify the root problems and uncover the bottlenecks of operations that result to customer delays. Consequently, the car care should also identify where the process do not function properly and come up with solutions to the problem (Mind Tools, 2018).
After considering all the problems facing the auto shop, the management should focus on eliminating the issues. The elimination procedures should involve suggestions from all the stakeholders including employees and customers. The shop should consider all the ideas from the various persons and implement the best ideas to solving the problems (Mind Tools, 2018).
Furthermore, the car care should consider the effect of the problems resulting from various problems. The problems combine to result in the major problem faced by the company, which the management should brainstorm on and come up with the best solutions to the issue. The management should allow brainstorming and mind mapping to come up with solutions from all the stakeholders (Mind Tools, 2018).
Ways to provide better services
The auto shop should consider automating the operations to reduce the manual handling of vehicles at the store (Derene, 2011). The manual driving of vehicles to the repair centres results to dents and scratches as the vehicle come to contact with other vehicle or buildings. The car care could correct the problem by introducing cranes that lift the cars and place on the repair spots. Additionally, the shop could use computerized methods of diagnosing the vehicle problems and save time identifying motor problems (Derene, 2011). The use of computers to find vehicle problems reduces the labour of employees trying to check all the vehicle parts to find the problem. The computers could reduce the time spent at the shop by customers due to quick diagnosis and repair.
Moreover, the shop could have better organisation at the shop such as having designated places for parking and repairing vehicles. The designation allows the cars to stay away from other equipment and buildings that could result in dents. Additionally, the vehicles have clear and spacious driveways, which prevent contact with other equipment and vehicles thus preventing dents (Hastie, 2017). The shop should also clearly mark the building for the customers to understand where to do what action. The customers do not know where to seat while waiting for the vehicle repair, which results to nuisance at the shop. The car care could solve the problem by having a waiting lounge where customers relax without causing disturbance in other sections (Hastie, 2017).
Data documentation and presentation
The management could document the data in questionnaires and survey sheets (Leach, 2018). The questionnaires allow the documenting of specific research questions and the answers given by the respondents. The questionnaires assist to understand the attitude of customers towards the company through the answers to the questions asked. Questionnaires ask direct and easy to understand questions in order to avoid ambiguity. Moreover, the company could document data using survey sheets where a part of the customers answers questions about the services at the shop. The survey could focus on various issues that cause customer dissatisfaction (Leach, 2018).
The research team could present the data using charts and histogram (Arizona University Libraries, 2018). The visuals assists in establishing the trends of various variable at the shop. The histogram assists to present exploratory data and shows the features of the data conveniently. Therefore, the management could use the histogram to show the various intervals of data, which exposes the discrepancies in the operations. Moreover, charts assist in the display of categorical data in segments, with each portion representing a certain variable (Arizona University Libraries, 2018).
The SIPOC model
The model assists in the identification of all elements of improvement before implementing changes (Simon, 2018). The model assists to simplify a project that seems complex and lacks proper definition of scope. The tool requires the consideration of the suppliers of materials and other services required at the shop. The car care should brief the suppliers and explain the need of quality at the shop, which requires the delivery inputs that meet the specified standards. The auto shop should vet all the vendors to establish the availability of capacity to supply the required quality of materials with the correct quantity and time.
The model also considers the inputs that the shop uses in operations. The inputs should come from a trusted supplier and then inspected for quality (Simon, 2018). The inputs should meet the correct standards to produce outputs that satisfy customer’s needs. Additionally the inputs should have reasonable prices to reduce the company’s operating costs.
The processes also require consideration in the model (Simon, 2018). The auto shop should ensure that the repair procedures meet the customer needs and keep the employees happy. The car care should set up flexible procedures at the shop to meet different customer needs and preferences. The operations should also change efficiently with developments in the market to avoid lagging behind in service delivery.
The car care should also consider the outputs from the shop, which include services such as repair and maintenance (Simon, 2018). The VTI shop should produce outputs that satisfy the customers and result to additional business. The customers require durable and high quality services that show value for the expenses incurred at the shop. Additionally, the company could offer after sales services to satisfy the customers further.
The customers require major attention when offering the services at the shop (Simon, 2018). All the services should satisfy the customer needs at affordable prices. The auto shop should prioritize the customers and do everything possible to ensure the customers stay happy. Moreover, the shop should ensure that customers spend the least time at the shop by avoiding unnecessary procedures lie having to book appointments personally.
PART A
Continuous improvement processes
The VTI shop should implement the incremental changes at the shop to ensure better services, products and procedures (CI Toolkit , 2017). The shop should improve by introducing new technology at the shop and eliminating unnecessary procedures of customer booking appointments. The customers at the shop have to book appointments physically or through the telephone. The shop could allow the customers to get services at any time without having to book the appointments.
The employees get involved in the process since continuous improvement follows the bottom up approach, which means that the employees give ideas for the changes (CI Toolkit , 2017). The employees at the shop should give ideas on the best ways to reduce customer delays and improving customer satisfaction. Additionally, the employees should focus on the employees should involve in ensuring that the changes take effect due to a feel of ownership of the ideas. The employees should show responsibility in ensuring the success of the intended improvements and give ideas on how well to serve the customers. The involvement of employees in the changes results to a better response within the organisation compared to when the changes come from the top management (CI Toolkit , 2017).
The PDCA model
The models emphasises on following the plan, do, check and act procedure (Plan- Do-Check-Act (PDCA) Cycle, 2018). The VTI auto shop and car care should first identify the areas for change then organize how to implement the changes. The planning should involve all the employees and management at the car care. The plans should specifically tackle the problems at the shop such as dust, customer delay and theft, which result to customer dissatisfaction.
The other step requires the shop to do which means testing the changes. The car care could implement the changes on a portion of the shop to identify the customer’s response to the services. However, the shop could also introduce the changes to all the processes and listen to the customer feedback (Plan- Do-Check-Act (PDCA) Cycle, 2018).
After the do step, the car care could check the results of implementing the changes through tests and analysis. The shop could collect customer feedback and record the time taken to offer services at the shop. The management should check for improvements such as satisfied customers and less time taken in service delivery. Additionally the employees should also give feedback on the processes introduced (Plan- Do-Check-Act (PDCA) Cycle, 2018).
Finally, the company should act on the changes required. After checking whether the changes solve the problems at the shop and lead to customer satisfaction the proper action takes place. The auto shop should install the right technology for servicing the vehicles and reduce the booking procedures that the customers go through before accessing the services. Additional changes should also take place depending on the feedback received from the customers (Plan- Do-Check-Act (PDCA) Cycle, 2018).
The stakeholder’s involvement
The stakeholders refers to the persons interested in the changes at the shop improvements (CI Toolkit , 2017). The stakeholders include the employees and customers at the car care shop. The employees play a role in the success of the changes at the auto shop. The employees give ideas for change and ensure the success of the improvement procedures. Moreover, the customers also assist in the improvement at the car care. The customers provide ideas through complaints of poor services and giving suggestions on the necessary changes (CI Toolkit , 2017).
Communication
The communication of the changes require effectiveness to ensure that all the players understand the improvement strategy (Hastie, 2017). The communication should inform the stakeholders on why various changes take place and the role of each party in ensuring the success of the plans.
Training methods
The training of employees follows various methods such as coaching where the workers at the shop learn from an experienced person (Terje Slatten, 2009). The training method allows the workers to acquire skills necessary to solve different motor problems. Additionally, the use of management games assist in training the employees and management. The method uses real life situations to train the persons how to solve the problems. The management games improve the employee and management problem solving skills (Terje Slatten, 2009).
Project monitoring
The monitoring takes place through financial audits to identify whether the actual costs align with the budgeted costs (Millard, 2014). Additionally, the auditing of whether the employees enjoy the process and the levels of customer satisfaction.
Recognition of benefits
The recognition of benefits takes place through checking the satisfaction of customers and employees morale (Recognise and Reward Employee Performance, 2018). Happy customers signal that the improvements give the intended benefits and the employees with high morale show satisfaction with the process.
Record keeping and procedures
The car care could use both digital and financial recording processes (NSW Government, 2015). The financial records include statements of income, which show the changes in profits after the implementation of the changes. Moreover, the digital records include the changes in customer satisfaction and improvement in the processes at the shop (NSW Government, 2015).
PART B
Issues leading to customer dissatisfaction
The customer dissatisfaction arises from lack of clean facilities at the shop, careless handling of vehicles which results in dents, scratches and theft. Moreover, the services take long leading to customer delay at the shop due to many unnecessary procedures (S.K Breja, 2011).
Other improvement techniques
The auto shop could utilise the business re-engineering process, which involves the use of past operations to come up with better processes for the business. The operations manager uses the past processes to come up with improved services. The car care could use the existing operations such as car repair to improve the services by automating the processes (Nigel Slack, 2010).
Continuous improvement strategy
Performance measurement and management
The performance measurement takes place using the balanced score card, which focusses on the auto shop’s financial, customer, internal processes and people perspectives. The balanced score card helps the shop identify whether performance achieves the set goals (Simon, 2018).
Communication systems
The VTI car care could use meetings and memos to communicate the strategies of the company. The meetings involve seminars where the employees learn of the strategies of improving operations. Additionally, the memos communicate urgent messages to the employees (Clarity of Roles Within a Team, 2018).
Job roles and clarity of expectations
The employees require knowledge of the managerial expectations of the tasks assigned. The employees should also have the correct qualifications to perform the tasks assigned (Clarity of Roles Within a Team, 2018).
Training and development
The auto shop could use on the job training to enhance the skills of the employees. The training method utilises experts who have great experience in the performance of the activities.
Rewards and contributions
The auto shop could use a reward scheme where the employees elect the best worker to get an award. The system motivates the employees to adhere to the strategy with diligence to become the best employee (Mind Tools, 2018).
Action plan to implement strategy
The 3Cs gives the best implementation method for a strategy (Edinger, 2012). The plan involves clarification of the strategy, which refers to explaining the strategy to the employees for better understanding. The employees with a better knowledge of the strategy work better to achieve the goals (Edinger, 2012). Additionally, communicating a strategy to the various stakeholders to know what to expect from the shop. The final stage includes cascading a strategy, which refers to putting the strategy to action. The stage involves getting the technical requirement to implement the strategy (Edinger, 2012).
Performance measurement from customer feedback
The measurement results from the feedback given by the customers on whether the changes yield added satisfaction (DMAIC Process, 2017). The customers give feedback on issues such as whether the shop has better hygiene and the safety of vehicles. Additionally, the clients respond on the level of services provided and the employee attitude when delivering services. The customers inform whether any changes have taken place in service delivery (Olsen, 2018).
References
Arizona University Libraries. (2018). Retrieved from Arizona University Libraries Website: www.data.library.arizona.edu
CI Toolkit . (2017). Retrieved from CI Toolkit Website: https://www.citoolkit.com
Clarity of Roles Within a Team. (2018). Retrieved from Management Studies Website: https:www.managementstudyguide.com
Derene, G. (2011). Popular Mechanics. Retrieved from Popular Mechanics Website: https://www.popularmechanics.com
DMAIC Process. (2017). Retrieved from Tools Hero Website: https://www.toolshero.com
Edinger, S. (2012). Three Cs of Implementing Strategy. Retrieved from Forbes Website: https://www.forbes.com
Hastie, S. (2017). Expert 360. Retrieved from Expert 360 Website: https://expert360.com
Leach, D. F. (2018). Data Presentation. Retrieved from Data Presentation Website: https://www.academic.sun.ac.za
Millard, M. (2014). Kai Nexus. Retrieved from Kai Nexus Website: https://blog.kainexus.com
Mind Tools. (2018). Retrieved from Mind Tools Website: www.mindtools.com
Nigel Slack, S. C. (2010). Operations Management. Madrid ,Spain: Pearson.
NSW Government. (2015). Retrieved from NSW Government Website: https://www.records.nsw.gov.au
Olsen, E. (2018). Strategic Implementation. Retrieved from On Strategy Website: https://www.onstrategyhq.com
Plan- Do-Check-Act (PDCA) Cycle. (2018). Retrieved from ASQ Website: asq.org/learn-about-quality/project-planning-tools/overview/pdca-cycle.html
Recognise and Reward Employee Performance. (2018). Retrieved from NI Business Website: https:www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk
S.K Breja, D. B. (2011). The TQM Journal.
Simon, K. (2018). Six Sigma. Retrieved from Six Sigma Website: https://www.isixsigma.com
Terje Slatten, M. M. (2009). Managing Service Quality.
