Business and Marketing of Pizza USA - Case Study Example

Smarthinkings Response Form (Your marked-up essay is below this form HOW THIS WORKS: Your has written overview comments about your essay in the form below. Your tutor has also embedded comments [in bold and in brackets] throughout your essay. Thank you for choosing Smarthinkings OWL; best wishes with revising your paper! Hello Tracy, I am Rosemary M., and I am pleased to be able to work with you on your essay. Strengths of the essay: Tracy, the essay is well-organized and makes excellent use of transitional terms: The second category of customer requirements is timely delivery. Counting off the essay’s points in the writing really helps the reader to follow the presentation easily. Such clarity in writing is so important in the business world. Sentence Structure: Tracy, one way to improve the essay is to eliminate the run-on sentences in it. A run-on sentence happens when two complete sentences are put together with a coordinating conjunction (also known as FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) but no comma is used. Incorrect: The tacos were marvelous and I ate all ten of them. Correct: The tacos were marvelous, and I ate all ten of them. Here is one of the sentences from your essay: The most cost-efficient strategy for each category will be short-listed and then these will be integrated together into one complete process. What do you need to do to this sentence so that it is no longer a run-on? Correct this sentence and proofread the rest of your essay for similar run-on problems. Here is a link to help: http://services.smarthinking.com/static/document_library/docs/writeman/5_07.cfm. Grammar & Mechanics: Tracy, one way to improve the essay is to use the comma after introductory words rule. Placing a comma after an introductory word or words helps your reader to more quickly see where the main sentence begins. Therefore, the reader can understand the meaning of the sentence more easily. Here are some examples: Wrong: After I ate the ice cream I got a headache. Correct: After I ate the ice cream, I got a headache. How does the comma placed after the introductory words help the reader? Here is one of your sentences: In order to cater to a larger market segment Pizza USA is considering launching pizza delivery service to its customers. How would adding the comma after introductory words help your reader understand the sentence? Where should the comma go? Revise for standard comma placement. Here is a link to help: http://services.smarthinking.com/static/document_library/docs/ESOLman/3_01.cfm Documentation: Tracy, another way to improve the essay is to be sure your in-text citations and your ending documentation are in the correct APA format. If your assignment requires APA style formatting, then the reader expects to see correct APA documentation. Here is an example of an APA in-text citation: One researcher discovered that eliminating fat and carbohydrates two days a week could enable more weight loss than dieting on all seven days (Schmoe, 2013, p. 394). Here is a citation from your essay: The principle aim for this team to follow is compliance with customer requirements in the most cost-efficient manner (Maple, 2014). As you can see, the formats from the example and from your essay do not match. Your in-text citation appears to be MLA. Therefore, you need to go through your essay and reformat your citations and ending works-cited entries to match the APA style. Since there are so many variations in the APA format, you need to consult your style manual or the following link for help with getting your essay correctly documented in the APA format: http://services.smarthinking.com/static/document_library/docs/writeman/3_15_02.cfm. Summary of Next Steps: Proofread for run-on sentences and correct Proofread for omitted commas-after-introductory wording and add them Check APA formatting on in-text citations to be sure you are matching what is required by your professor Tracy, I thank you for allowing me to work with you on your essay. You have only a few fixes to make before this is ready for final submission. ----- Rosemary M. You can find more information about writing, grammar, and usage in Smarthinkings student handbooks. You can visit the Smarthinking Writers Handbook or theSmarthinking ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) Writers Handbook. ************************************************************************* Please look for more comments in your essay below. Thank you for visiting Smarthinking. We encourage you to submit future essays. **************************************************************** Pizza USA Case Study Tracy Ross Professor Roberts MG390 March 2, 2014 Pizza USA Case Study In order to cater to a larger market segment, Pizza USA is considering launching pizza delivery service to its customers. A team has been organized to supervise the successful implementation of this service. The marketing personnel carried out a survey to evaluate the features most valued by customers for a pizza delivery service. The most frequently quoted responses are as follows: The pizza should be hot. It should be delivered on time. It should be what I ordered. The pizza delivery person should be nice. When placing my order I should not have to wait too long to be connected to the operator. The operator should be helpful. The delivery should not cost too much. The operator should give a realistic estimate of delivery time. The marketing team has grouped the varied range of responses and structured them into the following broader categories: 1) Quality of Service: a) The demeanor of the pizza delivery person. b) The conduct of the telephone operator. c) Accessibility to the delivery service (being able to reach the operator in time). 2) On-time Delivery: a) The customer should be given an accurate estimate (the operator should not lie about estimated delivery time). b) The pizza should reach on time so that it is fresh and hot. 3) Accuracy and Accountability: a) The order should be accurately followed. b) If the pizza delivered is not what the customer ordered, the customer should not be charged for delivery services. c) If the pizza is not delivered in time, the customer should not be charged for delivery services. This outline will guide the operations management team in identifying the process design requirements for the delivery service. The principle aim for this team to follow is compliance with customer requirements in the most cost-efficient manner (Maple, 2014). The team has decided to first establish quality standards for each of the three major components of customer satisfaction specified above, and then devise strategies to ensure that the set standard is met. The most cost-efficient strategy for each category will be short-listed, and then these will be integrated together into one complete process. The first area under consideration is Quality of Service. [Random capitalization can be confusing to your reader. Why is “quality” capitalized? If you are using it as a title, then why isn’t “service” capitalized also. Revise to lessen your reader’s confusion over this capitalization.] The customer should be able to access the delivery service easily. There are three ways to achieve this. First is to hire a number of telephone operators so that no customer has to wait for too long to have their order placed. Second is to provide online ordering service alongside telephone orders so that the traffic is distributed and the customers aren’t denied the opportunity to avail this service. Third is to outsource this service to a call center. The first option comes with the additional cost of training the telephone operators, and the third option will require a fee payment to the call center. Thus, the most feasible of the three options seems to be the second one. Online ordering service will be easier for customers to access and will not cost too much either. The funds saved here can be used to arrange to formal training to the delivery staff. The kempt and mannered delivery persons [This is a wonderful description of what every pizza customer wants in a delivery person; it is nicely and effectively worded.] will leave a positive image of the company in the customers’ minds (Foodservicewarehouse.com, 2014). This may eventually contribute to their brand loyalty for Pizza USA. Customer feedback will be used to gauge the Quality of Service. A follow-up SMS can be sent to enquire for any complaints, and they can be asked to rate the Quality of Service on a scale of 1 to 10. Moreover, a monthly analysis of delivery orders can be made to assess the number of re-purchases. If a third to half of the customers decide to use Pizza USA’s delivery service then it can be construed as a positive sign. The second category of customer requirements is On-time Delivery. Pizza USA will use GPS to locate the shortest route to the destination. The customer will be given a time estimate with a leverage of an additional 5 minutes of the GPS prescribed time to account for delays. A convenient option to achieve on-time delivery is to hire delivery persons who are residents of the area, because they are less likely to get lost and cause delays. For areas where no Pizza USA franchises are located it will be difficult and costly too to deliver pizzas on time. Pizza USA can outsource delivery service to these areas to cater to these customers (Pizzagalaxy.com, 2014). The cost of outsourcing delivery can be covered by charging these distant customers part of the per-unit cost. The pizza will be delivered in good-quality hot-bags that provide insulation for 20-30 minutes, so that the customers can enjoy their pizzas hot and fresh. These hot bags will be bought in bulk, so that their cost is minimized. Quality assurance techniques will be used to ascertain that the pizzas are packed immediately after they are baked. This measure will retain the crisp and fresh taste of the pizzas. If the pizzas are not packed within 5 minutes of baking then they will be reheated before being packed. The beverages will be carried in separate containers to prevent temperature fluctuations. The third category of customer requirements is Accuracy and Accountability. [The wording “final job is of” is a little awkward, and the word “job” seems slightly out of place. How might you rearrange/revise this sentence to make it a little more effective and readable? Revise for ease of understanding.]Customers value honesty. It is not wise for any business to make empty promises and false claims. Pizza USA can use this principle of integrity as a unique feature of its service. The customers will be given accurate time estimates only. If a delivery person is unable to make it in time the customer will be informed, and the charges of delivery service will be waived. This will make the customers feel that they are getting true value for their money, and the delivery charges are not a mere rip-off. Customers will be satisfied with paying the delivery charges knowing that timely delivery is guaranteed. Similarly, if the pizza delivered is not in accordance with the order placed, then the charges of delivery will not apply. Pizza USA will introduce a GPS tracking service for its customers as well (InformationWeek, 2014). The customers will be able to track the location of the delivery person, and have an estimate of the time range within which the pizza will reach them. This will restore the customers’ faith in Pizza USA’s claim of Accountability and Accuracy. The GPS tracking system will also be used by the managers at Pizza USA to record delivery times for each delivery person. These times will then be transferred to each employee’s portfolio, so that the employees are aware that their performance is being monitored. Customer feedback via e-mails and follow-up text messages will also feature in these portfolios. Positive and negative remarks will be transferred to the respective employee’s portfolio. This information will be used for monthly employee appraisal. In order to ensure that the customer feels valued, the delivery staff needs to be motivated to provide top-notch service to the customer. Those employees who demonstrate commendable performance consistently will be rewarded either financially or non-financially or both. The monitoring of the delivery staff’s performance will not only motivate the employees to perform well, it will also serve as a means to measure the extent to which customer requirements are met. Based on the ideas above, the operations management team has devised the following process to guarantee a pizza delivery service that satisfies customers’ requirements effectively. This process has been displayed in the flow chart. The process starts when an order is placed. The order can either be placed online or via a phone call. In both cases the information will be recorded, so that it can be used to cross reference in case of any confusion or discrepancy. This information will be saved until after the order has been delivered and payment made. Next, the pizza will be baked and packed within 5 minutes; otherwise the alternate course has been specified. [This sentence omits a needed comma. How might a comma in the second half of this sentence make the sentence easier to read? Revise for standard comma placement after introductory wording.] The pizza will be dispatched, and the customer will be allowed to enquire the location of the carrier any time during the course of the estimated time. If the pizza is not delivered in time or if the order is inaccurate, the customer will be able to call customer care and lodge the complaint then and there. The operator will verify the details by referencing to the recorded data. If the customer’s claims are found to be true, then the delivery charges will be waived and negative points will be filed to the respective employee’s portfolio - which will then be used for the monthly appraisal of employees - to ensure that the employees are driven to minimize errors and perform well. The operations management team has summarized the project plan into the following list. Each process requirement is identified separately along with the measures which will help ensure that the requirement in question is met effectively: 1) Process requirement 1: Quality of Service Measure A: Formal training of employees. Measure B: Customer feedback to be obtained via SMS and the information gained to be used for performance-based evaluation of employees. 2) Process requirement 2: On-time Delivery Measure A: GPS used to find the shortest route to the destination. Measure B: The employees to be made aware that late deliveries will be noted duly in their portfolios. 3) Process requirement 3: Accuracy and Accountability. Measure A: GPS tracking service to prove to the customers that Pizza USA does not make false claims. Measure B: Accurate orders and on-time delivery secured against the promise of waiving delivery charges. The operations management team has decided to monitor the success of this process for the first two months. If Pizza USA’s process proves efficient and the service, profitable then it will be adopted on a permanent basis. [Does Pizza USA own the process in this sentence? What punctuation needs to be added to show this? Revise for standard apostrophe usage.] On the other hand, if the process is found to be failing then the team will consider either making adjustments or terminating it altogether, depending on the circumstances. References Foodservicewarehouse.com. (2014). Top 10 tips for the pizza delivery driver. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.foodservicewarehouse.com/education/top-10-tips-for-the-pizza-delivery-driver/c27400.aspx [Accessed: 31 Jan 2014]. InformationWeek. (2014). Gps comes to high-tech pizza-delivery tracking - informationweek. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.informationweek.com/gps-comes-to-high-tech-pizza-delivery-tracking/d/d-id/1064076? [Accessed: 31 Jan 2014]. Maple, S. (2014). Operations management in business today. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.operationsmanager.com/operations-manager-roles-in-the-company/operations-management-in-business/ [Accessed: 31 Jan 2014]. Pizzagalaxy.com. (2014). Pizza talk - pizza restaurants dilemma - deliver or dont?. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.pizzagalaxy.com/pizzatalk/deliver.html [Accessed: 31 Jan 2014]. Read More