Meeting Consumer Needs - Case Study Example

Meeting Consumer Needs and Section # of Current Market Expectations and how has this been established Since McDonalds is a fast food chain dealing mainly in junk food there are certain health concerns related to the products. There are mainly four aspects on which the consumer expectations can be based and although they are standard expectations but McDonalds is a unique case. Food Quality: McDonalds claims to provide 100% beef, chicken and grade 'A' eggs. Also the food comes from certified suppliers who are audited and inspected time after time. They also use food stuff from trusted brands like Heinz, Nestle etc. But McDonald's has been involved in innumerable cases related to obesity, coffee burns and also indirectly exploiting plus causing suffering to animals. The use of certain ingredients that are bad for health have been used by the company such as oils with transfats. Food Safety: McDonalds has reported that it conducts 2000 safety and quality checks on its products. Also 72 safety protocols in a day. The company also claims to be working closely with independent experts on science, health, food and nutrition. But if this is the case then the McDonald's coffee case has proved the organization wrong. In 1992 a woman in New Mexico bought coffee from the drive thru and accidentally spilled it on her thighs and she had to be taken to the hospital because she suffered from third degree burns. She sued the company and it was proved that McDonalds served coffee heated up to 180-190F or 82 -88 C. This can cause third degree burns within 12 seconds and normally restaurants have to serve coffee heated up to 60 C only. Thus, the lady was compensated for the damages and won the case. Plus it was also revealed that McDonalds had received up to 700 complains of burns during that period. Nutrition: McDonald's has been accused of producing highly fattening food products that are bad for health. The company was involved in yet another popular lawsuit known as Mclibel case. There were two activists in Britain who distributed leaflets stating "What's wrong with McDonalds" The company filed a case against them and the men tried to prove their statement but lost the case in the High court. Thus, they challenged the UK libel law in a European court so the court was forced to re-write the legislation. It was proved through the case that McDonalds exploited children through advertisement and also cause suffering to animals. Then Eric Schlosser wrote a book "Fast Food Nation" and mentioned that McDonalds uses political influence to increase profits at the expense of people's health and workers social conditions. Another important event damaged the company's reputation when the Hindu's sued the company for falsely claiming that their fries are vegetarian whereas it was proved they contained beef and animal content. The most important event that created doubts about nutrition in McDonalds food was the movie by Morgan known as "Super size Me." The movie showed having McDonalds for a month and super sizing when asked for thus he gains 11.11kgs in a month. Another important event that further added fuel to fire was when McDonalds claimed to reduce transfat in 2002 but due to some problems the oil was not changed on time and a site www.bantransfat.com had testimonials from people claiming damages for eating the food since they thought transfat had been reduced. All because the company did not create awareness of the fact. A case was filed and the company had to compensate for the damages. Toy safety: McDonalds claims to make the toys in their Happy meals themselves and also that they are tested and not made out of lead-based paint. The customers expect the company to be faithful and give importance to general health of the population by maintaining quality, safety and good nutrition in food. How the organization delivers to these expectations McDonalds has been involved in a number of lawsuits that have damaged its reputation. But whenever the company gave a chance for complains they actually made corrections as well. The company has always adjusted to what the consumers want from them. They eliminated the use of polystyrene containers and joined hands with Friends of earth for environmentally friendly packaging. In all their cases they have compensated for their damages as well. Nutrition has been the main problem for the company so McDonalds decided to print the nutritional values on the packaging of each product. This way all can check and order accordingly. They also came up with the 'Balanced Active Lifestyle Program' that includes a different menu with healthy food. They offer salads, fruit and vegetables. In U.S.A all Happy Meals include 100% low fat food, chocolate milk mugs, pure apple juice and apple dippers with low-fat caramel dip. They have also introduced a show hosted by Ronald McDonalds and he encourages the children and their families to go active. They have encouraged exercise since it helps burn the fats present in junk food. The company has recognized its social responsibility. There has been a latest development of interactive web based tools that allows customers to drag items from the menu and put them in a virtual tray to get individualized nutrition information on the meal. In Brazil McDonalds provides in-restaurant nutrition guide with a table where the customers are allowed to calculate nutritional values for their meals. The company has a website that tells people about their quality checks and also the food safety. They have improved and tried to meet the expectations of the customers. It is the constant efforts to satisfy their consumers that has increased their current sales to more than 8.1% than in August. Discrepancy between expectations and delivery There is a huge discrepancy between expectations and delivery as it has proved earlier in the essay. But the customers want the company to be faithful about the products since it's their health at risk. Although McDonalds has always made corrections to mistakes but they have made blunders that are fatal. Consumers expect healthy food that is safe and of good quality since McDonalds has portrayed itself as socially responsible corporate that is concerned with the health of their consumers but the company has been proved wrong in a number of events. Using transfats was a vital example and then not changing the oil when claiming to do so, such actions have spoiled the reputation of the company. These have created a huge discrepancy between expectations and delivery. They have been cheating their customers and also laid bare most of the times. The customers have forgiven them every time but now they company must take substantial steps into removing this discrepancy. Problems caused by this discrepancy within the organization This discrepancy can cause increased turnover of employees. Since they are also part of the population and many would not wish to work with a dishonest organization. Employees might quit! Certain employees might be encouraged to put their selfish interests ahead of the organization and there can be an increase in pilferage or frauds within the company. Mismanagement can pose a problem in this case since the low level workers might conspire against the top management which will lead to strikes and waste of physical and human resources. This way the company will go down the drain with increased losses and huge loans. Recommendations McDonalds must be faithful to its customers and it has started to do that by printing the nutritional values on the packaging of products. They must realize the importance of corporate social responsibility and they have done this by introducing balanced lifestyle program. The company must aim to satisfy their consumers and give them what they want in order to regain their lost confidence in the customers. They must implement all programs and strategies they advertise and they must not leave any stones unturned in achieving this target. The company must constantly innovate and bring healthy products to their customers. They must consider the complaints on the comment cards and implement any necessary changes. The company has also come up with responsible purchasing program that encourages a socially responsible supply chain and use of ingredients. They have also employed a diverse workforce with disabled, women, Asians, Hispanic etc. The company must improve on social responsibility and be faithful to its customers. Bibliography Customer Expectations. Available from [Accessed 15th October 15, 2007] Happy meal toy safety facts Available from [Accessed 15th October, 2007] Mclibel case Available from Read More