Man 351 Project Implementation Paper

        Cuby Systems Inc., established in 1991, is a small company that specializes in upgrading, repairing, and custom building computers.  Over 90% of Cuby's business comes from commercial orders rather than private customers.  They handle customers from New Jersey, Florida, and Alabama in addition to there Georgia customers.  They mainly rely on word of mouth and a newspaper ad for advertising.  Their reputation for not compromising quality proceeds them.  At Cuby, the best possible parts are always used.  This means that they will only sell computers and parts of the highest quality under any circumstances.  On top of this guaranteed quality, the company offers a one year guarantee on all of its computers.
        When a computer is brought in or ordered, standard order and specification sheets are filled out.  These order forms contain personal information as well as technical requests.  However, it is not often that the  employees actually take the time to take down all of the personal information such as the addresses of the customers.  The forms are next taped to the computers and taken to the back room for repair by either John Hale Sr., John Hale Jr., Tony Kratfel or three other technicians. John Sr. often handles Windows NT problems, John Jr. software problems, and all technicians handle custom builds and minor problems.  These repairs rarely take more than three days and can often be completed in one.  Their usual policy is first in first out, but they can expedite orders if necessary.  Delays are only caused by suppliers from which they order parts.
        In addition to computers brought into the store for repairs, Cuby will sometimes provide on site repairs for some of their customers.  They have specific situations that call for these "house calls" because this is not a service they can afford to provide to everyone.  Examples of these special clients would include doctors or dentists who, because of constant appointments, cannot let their computers leave the office at any time.
        After spending some time at Cuby Systems Inc., and speaking with John Hele Sr., we identified a few problem areas.  First of all, the standard order and specification sheets were the only type of record the company had of these clients and their orders.  After an order was completed, the form was filed away.  Sometimes, these forms were misplaced.  We felt that if they instituted a database where they could keep records of work done for specific clients, as well as keep personal information such as addresses and e-mail addresses, then they could more easily keep up with their customers.  Thus far, teh database is doing just that.  It has organized the office to promote better efficiency.  Also, this implementation has eliminated the problems that arise when an order form is misplaced, and has made it no longer vitally necessary that they keep the forms.
        The company also places stickers on the computers after they have worked on them to identify the distributors they recieved the parts from as well as some other identifying numbers.  There stickers are ofter peeled off by the customers or possibly an employee of the customer, and when the computer returns to the company for future repairs Cuby has no way of retrieving this information.  However, once again with the introduction of a database these problems are now avoided too.  All of the identifying data will now be backed up on disks to be retrieved any time a customer comes back in for more repairs.
        We also felt that it would improve Cuby's customer service if they followed up with the customer after the sale or repair of a computer.  They once again were having the problem of not being able to keep track of their customers addresses.  Now, with the  database they can e-mail customers to let them know about specific offers.  By identifying what type of machinery each client has, Cuby can pass along offers they run across that might pertain to these customers.  This should increase customer satisfaction because the customers will feel that the business is going out of its way to share a deal with them.
        We also recommended a program that Cuby will soon be implementing in which they send out postcards with the company logo on them and a brief message stating that Cuby hopes that they were satisfied with the service they recieved and basically just makes sure that everything is running well.  Due to the fact that some customers are not prompt about retrieving their computers, these cards can also serve as reminders that their machines are completed.  These cards are essentially for keeping good relations with customers after the sale to bring them back the next time.  Until now, Cuby had not been checking back with their customers at all.
        The results of the database implementation have been that the business runs smoother and more effectively now than ever before.  Not only can they keep track of customer requests,  but they can exceed that by offering them more in terms of promotions and service.  This should translate into higher customer loyalty and satisfaction.  The company expects that once these implementations are in place for a while they will recieve only positive feedback as to how much more effectively they are serving their customers.