Sandlot Management Team Report
Have you ever ordered a flower arrangement from a florist shop and not received what you wanted? Have you been unable to describe what type of arrangement you want or been misunderstood by your florist? Although some customers just call in to have an arrangement delivered and only request "a spring bouquet" or "a nice arrangement costing about twenty dollars", others have definite ideas in mind or may be making a larger investment, such as for a wedding or a banquet. The Sandlot Management Team has helped The Flower and Gift Basket, Inc. implement a helpful guide for their customers by introducing a photo album to bridge the communication gap between customers and florists.
The Flower and Gift Basket, Inc., which is located in the Alps Shopping Center on Baxter Street, operates as a florist as well as a gift shop and conducts business through telephone and walk-in orders. The store owner, Donna Dotson, was our main contact and was essential in the planning and implementation of the project. The observed problem was the dissatisfaction of some customers after receiving their order. A plan was designed to reduce the undesirable effects of, therefore improving, the ordering process so that the arrangements of flowers always satisfy the customer's wants. Our analysis finds that the root causes of these undesirable effects are communication deficiencies.
An Ishikawa diagram was used in analysis of the problem as well as a customer survey. The Ishikawa, or fishbone, diagram was used to locate the root cause of the observed problem: Customers do not always get the arrangements that they order. As the diagram repetitively posed the question "Why?", the following branches were created and listed as they moved outward from the base: 1)florist misunderstands what customer has in mind when placing an order; 2)customers cannot accurately describe their orders; 3)customers do not know how to describe their orders; and 4)customers are not very familiar with types of flower arrangements. In summation, the customer needs a channel of communication to accurately describe orders. The goal of this project is to improve communication in the ordering process in order to eliminate the problem and to better satisfy the wants of the customer.
The next attempt to gather information was through a customer survey of a number of current and potential customers of The Flower and Gift Basket, Inc. This survey reported that many customers either have difficulty accurately describing the flower arrangements they wish to order or they do not know exactly what they want and are unaware of the options available to them. Some of the customers expressed that they had previously ordered flowers from either The Flower and Gift Basket, Inc. or from other florists and had received arrangements unlike what they had expected. A few who were surveyed explained that they sometimes use an FTD book to communicate their orders to their florists. However, because of each florist's personal touches and unique abilities, their florist's arrangements did not always look like those portrayed in the nationally circulated FTD book. Everyone surveyed reacted positively to the idea of The Flower and Gift Basket, Inc. designing its own personalized book of arrangements. Customers felt this would give them a better idea of what they would be getting after they place their orders.
Some members of our management team visited the store and immediately began to work with the owner. After speaking with and discussing our ideas with the owner on several occasions, the group began to prepare for the implementation process. Pictures were made of the outside of the store as well as of the inside. A table was set up in the back room of the shop on which to place finished arrangements for photographing, and a green cloth was purchased to use as a backdrop for this table. The camera was left with the owner with instructions to take pictures of as many different flower arrangements as possible, such as live bouquets, artificial arrangements or wreaths, wedding or funeral arrangements if any are done, and specifically unique items showing the personal touches of the florist.
A request was then made to get names of some of their more regular customers who would not mind answering a few questions. Names were selected by the owner, and a telephone survey was prepared and typed (see attachment). Team members carried out the telephone survey and compiled the results while other members began work on the web page. Contact was repeatedly made with the store owner in order to remain informed about the progress of the pictures. Group meetings were held, film was picked up and developed, and the photo album was put together with the pictures of the various arrangements described and numbered for identification.
The members working on the album completed their task, having filled it with pictures that we made in addition to a few of the florist's own. The finished book, portraying the personal touches and unique abilities of this particular florist, was taken to the store and set up for display near the register. Customers who have come in after implementation have noticed and looked at the book; some have used ideas from it and ordered similar items. The album has contributed to customer satisfaction by assuring that, when ordering from the collection in the book, the customer will know exactly what they are getting.
Our book will remain on display and the owner will continue to add photographs of her special work to it so that the final product will exhibit a variety of products from everyday arrangements to larger special occasion arrangements. As customers become more aware of this helpful book, foot traffic in the store may even increase, as more people will come in to place orders as opposed to phoning them in. This increase in the satisfaction of the customer is a strong improvement and will provide a basis for constant improvement which will keep The Flower and Gift Basket, Inc. competitive and successful.