Detrie, Susan Module2B R511 · R511:Module2BSusan "Detrie" "! 4! "...

!"#$%&'&()*(+,-*)-.#"/,(0&'"1(2+3!""#$%&'()*"+)*,-.)"-/"0112)"3)&4-2"+&'*)%""+$%4/"5)&*-)"

"""

R511: Module 2B Susan Detrie

2

INTRODUCTION Since Apple first introduced retail stores in 2001, they have increasingly been a key component of Apple sales and outreach worldwide. Apple retail stores have a great deal to recommend them with their unusually aesthetic and inviting environments; their many opportunities to try or view or all Apple products available; their well-‐trained team members to answer queries; their expert technicians at the ‘Genius Bar’, who diagnose, install and repair Apple products; and trainers leading workshops and ‘One On One’ training for Apple products. As such, Apple stores function as much more than traditional retail spaces with the added inclusion of educational services and technical support for products which already been purchased, making Apple a very different kind of retailer. With the variety of services offered on site, Apple faces unique challenges that other retailers don’t encounter. With the multi-‐faceted function of all its stores, it must manage the customer expectations while offering these diverse services, sometimes in spacious interiors and sometimes in cramped spaces. With the combination of retail sales, customer education and technical support all in one place, store management faces challenges on many levels. How can team members properly service hardware and software, while educating customers and selling more hardware and software in an efficient manner? What systems need to be in place to move customers through the store, while still offering high quality service? How do team members give their full attention to customers in crowded stores? How do trainers cope with constant interruptions from customers who do not register for a class, but chime in with questions in the open environment of the store? How does technical support approach the high volume of devices in for repair? How do team members answer diverse customer questions, when team members can’t be labeled ‘expert’ in every service the store offers? Apple retail stores find themselves with the need to constantly monitor performance and do analysis to increase the quality of interaction between team members and customers, as well as increase quality of communication between team members in the store, where customers must be seamlessly passed between team members with different expertise. PERFORMANCE PROBLEM One of the major performance issues for Apple retail stores is how to approach a rush of customers, especially when the store first opens in the morning. Apple team members often brace for dozens of customers, milling outside the store. Adding to the current situation is the lack of floor space in some of the stores. Customers are often lost in the shuffle of crowds, as team members are pulled away by more demanding customers. Other team members, not expert in one area, often consult other team members who have expertise. Though done politely, customers being helped feel slighted or discouraged, often giving up and leaving the store. Though Apple retail stores have an instituted a high quality ‘by appointment’ scheduling system for handling both technical problems at the ‘Genius Bar’ and for training workshops, many of the customers circumvent this process and just show up at the store as walk-‐ins, laying ruin to the schedules. In a small store, this can produce the effect of barely controlled chaos, long lines and frustrated customers lost in the shuffle. APPLYING HPT TO APPLE RETAIL STORES PERFORMANCE ISSUES It is important for the management in Apple retail stores to continuously examine performance issues in the retail stores because of the high volume of traffic, especially if Apple wants to maintain its worldwide reputation for quality and meet customer expectations for all of the support services it offers. In the Apple retail stores, it is not enough to sell quality products if customers can’t use them, easily repair malfunctioning products or purchase additional products. With this in mind, an HPT model was chosen to use in the analysis of


3

performance issues in the Apple retail stores and to aid in helping to design, implement and evaluate possible solutions to the problem of walk-‐in customers stressing the organizational system already in place. As Wilmoth, Prigmore and Bray (2010) state in selecting an appropriate HPT model,

“a given model’s criterion must enable HPT analysts to accurately conceptualize a suspected performance problem in a given business environment. The ability to visualize and then communicate the process logic to others will be the true measurement of any HPT model’s effectiveness and suitability for use.” (p. 6)

After examining several possible models, the model that was best suited to address the Apple retail store performance issue was a process model from ISPI (2000). This model is particularly useful because it allowed for a complex process analysis, while simultaneously isolating the performance gap between the ideal store experience and the existing situation. The analysis is shown in Figure 1.


4

Figure 1. HPT Model used for performance analysis of Apple retail in-‐store customer service: ISPI (2000).


5

ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS According to the new CEO, Tim Cook in a conference call with investors, Apple’s mission can be summarized as:

“We believe that we are on the face of the earth to make great products and that’s not changing. We are constantly focusing on innovating. We believe in the simple not the complex. We believe that we need to own and control the primary technologies behind the products that we make, and participate only in markets where we can make a significant contribution. We believe in saying no to thousands of projects, so that we can really focus on the few that are truly important and meaningful to us. We believe in deep collaboration and cross-‐pollination of our groups, which allow us to innovate in a way that others cannot. And frankly, we don’t settle for anything less than excellence in every group in the company, and we have the self-‐honesty to admit when we’re wrong and the courage to change. And I think regardless of who is in what job those values are so embedded in this company that Apple will do extremely well.” (Conference call with investors, January 22, 2009)

This statement is an update of past statements made by the company through the year. After detailed research, the closest to a mission or ‘vision’ statement that could be additionally attached to Apple, Inc. is the statement that ends most of their press releases since the year 2000, and is useful for the purposes of an HPT analysis. “Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings." (Apple Inc., 2000) As a statement of the mission or ‘vision’ of Apple, it includes the desire for a ‘best experience’, and is suitable for helping to align performance of team members in stores with the mission of the company. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS In doing the initial environmental analysis of Apple retail stores, a store in Milwaukee, WI was chosen, as it was already the site of an ongoing performance improvement. Due to the small size of the store, it was the worst example of retail store congestion, and thus the best place to analyze, design, implement and evaluate new procedures and communication systems. This store, like many of the stores in the retail chain had the following characteristics:

• Higher than normal foot traffic for a retail store due to the number of in-‐store services offered.

• More team members per square foot of space than any other retail store in that location.

• Extensive training for staff in all areas of service, but with designation of expertise in one area.

• A dedicated online scheduling system for service areas, as well as pick-‐up of in-‐store and online purchases.

• A limitation on the number of people who can participate in training and workshop sessions.

• A limitation on the number of computers it can repair in-‐store at any given time.

• Access to a regional service center, that operates six days a week for repairs offsite to handle overflow

from retail stores.


6

• Well-‐equipped team members, each with access to a wireless enabled iPad and a mobile credit card scanner.

• Numerous hardwired lines throughout the store, connected to in-‐store servers and high speed Internet

throughout the store. GAP ANALYSIS In reviewing the environmental issues and the company mission statement, the ideal performance for stores would be to efficiently service customers without long lines, confusion and distractions, but instead there is often crowding, a lack of order and an in ability to follow through on customers requests due to high demand for all the services in the store. Though Apple staffs it’s stores with team members who have above average expertise, customers come away from store interactions with a sense of frustration and a poor perception of the store. It also creates a sense of frustration among staff members, who aim for the high standards of the brand and are a part of the Apple ‘vision’. CAUSE ANALYSIS In reviewing the in-‐store policies and the current organization of team members, the following causes can be determined:

• Despite a sophisticated and effective online scheduling system for purchase pick-‐up, training and technical support, a large percentage of customers still show up at the store without notice.

• Team managers feel they do not have the option of turning customers away without further affecting

the perception of the brand and the team members in the store, especially technical support customers with products that are not working.

• Team members lack protocols for dealing with interruptions, which are frequent.

• Team members lack protocols for dealing with walk-‐in customers, allowing them to upend the

scheduling system in place.

• Team members are further handicapped by the small size of the Milwaukee, WI store. INTERVENTION DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT Performance support initiatives for the Milwaukee, WI store are as follows:

• Work Design: Non-‐instructional A critical aspect of the causal analysis was the disruption caused by customers without appointments who needed technical support or answers to ‘how to’ questions. As it is not an option to turn these customers away, the design of the workflow needed to incorporate these customers into the scheduling system of the store. It was decided that anywhere from two to four team members would be designated as team leaders for each shift, and briefly interview each customer entering the store. What services did they need and had they scheduled an appointment prior to coming into the store? Depending on responses, customers would be


7

directed to a designated location in the store and given the name of the team member who would be assisting them. Then the customer name would then be entered into a second in-‐store scheduling system set up on each team members personal iPad and with the following categories: technical support with appointments, training with appointments, technical support need with no appointment, education questions with no appointment and retail and product questions. The team members assigned to each area would then see a list of names appear on their iPad in order of the customer entrance into the store. This ‘triage’ procedure would enable the flow of traffic to continue through the store and for customers to immediately be assigned a team member, who now had their name and a short description of their issues. As customers headed to their designated area, they would then be greeted by name by their assigned team member. Customers with no appointments would also be greeted by name and told they would be serviced as quickly as possible. At both the ‘Genius Bar’ and the designated table for customers with support issues and no appointment, customer products could then hooked up to the numerous hardwired cables that connected to in-‐store servers with diagnostic software. Many customers could then receive diagnostic support for products in less than five minutes from entering the store. Customers with scheduled training would head to the training table, while an education expert designated for customers with no appointment took customers with questions in order, from the list created as they entered the store.

• Personal Development: Instructional Team members will receive training prior to the new schedule implementation in how to handle interruptions from customers while servicing other customers. With the new triage system in place and the greeting of customers by name, as well as the introduction of a team member assigned to service them, customers were expected to be more easily managed and less anxious about getting the attention of team members. Team members will be trained in how to handle customer issues, especially when customers make demands and ‘cut the line’. Team members will also be instructed to circle back and assure customers their turn is coming up, a task made easier by the list on their iPad, with the arrival time of the customer, their reason for coming to the store and their name.

• Organizational Communication: Instructional Team members will also receive training in how to use the new in-‐store scheduling program, as well as how to contact team members and shift customers to other team member’s lists when other expertise is needed and the customer must be passed to another area within the store. Protocols will be built into the in-‐store scheduling systems, with redundant acknowledgements by team members of responsibility for the customer who is handed off.

• Organizational Design and Development: Non-‐instructional In the course of service to customers, team members will be prompted by the scheduling system to procure the customers email address at a convenient time during the customer and team member interaction. This will allow customers a chance to provide feedback to the store and detail their experience with team members and their satisfaction or lack of satisfaction in resolving their issues when at the store. A group of store managers will over time implement the customer survey, design the questions and refine it as they receive customer feedback. The survey must be short enough that customers complete it, but long enough to get a level of quality feedback.


8

• Financial Systems: Non-‐Instructional Apple management must allocate the expenditure of time and money to create a custom scheduling program for proprietary use on mobile devices in the store. The management must also allow for expenditures in the form of additional hourly wages for team members to train and test software prior to using with customers. INTERVENTION IMPLEMENTATION AND CHANGE In order to properly manage change in the store the following is recommended: Change management:

• Meetings for team member where detailed feedback on procedures and execution are provided by team leaders, store management and team members must also have access to customer feedback.

• Team members must be allowed time for continuing practice and refinement of procedures and communication between team members.

Process Consulting: • Team ‘triage’ and procedures should be reviewed by team members outside the store for ‘fresh’ eyes

and additional ideas for refinement and improvement. • Team members should receive feedback from team members outside the store who observe and

participate in the new processes. Employee Development

• Procedures should be continuously reviewed and refined during team meetings. • Team members should continue to receive feedback over time.

Communication: • There should be an ongoing review and revision of the in-‐store scheduling program. • There should be an ongoing review of customer feedback provided after visiting the store.

EVALUATION: FORMATIVE A successful intervention would be dependent upon:

• A successful design of in-‐store scheduling software program that functioned properly. • Providing the proper mobile equipment to all employees in the ‘triage’ process. • Providing adequate training and rehearsal by employees with both new software and customer

relations. • Designed a good survey for customer feedback on in-‐store experiences and expectations of services. • Developing good procedures for relaying formal and informal customer feedback. • Collecting enough customer email addresses to gain adequate feedback.

EVALUATION: SUMMATIVE Immediate Reaction to the intervention:

• Are customers more satisfied with in-‐store experience? • Does the store have more efficiency and order day to day? • Are customers obtaining service and information more quickly?


9

Immediate Competence: • Are team members more satisfied with service provided to customers? • Do team members have a sense of direction throughout their shift? • Is the new software and equipment operating as expected? • Are new procedures working as expected?

EVALUATION: CONFIRMATIVE Continuing Competence

• Have procedures become second nature? • Do employees feel more satisfaction, with a greater focus on customers?

Continuing Effectiveness

• Are customer surveys showing increased evidence of satisfaction? • Are stores running more efficiently, with increased order? • Has scheduling software been improved based on feedback from team members and store managers?

Returns on Investment

• Have sales continued to rise and positive feedback by customers the norm?

3677!"8'9$2)":;"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""+$%4/"5)&*-)""

! *+!

'!"#$%&'*)"5)%-A/"'<".$%&'()*"J&*-4A)L"%@%&)("-/"0112)"*)&4-2"%&'*)>"8-2D4$C))>"NTE'(


11

CONCLUSION As one of the busiest environments in all of the retail market, Apple stores can be both a positive and negative experience for customers and team members alike. Among the many retail experiences each person has day to day, none can be more anxious than contending with technology that is malfunctioning or more exhilarating than buying a newer, faster computer. As technology becomes more and more of a lifeline to so much of human activity, from going to school to working at a job, the outlets where we purchase and receive help with our devices become more critical to our well-‐being and the resultant experience becomes more and more critical to the bottom line of the companies producing this computing machinery. While Apple seems to be in little danger of losing market share because of continual innovation in creating products, there is no doubt that just around the corner another innovator is making plans to change how our technology and we interface, and thus how we interface with the world. In order to grow the Apple brand and continue to innovate, Apple must continue to provide good customer service and positive experiences for customers. In many respects, the retail store is a major face of the brand and to paying close attention to human performance technology and analysis of performance is one of the best strategies Apple has to increase sales and maintain a good reputation. As an actual witness to this intervention as it was tested in the first Apple store nationwide, for all practical purposes it made a major difference in the experience of the customers, and helped the brand maintain its vision of quality. REFERENCES Apple Inc. (2000). Press info: Press releases. Retrieved from: http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2000/ Wilmouth, F.S., Prigmore, C., & Bray, M. (2010). HPT models: An overview of the major models in the

field. In Watkins, R., & Leigh, D. (Eds.). Handbook of improving performance in the workplace: The handbook of selecting and implementing performance interventions, (Vol. 2) (pp. 5-‐26). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Detrie, Susan Module2B R511 · R511:Module2BSusan "Detrie" "! 4! "...

Documents

Transcript of Detrie, Susan Module2B R511 · R511:Module2BSusan "Detrie" "! 4! "...