Untitled

MAR3231: Retail Management

Instructor Information

  • Instructor: Dr. Luke Hopkins

  • University: State University of Florida

  • Established: 1851

Course Agenda

  • Operations Blueprinting

  • Touchpoints

  • Elements of the Operations Blueprint

  • Maximizing Personnel Productivity

  • Technological Decisions

  • Retail Self Service

Retail Operations Overview

Customer Journey

  • Definition:

    • The complete sum of experiences that customers go through when interacting with a company and its brand.

  • Mediums:

    • Call center

    • Chat environment online

    • eCommerce

    • In-store interactions

Operations Blueprinting

  • Definition:

    • The systematic listing of actions performed by employees and customers.

  • Touchpoints:

    • Ways in which a customer experiences a product or service before, during, or after the purchase.

Components of an Operations Blueprint

Customer Actions

  • Steps taken by customers as part of service delivery:

    • Importance of training customers

    • Concept of co-creation in service delivery

Visible Contact Employee Actions

  • Face-to-face encounters with customers:

    • Resetting internal clocks

    • Owning the customer relationship

    • Responsibility for complaints: whoever first receives a complaint is responsible for resolving it

    • Empowerment of employees:

    • Each employee can spend up to $2,000 per guest per day to resolve issues

    • Anticipate unmet needs from customers

Backstage/Employee Actions

  • Actions that do not involve face-to-face interactions with consumers

  • Support Processes:

    • Necessary functions that are crucial for service delivery

  • Physical Evidence:

    • Tangible aspects exposed to customers during interactions with a retailer

Maximizing Personnel Productivity

Hiring Practices

  • Key Practices:

    • Hire for attitude and alignment with company values

    • Look for observable people skills

    • Assess emotional strength through situational questions (e.g., frustration handling)

  • Quote by Steve Jobs:

    • „It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.”

Job Standardization

  • Definition:

    • Creating uniform tasks for similar roles across different departments

  • Significance:

    • Enhances operational efficiency

  • Example:

    • Employees must inform customers of extra charges for more than full scoops of toppings (e.g., Steak, Carnitas, Barbacoa, etc.)

Cross-Training

  • Definition:

    • Teaching employees skills for multiple job functions

  • Benefits:

    • Increases employee loyalty

    • Reduces overall labor costs

Technological Decisions and Retail Self-Service

Self-Service Preference

  • Survey Results:

    • 73% of shoppers prefer retail self-service technology over engaging with store associates

    • Represents a 10.6% increase from the previous year

Negative Outcomes of Self-Service

  • Case Studies:

    • National bank experienced a significant decrease in overall satisfaction when shifting from face-to-face transactions to ATMs.

    • A large restaurant chain observed an increase in complaints due to self-service technology.

  • Reason:

    • Technology often fails to delight customers and can disappoint instead.

Positive Outcomes of Self-Service

  • Studies in Fast Food Industry:

    • Customers ordered significantly more food through self-service technology.

    • Taco Bell reported 20% higher orders via digital app compared to in-store purchases.

    • Chili’s experienced a 25% increase in dessert sales through self-service tablets.