Chapter CC, Problem 14CC

Summary Introduction

Case summary:

DrainFlow is a large residential and commercial plumbing maintenance firm that operates around the United States. It has been a major player in residential plumbing for decades, and its familiar rhyming motto, “When Your Drain Won’t Go, Call DrainFlow,” has been plastered on billboards since the 1960s.

Lee Reynaldo has been a regional manager at DrainFlow for 2 years, but Reynaldo isn’t happy with the way things are going. She notices the work environment just isn’t as vital or energetic as the environment she saw at Lightning. Lightning Plumber is the place Lee Reynaldo used work before DrainFlow.

Specialization cut costs significantly, Reynaldo is worried about customer dissatisfaction. According to her survey, about 25 percent of customer contacts ended in no service call because customers were confused by the diagnostic questions the order processors asked and because the order processors did not have sufficient knowledge or skill to explain the situation.

Characters in the case:

Regional Managers at DrainFlow Lee Reynaldo

Adequate information:

Customer service issues are the major push back for DrainFlow, employees are not informed or does not have sufficient knowledge to diagnose questions during the order processing. That means fully one in four people who call DrainFlow to hire a plumber are worse than dissatisfied. They aren’t customers at all! The remaining 75 percent of calls that did end in a customer encounter resulted in other problems.

To explain:

The advantages and disadvantages of using financial incentives in a program of this nature and potential problems that might arise if people are given money for achieving customer satisfaction goals and explain other types of incentives that might be considered.