The Quality Management class at Dalton State College recently completed this semester’s conscientious consumerism project. Their assignment was to select a poor quality product or service that they had encountered and alert the company about the problem. The students were to keep a time line and continue to follow-up on their issue. At the end of the resolution or by the final week of class, students were to write the CEO about the problem and their assignment. The students were to offer suggestions for improving the complaint handling and resolution process. The final letter was sent registered, certified mail. If students were lucky enough not to have any problems by mid-term their alternative assignment was to write a letter of praise to a company whose products or services they felt were of excellent or exceptional quality. You will recall reading about this class project in prior articles. While this project is only 10% of their grade it offers practice in oral presentations as well as written communication, it is important for helping students to critically review and assess a company’s complaint handling process.

This semester there were no letters of product or service accolades to companies. Quality problems seem to have worsened and most company responses seem lacking or ill planned to change the customer's mind about their offerings. As consumers, we know that problems will and do occur and we are willing to stand by a company that apologizes, addresses the problem, and works to eliminate future problems. In fact, customers who have had a complaint resolved promptly and properly, remain as loyal customers and praise the company. Those who are not satisfied can vent to the company and tell their friends and neighbors about the problem, often embellishing the story through each retelling.

As in previous semesters, restaurants, including fast food, appeared to have the most service failures. A sandwich shop disappointed a student who stopped by for lunch and ordered a pizza. The pizza she was served was frozen and the employee blamed the night shift for not leaving the pizzas out to thaw. Her e-mail via the company's website resulted in a standard form-letter apology and mention of sharing the comments with the regional area office.

Another student had reservations at a popular Asian restaurant where food is prepared table-side. He was told their table was ready but had to wait 25 minutes to be seated. They then had poor service from the server who never returned to refill their soft drinks. The delay caused the group to be late to their movie. A call to the restaurant manager was later returned and the manager apologized for the inadequate service. His credit card was credited for $25 of the total bill. He noted he has since returned to the restaurant but asked for a different waiter.

A dirty fast-food hamburger restaurant caused my student to leave the restaurant. The store was crowded, and dirty. The self-serve beverage area had overflowing ice and drink spills. The iced tea container said "discard after 4:45 p.m." and this was some two hours later. The tables were filthy, chairs were broken, flies were in the dining room, and the trash bins were overflowing. She received an e-mail from her on-line complaint and was thanked for her comments and feedback. She then received a phone call from the corporate office, a letter and several coupons from an operations consultant. The student received an e-mail asking her to complete a survey based on the customer service. In the discussion following her presentation, the class agreed asking her to complete a survey after such a bad encounter only reinforced the problem. She stated she would not return to that particular location. The student has yet to use the coupons she received.

Poorly stocked buffet items, missing salad bar ingredients, and no plates was the complaint of two students who lunched together at noon. Both documented their problems separately but similarly yet their results were completely different. One student received a typed letter (not on company stationary or in a company envelope) but did get an apology for the experience from the area franchise and received three $10 coupons for a return visit. She was pleased with the response but frustrated by how difficult it was to locate a way to contact the company. Her lunch mate sent a similar e-mail and three letters but to date has not received any response from either the store manager or the district manager. The class noted consistency in handling complaints is a key area for organizations to establish.

Another fast food company did not remember to leave off the sour cream on a student's drive-thru order. After complaining via the company website, he followed up on the 800-number. He later received a call and apology from the store manager who offered him a free meal. A final letter from the CEO included coupons for a future meal. He agreed the call and letter were appropriate. His only complaint was the slow response to the e-mail but overall he has remained a satisfied, loyal customer of the franchise.

At a dinner-house type restaurant a student experienced poor service and commented via the company’s website. She received a response to her complaint and apologies for the poor service. She did note the website mentioned a need to allow two weeks for a response and since she was asked to provide both her phone number and e-mail she felt a response could be delivered in a more timely manner. Another benefit would be the restaurant could remedy the problem promptly.

Finding a stone in a can of private label black beans purchased at a big-box retail store prompted a student to write the retailer. The retailer identified the canning company who wrote to the student about "field debris" included in the harvested beans delivered to the bean elevators. They included two paragraphs of details about the production process, machinery, and inspection in their state-of-the-art facilities. They apologized and mentioned a focus on quality assurance to produce defect-free products. They enclosed two $1 bills for the inconvenience. The class agreed the letter was good and the money, rather than a coupon for more beans, helped to take the focus from the original issue.

When opening a can of sweetened condensed milk, my student's Mom discovered a circle of mold the size of a blueberry. He photographed the mold and returned the private labeled product to the retailer who promptly replaced it. He did not get the same response when writing to the retailer who sent a form-letter apology. The class agreed the retailer should have forwarded the problem to the manufacturer of the milk.

Mold appeared along the rim of a plastic grape juice bottle. The student complained to the manufacturer who sent an e-mail and a follow up letter with recipes and coupons. While the complaint was handled promptly the student did not like the comment in the e-mail that stated "while the type of mold that would form is not harmful in any way because the products are pasteurized, it is most certainly unpleasant to discover." We agreed as a class continuing to focus on the problem and saying it is not harmful does not seem to be appropriate, particularly since this student noted allergies to molds.