Sullivan Ford Auto world Case study

Mahrosh Ilyas Bhatti Sabeen Nasar Unza Rehan

Introduction
Walter Sullivan purchased a small Ford

dealership in 1981 and 1999 he shifted to a new location which he named Sullivan Ford Auto world. Carol Sullivan-Diaz took the position of a general manager of the dealership after the death of her father Walter Sullivan She analyzed the current performance of the business and found it in trouble The financial situation of Ford was deteriorating . The new car sales were declining, their forecast for future sales was discouraging and the service department was making a small surplus

Case background
The Sullivan Ford Auto world operated both sales

and service departments. New and used cars were sold. Old cars were checked and examined for any repair before they were sold. The service department was showing a poor performance. Carol has to analyze which of the two options are right to make? 1. To quickly sell auto world and move on with her career or 2. To work on a turnaround and make the

Case Background
Auto world was selling 1100 cars per year and was

generating $ 25. millions from both sales and revenues Auto World ranked at the lower end of medium sized dealerships Margins were low and gross figures were insufficient to cover the companys fixed expenses For interpersonal variables such as attitude of service department personnel, Auto Worlds ratings were relatively poor More than 50% of respondents indicated that they would use another Ford dealer or some other place

Case background
Although vehicle ratings were in line with national

averages, the overall level of satisfaction with service at Auto World was consistently low, placing it in the bottom 25 percent of all Ford dealerships. The worst ratings for service concerned promptness of writing up orders, convenience of service hours, and appearance of the service department

Problem and objective

To identify the possible solutions that could keep the

Sullivan Ford Auto World stable from all the existing internal and external barrier that challenges the companys stability by improving its costumer service Objective 1. To identify the possible causes of poor customer service of the company 2. To provide recommendations on to increase the companys revenue the company by improving their customer service.

SWOT analysis
STRENTHS Carols experience knowledge and expertise Attractive showroom Favorable location Modern and well maintained equipment WEAKNESSES Poor customer complaint handling Inappropriate attitude of service staffs Problems with service writers High turnover of service staff

Well known dealership Huge amount of insurance policy on Sullivans life

Revenues are falling Poor appearance of service department at waiting area Inefficient recording and

SWOT analysis
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS Change of management and Poor industry forecast introduce a service culture by providing training programs Develop new markets Switch of customers preferences

Use of advanced technology High business operation costs

Continuous customer feedback High business operation costs

Alternative courses of action

1.

To Utilize Carols Background and her Masters Degree In Business Administration To Improve Auto Worlds Quality of Services As she is the owner she will show high level of loyalty and commitment to Auto world She has personal knowledge about Auto world operations and she knows how to provide good service to customers She has experience in health care industry which revolves around designing new customer services, handling customer complaints so she can use it As she is young she can bring fresh, innovative ideas

Alternative courses of action

Use customers feedbacks as a basis on implementing better service operations for the companys service department. Critical inputs and responses can help a company to develop better customer-retention programs and might as well see if the company needs necessary improvements or changes to keep up with customer preferences and requirements. Sullivan Ford auto World could make use of the companys survey regarding customer satisfaction to look into the flaws of their product and service department and quickly address these flawsto improve the whole business operations.
2.

Alternative courses of action

Improve customer service through initiating employee trainings and seminars. Sullivan Ford auto World should initiate customer trainings and seminars to help employees improve their knowledge and skills regarding customer orientation in order for them to address their need to improve their customer service. These training activities could help employees to address customer-related grievances more competently and resolve queries and complaints more quickly. These trainings and seminars could also help the company to increasing the quality of work and productivity of every employee in the service department.
3.

Alternative courses of action

4.

Benchmarking with strong competitors Sullivan Ford auto World should make an effort to know how their strong competitors satisfy its customers. The company could also analyze the process of how their competitors obtain such output and compare it with their own operational process to enhance the competitiveness of their organization.

Decision
After analyzing the current situation of Sullivan

Ford auto World, the best course of action they could consider doing is to initiate employee trainings and seminars. This is due to the fact that the companys customer service rates low on the survey they have conducted and thus there is a clear need that the companys employees specifically those on the customer service department needs to improve their customer interaction skills and knowledge

Recommendations
Computerise all service operations to cut on turn-around

time and avoid clients long waiting hours. The company should also see to it that the companys production and operational process are as efficient as it can be in order to shorten the length of time on operations (repairing of cars). They should also train the employees in maintenance department to be as knowledgeable and skilled as they can be to set as a competitive advantage in terms of having a quality work. Employees who frequently interact with customers should be trained to improve their interpersonal skills in order to be more accommodating, polite and to be more knowledgeable on how to solve and address customer inquiries and complains. Maintain the promotions and discounts to continuously

Thank You!