You own a popular local McDonald’s franchise and have noticed an issue with the way the customers line up to order their food. Your current multiple line set-up is causing customer irritation and lost business. You think there is probably a better way for all the franchises in your district to handle this issue so customers—and sales revenue—are not lost.
You recently conducted an in-house survey and 300 survey cards were collected. A tally of the open-ended responses showed that these are the most common complaints related to the customer lines.
• 27% Lines too long
• 19% Lines are confusing
• 11% People in other line got food before me and they came in after me
• 9% Too many lines, didn’t know which one to go to
The rest of the complaints dealt with the quality of the food (11%), the accuracy of the orders (9%), the level of customer service (7%), and the cleanliness of the restaurant (7%). This data is statistically consistent with the national survey results the Marketing Department at corporate headquarters published last quarter.
You also gathered data by observation and noted that at your busy times**, for every 20 customers:
2 leave before getting in line (balking).
3 switch lines before service begins (jockeying)
1 starts waiting but leaves before service begins (reneging)
The next district meeting of franchise owners is only a couple of weeks away. You want to present a report with an objective and balanced analysis of alternatives and a recommended course of action for customer waiting lines. If you have done a good job, a majority will agree with you and you can implement your recommended alternative.
This is important because the district franchise agreement states that a change like this needs the support of all the owners before you can implement your recommendation.
**As part of the project, you need to define your busy times. And remember to be specific, giving starting and ending times.
You will use the data presented in the scenario and gather additional research related to queuing theory. Then you will create an outline for my review.
Report Format Your outline and final report should have these standard business communication components.
• Opening/Introduction Begin your report with a brief introduction. Be sure to state the purpose, set the context, and preview the three major points. Do not skimp here. This is where you tell the other franchise owners why you are sending them this report.
• Body The body paragraphs should use an organizing triad and focus on three major points, delivering need-to-know information and eliminating extraneous details.
• Closing Since this is a persuasive piece of communication, your closing will summarize, link to the opening, and ask for the action you want.
Report Outline Instructions
You will create an outline for my review. You can use any format you would like for this (e.g., a formal outline, an informal outline, bullet points, or a mind map). Be sure to let me know what will be in your introduction, the body (your 3 main points), and your closing.
Guidelines for the Outline Use these guidelines when creating your outline.
• Use Persuasive Strategy: Be sure to include the persuasive strategy elements: gain attention, build interest, limit resistance, and ask for the action (plus emotional and rational appeals). Remember, those persuasive strategy elements are not an outline for your report—those are the four elements a persuasive message must accomplish.
• Have an Opening, Organizing Triad, and Closing: Use your experience and knowledge about organizing a business message. You will have an opening, body, and closing. The body should have 3 big buckets of information the other owners need to know in order to approve your recommended line set-up.
• Provide Details: The more detailed your skeleton, the more feedback I can give you and the easier it will be to write the final report. That means writing something like “Include an emotional appeal here” does not help me give you feedback. You need to explain what that appeal would be.
• Use 2 Internet sources: You need to use at least 2 internet sources and use MLA formatting for in-text citations and a Works Cited section at the end of your message. Include the links in your outline.
• Ask for the Action You Want Be sure to ask the owners to approve your recommended line set-up.
Grading Criteria
• 10 Pts Introduction states the purpose, sets the context, and previews major points
• 10 Pts Body has three major points the owners need to know about the blood drive
• 10 Pts Closing clearly summarizes, links, and asks for the desired action
• 10 Pts Message clearly uses persuasive strategy including rational & emotional appeals 10 Pts Outline provides detailed information to be included in opening, body
Sample Solution
