Handy Andy

1. Is this a customer service problem? Why or why not? Yes; this problem has a negative impact on the customer. Customers who purchased a compactor from Handy Andy were shown to receive improper customer service by the factory distributors. This poor customer service manifested itself in the form of longer delivery times, as well as leaving the compactor in the middle of a customer’s kitchen without giving the proper operating instructions to the customer. Ortega also discovered that the factory distributors in certain cities were misleading customers into dealing directly with them rather than the small dealer they originally used, as well as making disparaging comments about the small dealers to support their claims. The result of these two problems is an unprofessional experience for the customer, which creates doubt in the quality of the product.

2. Are Handy Andy’s marketing channels causing the problem? Why or why not? is is a problem with the marketing channels, as certain large distributors are trying to cannibalize the competition (other dealers) in an unethical manner, and at the expense of Handy Andy’s brand reputation. If this practice were allowed to go on, the smaller dealers may have been forced to stop carrying the product, which would ultimately result in fewer sales.

3. Are Handy Andy’s logistics channels causing the problem? Why or why not? The flow of goods to the customer’s home was delayed in instances where the customer purchased a compactor from a smaller dealer. This problem was reported the supervisor and the VP of marketing, who apparently manages the ‘Order Management’ area of logistics.

4. It appears factory distributors are exploiting smaller dealers. There is no evidence smaller dealers are complaining to Handy Andy in St. Louis. Why would smaller dealers not complain? It could be that the smaller dealers don't even know why the customers cancel their orders. They may think that they just changed their minds and not that it's...