Question: Making Business Decisions I

Business is booming. The Broadway Cafe is operating better than ever, and you have achieved your goal of driving operating costs down, which helps to drive revenues up. One of your best new products is a small coffee press from China. The customer can create a drawing on a special piece of paper that is sent to China and created as the outside of the coffee press. Customers are ordering the presses for everything from children's drawing for mother's day presents to marriage proposals. You also have many customers participating in the coffee-of-the-month and tea-of-the-month club where they receive two pounds of a unique blend each month from Brazil Beans and China Teas.

Part 1: PROJECT FOCUS:

Yesterday, a dock workers union strike began and shut down all of the west coast shipping docks from San Francisco to Canada. Work will only begin when the union agrees to new labor contracts, which could take months. You need to quickly assess the impact of the west coast dock shutdown on the cafe.

1. How will you keep the business running if you cannot receive your shipments from Brazil Beans, China Teas, and the custom coffee press machines?

2. What strategies do you recommend to help the business continue working while the supply chain is completely disrupted by the dock workers strike?

Making Business Decisions II

JetBlue took an unusual and interesting CRM approach by using YouTube to apologize to its customers. JetBlue's founder and CEO, David Neeleman, apologized to its customers via YouTube after a very, very bad week for the airline: 1,100 flights canceled due to snow storms and thousands of irate passengers. Neeleman's unpolished, earnest delivery makes this apology worth accepting. However, then again, we were not stuck on a tarmac for eight hours. With all of the new advances in technology and the many ways to reach customers, do you think using YouTube is a smart approach? What else could JetBlue do to help gain back the trust of its customers?

The Broadway Cafe is experiencing some unusual issues. You have implemented four new espresso machines, and it is taking employees time to get used to using the new machines. You also have four new employees who are getting used to the many different cafe machines. During peak hours the orders for frappuccinos and cappuccinos is increasing, causing long wait times and lines for customers. You can tell that customers are frustrated and you want to address their concerns as you get your workforce up-to-speed on the new equipment.

Part 2: PROJECT FOCUS:

1. Create a strategy for using YouTube as a vehicle to communicate with your customers about the unusual long wait lines and what you are doing to rectify the problems.

2. Be sure to highlight the pros and cons of using YouTube as a customer communication vehicle.

3. Are there any other new technologies you could use as a customer communication vehicle that would be more effective than YouTube?