2. Proposal Summary:
Customers are not returning to Express:
Express is experiencing a sharp declining share loss
58% of customer said that they were dissatisfied with the service they received at Express
Customers blame unknowledgeable sales associates for their experience
Plan to bring back customers:
Train sales associates
Create a wiki training database that contains Express:
Policies
Store procedures
Clothing catalogue
3. “Customer satisfaction with services depends
not only on the service outcome (what the
customer receives during the exchange), but
also on the process of service delivery, or the
quality of the interaction itself”
-Farzad Sattari Adabili & Shahram Mizaie Dayani
4. Business Reply Survey
January 2012 to June 2012: 2,000 surveys were issued to customers in our top 5 stores
Customers could indicate that the service they received was:
“Outstanding”
“Average”
“Poor”
An additional “comments” section was provided at the bottom of the survey
Surveys were mailed back to our Express Training Team to be analyzed
5. Detailed Results
Of the 2,000 surveys handed out, 1,450 were returned
58% indicated that they were unhappy with the service they received at Express
Comments claimed that sales associates were:
Unhelpful or unknowledgeable concerning the Express clothing line
Slow to locate merchandise in the storefront or back room
Uncertain of basic store policies such as returns, exchanges, or gift receipts
6. Little or No Training
There is no manual, established program, or database for training sales associates
Policies and procedures are verbally explained on a need-to-know basis
Information is likely misunderstood or forgotten when needed later
This causes feelings of stress, confusion, and distress in incapable sales associates
7. “…impairs performance on a subsequent tasks
that require the active control of thoughts.”
- Kimmy Wa Chan & Echo Wen Wan
Attempting to overcome emotions caused by lack of knowledge,
Such as providing excellent customer service
8. The Wiki Solution
A wiki database encompassing all Express store knowledge will be used for training
The wiki will contain information concerning:
Policies
Store Procedures
Clothing launches
All information will be stored online and easily accessible from any computer
9. “A series of interlinked web pages that are
designed for constant growth and information
sharing.”
-Michelle Lang
A wiki is defined as:
10. What is a Wiki?
Wikipedia is the most famous example of a wiki
A way to categorize, store, edit, and share information as an online encyclopedia
A wiki can be viewed and searched by anyone with an internet connection
A wiki will exist continuously online unless it is deleted
Wikis are free to set up and free to edit
11. How Are Wikis Organized?
Wikis are organized by sections called “Pages” and “Categories”
Wikis have a “Talk” feature which allows for comments and questions on pages
and posts open for discussion
12. “Pages”
A “page” contains information on a
specific topic
Pages include text but also
Videos
Pictures
Links
A page can be easily edited by an admin
by selecting the “edit” button
Editing process is much like standard word
processing programs such as Microsoft Word
13. “Categories”
Pages are arranged by topics or key words into searchable “categories”
A list of categories appears at the bottom of each page
Categories can be added or removed by an admin
Each word is clickable and will bring up all pages related to that topic
14. “Talk”
“Talk” is a feature that allows for
sales associates to:
Contribute information
Ask questions
Start new topics to be covered
Be interactive without editing
pages or categories
15. Navigation
Searching a wiki is the same
process as using Google Search
Input search word
Scan results
Open page
Any employee familiar with web
searching would be able to easily
navigate and utilize a wiki
16. For Express Only
Unlike Wikipedia, private wiki content can be locked from public editing
By locking content, Express can reaffirm that all of the information on the wiki is
edited only by our corporate training team and IT
Eventually, more individuals could be approved to add and edit content
17. Training Team Responsibility
As soon as possible, our Express Training Team will work together to
formulate a manual specifically for sales associates
This manual will cover everything from the Express clothing line to basic
return policies
18. IT Responsibility
The manual will be handed over to our IT department which will handle
translating the information into the Express wiki
The wiki will then go through an approval process before it is made public as a training
tool
The wiki should be up and running within 1 year from the project start date
19. In-Store Implementation
All newly hired Express sales associates will be given 1 week prior to their first shift
to review the wiki
Current sales associates will also be prompted to review the wiki and ask questions
20. Low Cost Training
Sales associates will be expected to review the wiki on their own time rather than
during a paid training program
It will be expected that all Express associates will have access to a computer prior to
hiring
Sales associates will not be formally tested on their knowledge, preforming in the
workplace will be proof as to how well they have utilized the wiki
21. Powerful Sales Associates
Informed and knowledgeable sales associates after using the wiki will be:
More independent
Confident
A knowledgeable resource for customers
More likely to step in and help customers
More likely to preform tasks on their own
More knowledgeable about the Express clothing line
22. “An effective service recovery action
not only retains customers, but also
enhances customer loyalty.”
-Aayushi Gupta, Medury Yaj, and Sharma Swati
23. Return of Express Loyalty
The success of our service recovery effort will result in a return of customer loyalty
Informed sales associates will be able to provide knowledgeable and helpful
service in ways that they were unable to before
Customers will be more likely to return
Happy customers will spread the word to friends and family
24. Follow Up
6 months after training wiki implementation, we will distribute another business
reply survey to our top 5 stores
Results will indicate the success of the program and what still needs to be changed
25. Summary
Implementing an Express training wiki is a low cost and easy way to train sales
associates
More knowledgeable associate will be able to give excellent service in Express
stores
This will reverse our customer losses and increase customer loyalty, bringing in
both returning and new customers
26. Works Cited
Barret, Sue. "What makes customers unhappy?." Smart Company. Private Media ,
18 Jan 2010. Web. 18 Aug 2013.
Lang, Michelle. "Using Wikis for Business Continuity Training." Continuity Central: The
International Business Continuity Information Portal. Continuity Central, 18 May
2011. Web. 10 Aug 2013.
Porter, Alan J. "Why Use a Wiki? : An Introduction to the Latest Online Publishing
Format." SlideShare. Quandralay Corporation, 14 Dec 2009. Web. 18 Aug 2013.
Sattari Ardabili, Farzad , and Shahram Mirzaie Daryani. "Customer Satisfaction
Based on the Missing Aspects: Instinct Factors and Emotion." Australian
Journal of Basic & Applied Sciences. 6.12 (2012): 86-90. Web. 18 Aug. 2013.
Wa Chan, Kimmy, and Echo Wen Wan. "How Can Stressed Employees Deliver
Better Customer Service?
The Underlying SelfRegulation Depletion Mechanism ." Journal of Marketing A.
(2011): 1-49. Web. 18 Aug. 2013.
