The document summarizes a system analysis of a customer satisfaction survey conducted at a corporate cafeteria. The survey found that 23% of customers were dissatisfied with the value for money. This was likely due to a change in general managers between 2013-2015 and perceptions of portion size not matching price points. The cafeteria implemented an AppCard rewards program in response, which appears to be addressing customer dissatisfaction by providing rewards and incentives.

1. System Analysis:
Numberof respondents: 135(134 consumersand1 non-consumer)
Goal:“monitorthe satisfactionof ourconsumers,identifyneeds&wantsof people whoare notattendingthe café,and
to betterknowthe profile of ourcustomers”.
The overall satisfactionwiththe café asa whole diddecrease from2013 to 2015 from 100% satisfactionto95%. To
note,the surveywasnot done in2014 as there wasa differentGeneral Manager. Inthe latestsurvey,28%of
consumerswere verysatisfied,67% were satisfied,and5% were dissatisfied.
Identifythe problem:consumersfeel they are notgetting a lot of valuefortheir money.
Do background research:
Alsoto note,duringone of our foodservice classes,Jason,ourGM, didstate that because PPLis a corporate account,
that givesbothhimandSodexothe abilitytoprice itemsasneeded,possiblyathigherpricesif necessary. Ido thinkhe
has a good point;PPLisa large corporate account andhas a lotof employeeswhouse the café,butasseen withthese
surveys,some are feelingtheyare notgettingagood value.
Afterlookingatall surveyresults,customerswere foundtobe dissatisfiedwiththe following:
- Value formoney(23%total dissatisfied:19% dissatisfied,4% verydissatisfied)
- Daily varietyof menus,recipes,&products(12% dissatisfied,0% verydissatisfied)
- Portionsserved(10%dissatisfied,0%verydissatisfied)
- Availabilityof healthyoptions(6%dissatisfied,0% verydissatisfied)
- Speedof service (12%total dissatisfied,11% dissatisfied,1% verydissatisfied)
Developa hypothesis:The decreasein satisfaction in valueformoney from2013 to 2015 could be caused by a changein
generalmanagersand theirmanaging stylesand pricing for meals.
- The decreasein satisfaction for valueformoney could bedue to customersnotfeeling like they are getting a
properamountof food fortheset price. (*offera larger portion?) Somedid also notethatthey would like an
option forhalf portions,maybeif the price washalved for thesmaller portionsthatwould help).
- The consumerdissatisfaction withvalueformoney isdue to thefact thatPPL haspartnered with Buy Fresh Buy
Local and this will increasethe price permeal.

2. Collectthe data: Per the currentGM, satisfactionratesinthe 80’s are considerednormal,withanythingatorabove 90%
beingexceptionallyhigh. Resultsfromthe latestsurveycanbe seenbelow:
Source:PPL Corporation.CustomerSatisfactionResultsPowerPoint.2015. Accessedon:July7, 2015.
As seeninthe above bargraph, a total of 23% of customerswere dissatisfiedinsome way,with19% dissatisfiedand4$
verydissatisfiedwiththe currentvalue theyare gettingfortheirmoney. We canalso see thatoverall satisfactionfor
thisparticularcategorydecreasedfrom98% in2013 to 77% in2015.
In regardsto whatis importanttothe customers,the followingbargraphis usedto illustrate whatisveryimportant
alonga continuumto what isnot importantat all to PPL employees.

3. Source:PPL Corporation. CustomerSatisfactionResultsPowerPoint. 2015. Accessedon:July7, 2015.
Analyze the data and draw a conclusion:
Data representingthe surveyas a whole:
male: 55%
female:
45%
in caf'
every day:
63%
in caf' 4
days/week:
14%
dissatisfie
d w/value
for money
male:
79%
Female:
72%
≤ 36yrs:
76%
≥36yrs:
76%
≥$3 per
week:
75%
≥4days
per
week:
79%
≤3days
per week:
69%
Data representingthat of customersdissatisfiedwiththe value of theirmoney,which is the focusof the
systemanalysis:

4. The data representedinthe firstgraphicshowsresultsforthe surveyasa whole;of the 135 employeeswhotookpartin
the customersatisfactionsurvey,55%were male,withthe other45% beingfemale. About63% of those surveyedspent
everydayinthe cafeteriaatsome point,eitherbreakfastorlunch,with14% spending4days perweekinthe cafeteria.
These resultswere interestingtolookatwhenthencomparingitto the separateddate forjustthose whowere
dissatisfiedwiththe valuefortheirmoneyinthe cafeteria,showninthe secondflow chart.
First,as mentionedearlier,there wasachange inmanagementamongthe general managersfrom2013-2015. There
coulddefinitelybe adifferenceintheirmanagementstyles,whichalsoincludestheirperceptionof how itemsshouldbe
pricedinorderto make a profitat the endof the day. This hypothesiswaslaterconfirmedbyourcurrentGM, whenhe
explainedthatthe previousGMdidtwo things:decreasedportionsize while increasingmeal price,whichcaused
employeestobe unhappy. Since thenJasonhasworkedtoincrease portionsizeswhilekeepingthe price where itneeds
to be for SodexoandPPLto make a profit.
Of those dissatisfiedinsome wayforthe value fortheirmoney,79% were male,and72% were female,whichIfound
interesting. Intermsof age, 76% were lessthanor equal to36 years oldand76% were greaterthan36 yearsold. Also
seeninthisdata,a majorityof those surveyedanddissatisfiedwiththe value fortheirmoneyspenteverydayof their
workweekinthe cafeteriaatmeals,ratherthan goingoutor bringingtheirownlunch. Thiscouldhave somethingtodo
withbeingdissatisfied. Maybe theyfeel the portionsaren’tbigenoughtomeetthe price pointselectedforthe different
meal options. Itemslike the salad barare pricedbyweight,where itemsfromthe deliare priceddependingonwhatthe
customerorderson theirsandwichorwrap. The actionstationand featureditemsare pricedata value deemed
appropriate bythe GM basedon the foodcost and foodcostpercentage. AsJasondidsay inone of our classes,aluxury
to servicingacorporate account isbeingable toessentiallyprice itemshow youneedthemtobe pricedtomake some
kindof profit. While Ido thinkhe has a definitepoint,basedonthissurveythe customersdonotseemtoagree withthe
pricing. But,alsoto note these customersare still inthe cafeteriaeveryday,whichcouldbe due tothe highqualityof
foodserved onsite at PPL. Therefore,whiletheycouldbe dissatisfiedwithvalueformoneybasedonportionsize for
featured,more expensiveitems,the foodinthe cafeteriaisalso convenient,whereasgoingouttoeatat a possibly
cheaperprice,althoughmightnotbe likelywithhigherendbarsandrestaurantsonHamiltonStreet,orevenbringing
theirownlunch,isor mightnot be consideredtobe convenientbythe customers. Giventhis,theyare probablymore
likelytopaythe higherprice forconvenience.
Some of the surveyparticipantsdidnote thattheywishtheycouldgethalf portions;sowhile somemaythinkthe
portionsare not large enoughtomeetthe setprice point,some maythinktheyare gettingtoomuchfor the price,and
like theyare wastingalot of moneyif theyare unable tofinishtheirmeal. We couldofferhalf portionsata reduced
price inthe cafeteriaforthose customersasan option.
PPL isalsoin a partnershipwithBuyFreshBuyLocal withbothLancasterFarm Freshcooperative andAmbrogi,where
theygeta goodamountof produce to supportlocal agriculture. If the produce orgrainsare not inseason,thiswill also
increase the price because theylocal farmwill outsource itfromanotherfarmorevenanotherstate,increasingthe
price further. While thismayseemlike anunnecessary,addedexpense onlyaddingtothe foodcost,I thinkit’sa great
wayto get advertisementandsupportlocal farms,andnota lotof local corporate businessesare doingso. Ialso think
the customersreallytake notice andappreciate thisaswell. Inaddition,afterspeakingwithJason,Idonot thinkthisis
the maincause as to whycustomersare dissatisfiedwiththeirvalue fortheirmoney.

5. Therefore,the portionsize,eithertoomuchor too little forthe currentprices,the partnershipwithBuyFreshBuyLocal,
and evenachange inmanagementoverthe pasttwoyearscouldall have an effectonthe customer’s perceptionof
value fortheirmoney.
State your conclusionas a PES Statement:Dissatisfaction with valueformoney related to a changein management
structure, asevidenced by 23% of customer’s surveyed reporting dissatisfaction with valueformoney in the cafeteria.
Make a recommendation:a recommendation could beto serve half portionsforcustomersso they don’tfeel they are
wasting food.
While workingthe deli forafewdaysduringthe lunchhour,I didrecentlynotice thatsome customers,onlyasmall
amount,do orderhalf portionsof sandwiches. Inthiscase,withthe card systemwe do at the deli forwrapsand
sandwiches,if someone ordershalf asandwichtheyare notchargedfor it. I didalsodiscussthisas an optionwithJason,
and he explainedthatwhile thereare some employeeswhodo gethalf portionsregularly,offeringhalf portions
consistentlywouldnotmake sense. Forexample,atthe saladbarand deli,thancan make theirsaladstothe size they
wantand alsohave sandwichespreparedhowevertheylike. Atthe actionstations,portionsare alreadydetermined,
and servingsomethinglikehalf of apiece of chickenorsalmon,or half of a saladwouldnotreallymake sense.
In regardto portionsizes,Jasonexplainedtousthat whenhe wasput inthe general managerposition, one of hismain
prioritieswastofix whatthe lastGM didwhichwas a bigno-no:of decreasingportionsizetosave moneywhile
increasingmeal costat the same time. He has since increasedthe portionsizestobe appropriate forthe pricesoffered.
In terms of PPL’spartnershipwithBuyFreshBuyLocal, while inthe internshipwe have beentryingtohighlightthisin
bothour cookingdemoandtheme meal produce. Ireallysupportthispartnershipandmypersonal goal wasto draw
more attentiontoit foremployeesnotaware of it.
*over the course of the surveybeingcompletedand beingat PPL, theyhave implementedaresponse to helpwith
value for money: one of the customersinthe surveyrecommended“havingacard where we couldkeepmoneyonit
and automaticallydeductfundswithoutusingourbankcreditcard or cash”. What a greatideaI wouldnothave thought
of,and it isalsoparticularlyawesome thattheydecidedtouse anactual customersuggestion! Thatis proof thatdoing
somethingassimple asasurveycan not onlyhelpyouidentifyaproblembutcanalso give youa solutionatthe same
time!
Withthissuggestioninmind,PPLstartedandcreatedsomethingtheycall the AppCardRewardProgram. The ideaof the
AppCardisthis:whenevercustomersuse the card,theyearn1 pointfor every$1.00 spent;forevery100 pointsearned,
theyget$5.00 off theirnextpurchase. Soif you thinkaboutit,if someone spendslet’ssayatleast$6.00 ontheirmeal
at lunchtime everydayof the week,itwouldtake about2 weekstoearn100 pointsandgetthe $5.00 off reward. The
AppCardisalso useable atJazzMan’sfortheircoffee:if acustomerbuys9 JazzMan’scoffees,theygetthe 10th
one free,
alongwithMaxwell House coffeeinthe cafeteria. If a customerbuys4 entreesatSandella’s,PPL’sflatbreadstation,
theygetthe 5th
one free.
The AppCardhas beeninuse for a little while now,andwhilecustomersare notrequiredtohave one,Ihave noticed
while inthe cafeteriathatagood majorityof themdo, whichwouldimplythattheythinkitisa good value andgiving
themthe rewardstheywere lookingfor.

6. Check resultsof actions taken: afterperforming thisanalysis,discussing ourideaswith our GM,and reviewing whatPPL
hasputin place since thesurvey,it seems like they are on the right track.
We discussedin-depthwithourGMwhat couldpossiblybe done tosolve thisproblem, intermsof thingstheyhad
thoughtof in the past whenthe surveywasdone aswell asmakingour ownsuggestions. Inregardto actuallyputting
somethinginplace,while we didmake andtalkaboutpossible suggestions,because itisalarge corporate account it
wouldhave beendifficulttostart andmake a change inour short amountof time here. We triedto discusswithJason
as bestas possible whatthe ideaswere and whatpossible outcomescouldbe,includedinthe recommendationsection.
PPL hasalso putthe AppCardinplace,whichisworkingwell forthe customersandallowingthemtoearnrewardsand
hopefullyfeel theyare gettingmore value fortheirmoney. Asof now,as a whole,the PPLemployeesare still infull
force in the cafeteriaduringlunchhours,withboththe AppCardandincreasedportionsizesworkingoutwell.