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August 9th, 2017 
admin LensCrafter’s operations strategy involves delivery of high quality lenses, accompanied with superior customer service within the shortest period of time. This can be seen with the way the firm endeavors to employ state of the art technology in its process and ensures that the customer will have his or her lenses produced within one hour. This aspect of production is infused with other intangibles to enhance the overall customer experience. For example, Optometry degrees, certifications and licenses are hanged on the wall, staffs are warm and friendly towards the customer and the layout, displays and conditions of the offices are professionally thought out. All these serve to give the customer confidence that he is dealing with the right people and gives them expectations of a better service. The firm always endeavors to meet these expectations by offering superior goods.
The organization aims at gaining a competitive advantage in terms of sustainability by offering superior customer service. This is meant to help LensCrafter’s maintain current customers, and attract even more and thus maintain the business model. Also, according to Entel, Grayson,& Huttner (2007),superior customer service allows a firm to differentiate itself from the competition and therefore be able to survive. Such a differentiation is important because it cannot be copied and is more of an asset to the firm (Entel, Grayson,& Huttner , 2007). As a result, even when competition is tough, the organization can count on the loyalty of its customer base to weather it as it seeks to expand in other market segments. Besides, satisfied customers are more likely to recommend business products to friends and relatives, thus earning the business more sales. Such sales are important because the form does not spend anything to win them.
Question 2
LensCrafter’s has put in place various activities to enable it offer excellent customer experience. For example, the servicescape in the retail area is done in a way that makes it ooze with an aura of quality and professionalism. The area is spacious, clean with modern furniture and professional display of merchandise. This is meant to give the customers the confidence and trust that they are dealing with the right people. The first impression of a customer walking into the organization would make them like it at the first instance and raise their expectations.
Another part is the warmth and friendliness of the staff. Most aspect of this business is high contact and the staffs therefore are a great asset to the organization. Customers would wish to deal with people who make them feel that they are not a bother, or a necessary distraction (Entel, Grayson,& Huttner, 2007). Besides, the staffs are qualified, as can be seen from the certificates hanged on the wall, and the fact that some of the laboratory technicians have undergone further training in the area is a big plus. This should serve to make customers at ease to deal with the company.
Lastly is the optical laboratory section where the lenses are made also plays a key role in the overall customer experience. First, the customer is allowed to observe their eyewear being made, something which enhances the overall value derived by the customer from the experience. Besides, the firm has ensured that it employs state of the art technology to produce the lenses. This ensures that high quality lenses, which meet customer expectations, are produced. Moreover, within thirty days after delivery of the lenses, customers are at liberty to return them for replacement or for refund of their money. This unconditional Guarantee ensures that the trust the customer has is enhances.
The first challenge likely to beset LensCrafter’s is cost management. In pursuit of high quality by employing qualified and skilled personnel, acquiring the latest technology in lens manufacture and ensuring that the servicescape is professional may have serious cost implications. High costs may make the company vulnerable especially given that the lens business is dynamic and a customer is likely to use a pair of lens for years, unlike a product which is consumed on a daily basis. The organization should thus look for ways of cutting costs without compromising quality (Bradley, 2013). For example, each branch can be allowed to source for its own materials within its locality rather than rely on a central store which may rake up costs given the need to transport materials, insure and store them.
Another problem is that of ensuring that service and quality levels are replicated across all branches. This has been difficult to achieve especially with regard to new branches. The difficulty perhaps come from the fact that the cost of establishing a branch from scratch is expensive and cultures also do vary from place to place. Therefore, there emerges a discrepancy between what the head office would like to see vis a vis the existing culture. The best way to do this will be to have key areas of quality (primary goods) being adhered to by all branches. Then for the peripheral goods, each branch can infuse its own strategy with regard to its locality. Experienced staff can even be transferred to new branches so as to bring their knowledge and experience to bear.
Question 3
The value chain of LensCrafter’s spreads across different activities all of which serve to create quality products and ensure that customers are satisfied. The value chain starts with a customer’s arrival whereby he is received by a greeter who readily shows him the direction to go. Then the customer will interact with the optician who will ensure that a proper diagnosis is done so that the right lenses will be produced. As the customer waits to be attended to, he will savor the servicescape; see the certificates, spaciousness and cleanliness of the waiting bay. Lastly, production of the lenses is made in his presence and he takes them home, with an Unconditional Guarantee that he can return the lenses within 30 days for either a replacement or a refund.
To ensure production of quality and value creation, the firm has engaged qualified staff to ensure that quality service is created and offered. All staff are qualified as can be seen from the certificates. Besides the staff, equipment used are also of the latest technology in the field, and this ensures that accurate diagnosis is done and high quality eyewear produced. Another thing that enhances quality is the smooth flow of information across the different units of the organization which ensures that there is no confusion in the process. Acting on wrong or distorted information can have devastating consequences. For example, customers’ complaint may increase given that products supplied would not be good for the intended purpose. As a result of these three factors, quality and value is created for the benefit of both the firm and the client.
Customer satisfaction starts when they interact with the qualified and courteous staff. They are made to feel at ease, and the general environment in the retail sector ferments this. Besides interaction and what they see and feel, the customer satisfaction will go on even after the product is delivered. The Unconditional Guarantee is the sales clause ensures that customers have an opportunity to try out their lenses and see if they like them. If they don’t, they are at liberty to return them for either a refund or a replacement. This enhances customer trust, and ensures continuity of the business relationship.
Question 4
Performance measurement in any organization is important because it enables the organization to identify opportunities and weaknesses in its operations. Besides, it allows for comparisons against targets or competitors to be to be done.
With regard to LensCrafter’s, one of the performance measures that can be applied on its service design should capture customer’s complaints. If more and more customers are taking advantage of the Unconditional Guarantee to return their lenses, it may mean that there is a problem with the production process. Complaints relating to the quality of the lenses may be an indicator that some of the machines have malfunctioned and need to be repaired or replaced. This may be serious, given that some customers would never complain but switch their suppliers (Canada Business Network, 2013). To measure this parameter, the organization can compare number of complaints in the current year with those of past years and look at whether the complaints are increasing or reducing.
Another measure that can be adopted would relate to sales volume. An increase in sales volume is a possible indicator that more and more customers are satisfied with the LenseCrafter’s products and are recommending it to family and friends. A decrease would be an indicator of poor customer satisfaction. This indicator is important because sales are the blood line of any business. If enough sales are not being made, it means that the company would not be able to meet its costs and would be at risk of being liquidated. Therefore, LensCrafter’s should be keen with their sales figures, and should use this measure to ensure that sales figures are going up every quarter compared to previous periods.
Question 5
There are different technologies used by the LensCrafter’s to strengthen the value chain. First is the technology used for eye examination. This technology plays an important role in the overall value creation. For value to be derived out of them, it means that the machines should be accurate and consistent. Otherwise, the results sent to the lab for the production of the lenses would be wrong and the customers will not get value for their money. As a result, they may take advantage of the Unconditional Guarantee, which will mean that the firm will be closing money.
Another piece of technology which is equally important is one that is used to produce the lenses. This is also important because accurate results from the opticians count for nothing if the machines to produce the required product to exact specifications. Besides, the speed of the machines also counts in the production process. If the desired speed cannot be obtained, it will mean that customers will have to wait for long to have their lenses, something that may make them impatient with the company and even dent the company’s image.
References
Bradley, J.C. (2013). Challenges That Face Operation Managers. Retrieved 28th October, 2013
from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/challenges-face-operation-managers-61711.html
Canada Business Network.(2013).Measure Performance and Set Targets. Montreal: Info
Entel, T., Grayson, S.,& Huttner, N.(2007).The Empathy Engine, Turning Customer Service Into
a Sustainable Advantage. New York: Booz & Company.
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