3. For your company, what is one examples of a project?  What are the tasks?  Does your company use Gantt charts?  What are your recommendations?  Post your answers on your team blog   

 Currently one of the projects that Verizon wireless is undertaking  is changing the way the company deals with contracts and upgrades. In the new recently, Verizon announced that they will soon be offering a $15 a month data plan charge instead of it being $30. They regulate how much data a person uses. This is good for customers who use their data plans , but not all the time. The upgrade policy has also changed. According to Verizon wireless, any customer can change their phone as long as they have paid all their bills on time with Verizon, have not bought a new phone within 6 months, and your service plan is $40 or higher.  The tasks in the first part were,  first off thinking how to attract more data plans. At $30 a month many people who use data on their phones were not buying this add feature. But for $15 a month , Verizon is opening their customer base to even more people now. They then had to put restrictions on this $15 data plan.  A customer will be charged $15 as long as they do not go over a designated data amount.  Marketing was the easy part because most people. Whether is Verizon, AT&T , or whatever company they have, charge anywhere from  $25 to $30 for their data plans.  The tasks for the second project were very similar. Verizon wants everyone to have a smartphone for the simple fact that Verizon will make more money if they do. By changing the upgrade policy, people who have old phones will be more likely to buy a new and a smartphone.  The task were coming up with the idea, figuring out how to restrictions on this nee policy, making sure they would still turn a profit, advertising and marketing,.  Verizon, from what I found online, does not use the Gantt charts. Now I do think that the Gantt charts would help, because they have  a set amount of dates that certain projects have to be done by. If I was Verizon, I would use the Gantt chart because it seems like the easiest option to make sure their new ideas get out in time.  

exter 5

1. For the company your team has selected, identify how the 4 dimensions of quality apply to their product or service. What quality systems do they currently have in place? Recommend some new ideas they should consider.  Post your answers on your team blog.

The 4 dimensions of quality apply to Verizon wireless. The first dimension of quality is the quality of design. This has to due with making sure the all of the customers needs are met with all of their new products. When Apple came out with the iphone, it was revolutionary. Verizon started to piece together idea about their new smart phones by asking customers what they liked and didn’t like about the iphone. Customers these days what smart phones that will make life easier for the user. The Droid phone by Verizon has an application called alert. If a phone is stolen, a alarm is sent to the phone. The phone then must be returned to Verizon to get the alarm off. This  dimension is all about the needs of the customers. The second dimension is the quality of conformance. This has to do with meeting a set of standards to make sure the product in question is up to par. Cell phone again are used by Verizon to make sure that there is a quality of conformance. Verizon makes what are referred to now as  there is a quality of conformance. Verizon makes what are referred to now as “dumb” phones , which are relatively inexpensive. These low quality phones still have to pass a certain amount of specifications. The third dimension is known as the  abilities. They are availability, reliability, and maintainability. Availability is the continuity of service to the customer. The Verizon network is only good to customers when it is working. Customer cant use the service if the Verizon network is down or being serviced. Reliability is the length of time a product can be used before it fails or breaks. Now, with cell phones these days, reliability has become a bit of a problem. Some phones last years without any problems. Other phones, even the smart phones, sometimes fail. There are stories on the Verizon blog about customer using up to 4 of 5 phones in 2 years time. Now these aren’t Verizon’s fault, considering they do not make the cell phones, but it does reflect poorly on Verizon. Maintainability is how long it takes to fix the broken product or service. Verizon wants a quick turn around time when their service or phones are down. Cell phones that are not being used and plans that are not being used because they are broke, cost Verizon customers. If a phone cannot be fixed when the customer arrives at the Verizon store, Verizon will order a new phone, free of charge, or the customer can receive a refurbished phone. Verizon also has a hotline that customers can call with any questions about their phones or service. This hotline is open 24 hours a day , 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Field service is the last dimension. This has to do with warranties and repair of the product after it has been sold. Verizon does offer a warranty , as well as the cell phone companies themselves, as long as the damage is considered to be a malfunction in the phone. Phones dropped in water or broken by personal use may or may not be covered , depending on the cell phone carrier. But as stated before, Verizon will do whatever it takes to make sure your cell phone is fixed and up and running.   

   The quality system is very important to a service company like Verizon. Verizon needs to have a good quality system considering that their company is a service company. Verizon has to make sure that each and every customer has an enjoyable experience when dealing with Verizon sale representatives  or customer service agents. Customers are urged to take a survey to let Verizon know how they are doing as a company. For the future, it would in Verizon’s best interest to change some of their quality systems. Have a specific hotline for each company such as Blackberry, Lg, Motorola. Also, have knowledgeable sales and customer service representatives to better assist customers when they have software problems with their phones.   

1. For the company your team has selected, identify how the 4 dimensions of quality apply to their product or service. What quality systems do they currently have in place? Recommend some new ideas they should consider.  Post your answers on your team blog.

The 4 dimensions of quality apply to Verizon wireless. The first dimension of quality is the quality of design. This has to due with making sure the all of the customers needs are met with all of their new products. When Apple came out with the iphone, it was revolutionary. Verizon started to piece together idea about their new smart phones by asking customers what they liked and didn’t like about the iphone. Customers these days what smart phones that will make life easier for the user. The Droid phone by Verizon has an application called alert. If a phone is stolen, a alarm is sent to the phone. The phone then must be returned to Verizon to get the alarm off. This  dimension is all about the needs of the customers. The second dimension is the quality of conformance. This has to do with meeting a set of standards to make sure the product in question is up to par. Cell phone again are used by Verizon to make sure that there is a quality of conformance. Verizon makes what are referred to now as  there is a quality of conformance. Verizon makes what are referred to now as “dumb” phones , which are relatively inexpensive. These low quality phones still have to pass a certain amount of specifications. The third dimension is known as the  abilities. They are availability, reliability, and maintainability. Availability is the continuity of service to the customer. The Verizon network is only good to customers when it is working. Customer cant use the service if the Verizon network is down or being serviced. Reliability is the length of time a product can be used before it fails or breaks. Now, with cell phones these days, reliability has become a bit of a problem. Some phones last years without any problems. Other phones, even the smart phones, sometimes fail. There are stories on the Verizon blog about customer using up to 4 of 5 phones in 2 years time. Now these aren’t Verizon’s fault, considering they do not make the cell phones, but it does reflect poorly on Verizon. Maintainability is how long it takes to fix the broken product or service. Verizon wants a quick turn around time when their service or phones are down. Cell phones that are not being used and plans that are not being used because they are broke, cost Verizon customers. If a phone cannot be fixed when the customer arrives at the Verizon store, Verizon will order a new phone, free of charge, or the customer can receive a refurbished phone. Verizon also has a hotline that customers can call with any questions about their phones or service. This hotline is open 24 hours a day , 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Field service is the last dimension. This has to do with warranties and repair of the product after it has been sold. Verizon does offer a warranty , as well as the cell phone companies themselves, as long as the damage is considered to be a malfunction in the phone. Phones dropped in water or broken by personal use may or may not be covered , depending on the cell phone carrier. But as stated before, Verizon will do whatever it takes to make sure your cell phone is fixed and up and running.   

   The quality system is very important to a service company like Verizon. Verizon needs to have a good quality system considering that their company is a service company. Verizon has to make sure that each and every customer has an enjoyable experience when dealing with Verizon sale representatives  or customer service agents. Customers are urged to take a survey to let Verizon know how they are doing as a company. For the future, it would in Verizon’s best interest to change some of their quality systems. Have a specific hotline for each company such as Blackberry, Lg, Motorola. Also, have knowledgeable sales and customer service representatives to better assist customers when they have software problems with their phones.   

exter 6

2. For the company your team has selected, what quality control methods do they currently use (answer on your blog)? For instance, do they use QC charts? What type of inspection is used? Is continuous improvement used? If so, do they use Pareto analysis or fishbone diagrams? What about Six Sigma practices? Recommend some new ideas they should consider.

Verizon Wireless is known for their quality and immense  coverage area in the United States. Verzion prides themselves on not having ‘dead zones” which s areas where cell phone do not work. Quality control, as to many companies, the very important to Verizon.  After researching the company, we have found that Verizon uses the quality cycle. In this cycle , the customer needs are determined by marketing research or just feedback from the customers.  For many companies, this method makes the most sense because customers tell the companies what they need or want. The slogan for quality control is” Transferring customer stratification into 100% customer loyalty. “ By keeping customers happy, Verizon is ensuring that the customer will keep using Verizon and new customers will come to Verizon.  Verizon also uses what they call QMS which stands for QUALITY  Management Systems.  QMS is a method that Verizon checks weekly to make sure that their customers are 100% happy with their service and accounts. In this QMS system , Verizon also has checks points in this system to guarantee  customer satisfaction. They also have a list of goals that are to be met during every customer http://www.verizonbusiness.com/us/govt/contracts/seaport/vz_qa_program.pdf .

  Inspection is done by using the operator inspection. Since Verizon is a cell phone company, the phones they sell are not made by Verizon. LG, Motorola, Blackberry, HTC, are just some of the brands that they use, Inspection is done at the factory where these phones are made. Verizon receives the  phone that has already been inspected. Even if a cell phone breaks , the customer is told to send the phone back to the company that they bought it from. If a blackberry breaks, Verizon sends the phone to blackberry.  

  Six sigma practices consist of define, measure,analyze,improve,control.  I believe that if Verizon used this method, they could even be more successful.  By using their QMS method . there are some grey areas still. By using the six sigma approach, all the bases are covered. Even by using the Pareto chart, Verizon could benefit greatly from it. The Pareto chart shows the companies problems. By using this method, Verizon could narrow down the problems that they have with their service.   

team v7 diapers.com

Team 7

After reading the article about Diapers.com, I was shocked and amazed that a company just selling diapers could make 180 million in revenue in the year 2009. The idea is simple and very direct: Moms don’t have time to go buy diapers, so they do it online and it gets sent to their doors.  What I also found interesting was this statement “Lore has also developed an algorithm for figuring when and how much stock to reorder for a particular item”. He knows his exact re order point for every item that he has.  As shown last week in your class, these problems are not the easiest to solve.  The article goes on to talk about websites like Soap.com and Zappos also. These websites, including diapers.com, are great websites that provide simple goods to people. Think about soap.com, they sell soap online. Who would think that something like soap could sell online? Or even diapers in that matter. Amazon, who is a billion dollar corporation, started selling diapers  a year after diapers.com This company has grown into a huge company in less than 5 years. They have 3 distribution centers and ship all over the United States. This idea that im sure was turned down by many people as , for better lack of the words, stupid, is now a huge corporation that generates  hundreds of millions a dollar a year. People like  Marc Lore and Vinit Bharara just go to show you that a simple idea can be your ticket to fame and fortune

team 7

1. For the company your team has selected, identify:

·   the 3 elements of the service-product bundle

·   the cell they operate in on the service matrix

 The 3 elements of the service-product bundle are tangible goods, intangible goods, and physical goods. These 3 elements are also know as explicit goods, implicit goods, facilitating goods.  In the case of Verizon Wireless these 3 elements come into play. The first of the 3 is explicit goods. In the case of cell phone companies the explicit or tangible good would be the customer hoping that the service they receive is accurate and the person helping them in knowledgeable about their questions or products.  The facilitating goods are going to be the Verizon stores, the company and its customer service hotlines, even the employees themselves. Also in the category of the facilitating goods is the cell phone. Verizon is a cell phone company that is only as good as the phones that they use.   The implicit services will include how the customer was greeted when they walked into the store and how they felt about the interaction, how helpful and pleasant was this customers visit to the store and even customers getting exciting getting their new phones , which may have just have came out that day and is the new “must have” cell phone. All these services bundled together make Verizon the company that it is.

The cell that Verizon operates in the provider-routed  service. Picking a cell phone and its plan , a consumer has a certain amount of control of what he or she wants in that certain cell phone plan and phone.  In any one plan , a customer can get the data option for internet, texting options, email options, how many minutes they want to use, how many texts and data do they plan on using, pictures messaging , insurance on the phone, family plans , single plans,  and these days even certain applications that your plan can come with such as tv, radio, even ringtones and ring backs. A consumer of Verizon wireless can pick any  number of these options, but in the end Verizon decides how the service will be carried out. Yes consumers can pick all these options , but in the end Verizon will tell you when your weekend minutes start, when your “ free night time calling” will start, and when their service is down, no mat ter what your phone has , it still will not work for calls or anything  

 some types of customer contact they encounter and how they respond to it.  Do they use self service?  Do they use technology?  Do they use focused operations? How do they support employees?

Verizon , for the most part, encounter permeable customer contact. Meetings with customers and representatives from Verizon are usually done face to face or via telephone.  Verizon takes these face o face meetings and tries to assist the customer in any which way they can. Even on the telephone, Verizon has a automated  system that helps customers with whatever question or concern they may have. Verizon also has self service online. Online , a user can pick the phone he or she wants as well as the plan that best suits their needs. Also, Verizon allows users to pay their bills online and adjust their plans online, without the help of any Verizon personal. Technology is used because instead of sending a bill via mail, customers can go online and go paperless. This new paperless movement helps Verizon become more of a green company and allows the user to pay the bill on the spot.

   What types of service recovery and guarantees do they offer?

Like all consumer services, Verizon has a service recovery. If I get a phone and for some reason the phone doesn’t work or the service is faulty, Verizon will replace the phone for free, as long as the damage done to the phone was not self inflicted. Verizon associates will make sure that every customer is satisfied with their experience using Verizon. Another example is data recovery. If a person loses a phone , Verizon has a feature that stores all of that phones date onto Verizon data base. Pictures, texts messages, emails, documents, whatever may have been on that lost phone, Verizon can recover for the customer. Their newest service recovery is an alarm on cell phones. When a cell phone is lost or stolen, Verizon can send a message to that phone that will activate an alarm until that phone is returned to a Verizon store for proper inspection and de activation. A personal example of service recovery by Verizon was shown to myself a month ago. My data plan hadn’t been working for a week. When I called Verizon, they not only fixed the problem, but took off a fee from the data plan.

 Verizon guarantee is that they have the best coverage and 3g network around. Now, there is no promise that if it is not the best, Verizon will reimburse the customers. But, they do have what they call a return period for cell phones. If you are not completely satisfied  with the phone you purchased, Verizon has a one month period where said phone could be returned for a new one.