Case study

1. Read the scenario

2. As a group, discuss possible solutions to the scenario as the person designated. Pick a reporter to write down these ideas for your group. Write down the key points on a flip chart sheet.

3. When the large group gets back together, the reporter will present your group’s solutions to the larger group.

TOM AND THE COPY MACHINE
INSTRUCTIONS: READ AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS BELOW.
Tom is setting up the meeting room for the next group when he is paged to the front desk. As he approaches the desk, he spots a very angry customer, waving sheets of paper at the circulation staffer at the front desk.

“I pay taxes and this is what I get – a rotten copy machine that crumpled these sheets of paper after taking all my quarters! Who fixes these machines? I’ve been waiting at least 15 minutes!”

The circulation staffer gestures to Tom and tells the customer that Tom will be able to help him. Tom takes a deep breath, smiles at the customer and says, “I’m sorry you’ve been having a problem with the copy machine. Sometimes they can be temperamental. Let’s go over the machine you used and see what I can do.”

The customer huffs and puffs, but does walk with Tom to the copy machine, saying “I expect to get my money back for these lousy copies! You should have better copiers in your library!” Tom says, “I’d like to ask your help for just a minute. Would you explain to me exactly what you did when you used the machine that crumpled these pages?”

The customer eagerly explains every step he took while Tom listens and nods his head. When the story is finished, Tom asks the customer if he noticed any red light blinking on the copy machine. “No! I don’t have time to notice lights on any machine!” Tom explains that he thinks the copier malfunctioned and that the blinking red light might have been the signal. He tells the customer that he thinks he can quickly fix the machine. “Do you have time to wait for the fix? Then you can make some correct copies.” The customer says, “Well, I only have a little time. But I’ll wait if you can really fix it!”

Tom goes to work on the machine and makes several adjustments. As he works he talks with the customer about machines and how he likes to tinker with them. Once he finishes the adjustment, Tom asks the customer to make some new copies at no charge. He asks, “Are these new copies okay with you?”

The customer nods his head. Tom asks, “Now, does this solve your copy problem?” The customer nods his head. Tom says, “Is there anything else you need today?” The customer says, “No, I really needed you to fix this machine because I didn’t want to drive down the copy center at the shopping mall. I only had a short time to copy these. Bye!” The customer hurries away and Tom takes the crumpled papers and tosses them in the trash.

Questions
1. What was the first thing Tom did to help diffuse the angry customer? What were other methods Tom used to calm the customer?

The first thing Tom did was to apologise to the angry customer and to assume that the problem was with the temperamental photocopier, not the customer. Tom listened and nodded his while the customer explained what he had done. Tom explained what he thought was the problem and while he managed to fix the photocopier, engaged the customer in a conversation. Tom provided the photocopied papers free of charge and asks if they met the customer’s satisfaction. He asked if there was anything else he could help with before the customer left.

2. How did Tom find out the exact problem? Identify steps he took with the customer.

Tom found out the exact problem when he asked if the customer had noticed a red blinking light on the copy machine. The customer hadn’t noticed it, so Tom had to look for it before he was able to fix the problem. When Tom asked if there was anything else he could help the customer with, he found that the customer had only had a short time to photocopy the papers and hadn’t wanted to drive to the copy center at the shopping mall.

3. At the conclusion of the scenario, was the customer satisfied with the result? How do you know?

We assume the customer was satisfied with the result because Tom didn’t charge him for them and he nodded his head when Tom asked him if his problem was solved.

4. How could Tom have received some recognition for his transition with the customer?

The customer could have thanked Tom for fixing the photocopier and giving him free copies.