Introduction
We are in the middle of a public relations crisis due to the actions of two new employees. According to Mr. Henry Stewart, the incompetence of two new employees has led to the death of his prized koi fish. He has reported over $2,000 in losses and the problem of rude employees and has demanded remittance immediately. Otherwise, he intends to file a lawsuit. He has also posted his complaint publicly on the company blog. As you know, Mr. Stewart’s real estate referrals have been a great source of revenue for this company for many years. I would suggest that we appeal to Mr. Stewart’s requests without prejudice based on our findings.
Findings
Following the complaint from Mr. Henry Stewart, we have conducted an investigation to ascertain his claims. The investigation involved ascertaining whether the employees who were assigned the task were qualified for the job and whether the right procedures were followed.
Our internal investigation results have shown that the work assignment oversight was the result of both employees falsely claiming their LCLM certifications. Our human resources department did not verify the certifications of two new employees’ applications. The two employees in question have also received two other customer service complaints.
The investigations also found out that the right procedures were not followed during the work assignment. First, the pesticides used were not mixed in the proper ratio. Additionally, the employees did not take precaution measures such as covering the fish pond before spraying the chemical. This allowed the chemical to enter the fish pond, raising the toxic level that killed all the fish.
The two new employees should be fired without pay due to the breach of agreements between us. The human resources department representative should be terminated immediately for incompetence. A formal apology written by our public relations department to Mr. Stewart with full remittance needs to be posted on the company blog as soon as possible. In an effort to prepare our employees to handle many different customer service scenarios, formal customer service training is being requested for all current and new employees.
Discussion
Mr. Harrelson assumed that the two employees were well qualified given their resumes, certifications, background checks, and references completed by the human resources department representative.
The chemicals used in the application were not mixed in the proper ratio, and the pond was not covered before the application, resulting in toxic levels reaching Mr. Stewarts koi pond and consequently killing his koi fish.
We have double-checked the work assignments of the two new workers to verify whether or not these two employees applied pesticide spray on other properties. The good news is that this situation is an isolated event, as these two employees were not assigned to spray other properties.
Recommendations
From the findings of the investigation, the company’s reputation has been damaged following the actions of the two employees. To prevent further damage to the company’s image and possible lawsuit, I would make the following recommendations:
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Apology to MR. Stewart
The company should make a formal apology to Mr. Stewart posted to the company blog acknowledging our oversight that lead to this situation. A formal apology will help to restore public confidence and good image of the company.
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Compensate
Stewart for the Loss
The company should compensate MR. Stewart for the death of his Koi fish. The compensation should be done before he files a lawsuit against the company. I would recommend a compensation of $3000 to be credited to his account immediately. I would also recommend that a reimbursement is covering his cost to hire a water garden specialist to restore his pond to a healthy livable condition be covered. In an effort to keep his business, the company should extend a generous offer of free service for one year.
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Fire the Employees
The two new employees should be fired without pay due to the breach of agreements between us. The employees had lied about their LCLM certifications and thus they are not qualified to continue working in the company.
- Fire the Human Resource Representative for Incompetence
It was found that the human resources department representative was incompetent by not verifying the new hires employment package. The routine checks used to prevent the hiring of unqualified personnel were not completed, reportedly because of the high number of new hires coming into the company. They were rushed, overworked and poor communications between representatives left many applications uncertified. Thus, the representative should be fired for incompetence.
- Enhance Customer Service
A good reputation can be destroyed easily by unsatisfied clients. Our community is small, and everyone knows each other. The best advertising of the company comes from the mouths of happy customers and this is why I feel that it is necessary to allocate funds for customer service, logical and analytical thinking. The company should implement a zero-tolerance policy for poor customer service. The policy should be put into effect after formal training has been conducted. Those who do not follow simple business etiquette practices should be terminated appropriately.
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Introduce Motivational Program
In addition, I would like to introduce a motivational program that will reward each employee monetarily for positive customer service comments. We will be conducting monthly unannounced visits to various work assignments to see whether our employees correspond to the roles they are playing within our company. This will entice employee’s motivation to make customer service a priority. Not only will the employees be positively rewarded, but our company image will also surely improve.
Limitations
One of the major limitations experience in the course of the investigation was limited time. There was limited time to conduct a thorough investigation of the matter that needed to be addressed urgently before Mr. Stewart file a case against the company for the loss. There was also limited information since the involved employees failed to give accurate information.
Conclusion
In conclusion, despite being the only company in the area with such a specific specialty, there is no guarantee that we will remain the sole company providing these services. Our employees must receive the best training available. We need to expand our employee training to include comprehensive, logical, and analytical thinking to prevent mistakes, which lead to the company losing its reputable public image.
I have the utmost confidence that accomplishing the aforementioned steps, it will prevent similar situations from ever occurring again and will put Green Wave Landscape Management on the road to extraordinary success.