Ryanair customers service problems in 2013 Assignment

Ryanair customers service problems in 2013 - Assignment Example In the next step, the airline raised the weight limit for carry-on bags while also hiking fees for overweight checked baggage. In addition, there were hidden credit card charges, ?100 for amending a passenger name, taxes and fees to be paid with frequent delays and overall poor customer service (Hickman, 2009). Ryanair CEO is also known to call his passengers â€Å"stupid† and â€Å"idiot† if they do not print the boarding passes ahead of the flight (Independent Traveller, 2011). Apparently such remarks were prompted by a customer who complained of being charged 60 Euros for not having the boarding pass printed. The shareholders complained against the tarnished reputation of the airline after Ryanair refused to refund the fare of a dead passenger and after the CEO’s comments that he was not interested in â€Å"sob stories† when no refund came through (Bennett, 2013). The arrogance of executives is another factor that has affected service. Ineffective commu nication and poor marketing by Ryanair further aggravates the situation. Thus the issues that have severely affected customer service include hidden costs, low knowledge of the service staff, inadequate staff, and the rude and arrogant attitude of the executives. The factors that have driven the airline to undertake strategic restructuring include a warning that its profits could be lower than the lower end of its guidance. The biggest blow came when the brand was voted the worst of the 100 biggest brands in the UK (Eleftheriou-Smith, 2013). Restructuring has become essential as the airline envisages growth in its customer base from 80m to 110m over the next five years (Ryanair News, October 25, 2013). The methodology used for this report would be content analysis based on a qualitative approach which is a text analysis approach to analyse the data collected from the company website. This would enable to explore how the company intends to improve its relationship with customers. In 2013, Ryanair has decided to take certain steps towards better customer service including being â€Å"nice to customers† (Bennett, 2013). The CEO has decided to end the â€Å"macho† culture and accept the blame or responsibility for the abrupt culture in the organization that has affected customer service. These steps are geared to change the reputation of the airlines and retain customers. One of the first initiatives that Ryanair has taken is to introduce digital marketing strategy which it announced at its AGM. The airline is investing significantly in improving the website, the mobile platform and interaction with passengers using the social media (Ryanair News, September 20, 2013). Website Website would allow customers to enter their details and save them, thereby reducing booking time for all future bookings. This service known as â€Å"My Ryanair† would help them store their information and data securely on the Ryanair website for future ease of booking ( Ryanair News, October 30, 2013). However, this is expected to go live by December end. The recaptcha security feature was quite annoying which has been removed for individual customers starting October 1, 2013 (Ryanair News, September 20, 2013). It would continue to remain in place for high volume bookers, travel agents and screenscrapers. Removal of recaptcha will speed and simplify the booking process. This is aimed at deterring travel agents and other

Unethical trade practices of Tesco on fresh produce from developing Essay

Unethical trade practices of Tesco on fresh produce from developing countries - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that the impact of unethical practices of business especially conducted by multinational corporations has long been the center of debates. Multinational companies operating in developing countries in the complex supply chain and the increased international trades, their business activities and decisions can have a profound impact on local communities and people from developing countries, which are producers in the supply chain. According to the ILO, agriculture is the largest sector of employment in most developing countries, which employs one-third of the world’s labor force. Many families and people rely on agricultural and production for export for their livelihoods. Agricultural supply chains are complex and international. However, it is considered a vulnerable sector for its high production cost, price fluctuations, and the unbalanced market power. In the complex supply chain, multinational companies that purchase their products from developing countries can have immense impacts on people living in those countries. In the international market, actions taken by the dominant buyers and retailers may create a situation where it undermines the capacity of suppliers and compromises farmers and worker’s basic rights. According to Wearden, the United Kingdom imports over 90 percent of its fresh fruits and 60% vegetables from other countries each year. These products are imported mainly from European countries and some developing African countries such as Kenya and Morocco and have estimated value of GBP 1.5 billion per annum. In the UK, a small number of retailers dominate the food retail market a factor which is seen to in turn generally contribute to the power imbalance in the trading relationship between purchasers and suppliers. According to the UK Competition Commission, supermarket chains are increasingly exerting pressure on suppliers and farmers from developing countries to conform to ethical stand ards. Tesco PLC is the grocery market leader in the United Kingdom with a market share of around 30 percent in 2013. It is one of the world’s largest merchandise retailers. TESCO was founded by Jack Cohen in 1919 as a group of grocery stalls in East End of London. In forming the name TESCO, the first two letter of Jack Cohen’s his surname were combined with the initials of his tea supplier, Thomas Edward Stockwell. The first Tesco store was opened in Middlesex in 1229. Originally Tesco focused its business on grocery retailer until the early 1990s when it diversified its products and services into a wider range inclusive of items such as clothing, furniture, books, DVD rental electronics, financial services, internet services and software in addition to its expanding its business abroad. Since then Tesco has continued to grow and offers new services in addition to opening new stores globally with a principle to sell a wide range of quality products at lower prices for everyone. In the present, Tesco has more than 6,500 stores worldwide and employs over 500,000 staffs around the world. Tesco is considered to be Britain’s biggest and most profitable supermarket chain and is currently seen to be expanding globally at a rapid rate. In 2013, Tesco announced its group trading profit before tax at GBP 3.5 billion with the UK sales accounting for over GBP 2 billion. With its aggressive worldwide expansions, Tesco purchases its products from suppliers in over 70 countries around the world. Given its continual success and the highest market share in the UK retails market, Tesco is in a powerful position, especially in grocery supply chain.