In every competitive business environment, businesses confuse between the best type of business

model to choose for their businesses. Most company focus on competitor focused, product
focused and technology focused, rather than being customer focused because customers are
always very important to a business, and it is always cheaper t retain existing customers rather
than getting new customers. Where people go wrong is by confusing also between service
delivery, good manners and products. Services to customers are very crucial, because they are
not physical objects to be touched, but rather, are experiences that customers feel and they do
always remember.
The reason as to why I chose this case, is because it’s a clear illustration of what the slogan “
customer is always right ”, and what a “customer centric ” type of business model means to a
company. In reflection to the slogan, service staff should always give high priority to customer
satisfaction and it goes hand in hand with being customer centric, where the business aims at
providing customers with the best experience in order to maintain profits, and build a string of
trust and loyalty with the customers, that last for long. The relevance of this case study is that it
focuses on the company to customer service gap model where the customers expectationa snd
perceptions are much important to the sustainability of a business, in relation to its service
delivery to its customers, communications between both parties and the company
understanding its customers needs, in order to sustain and retain its customer basis.
In this case study, Jane hates the Swedish retailer because she had ordered a wardrobe a week
before from the retailers, and it had not been delivered. Jane decided to pick it up by herself
only to have the worst customer service ever, since even being served by the company was a big
problem. After all, she found out that the store did not have her ordered product. In this case,
the Swedish store does not understand the knowledge gap between them and the customers
expectations in terms of service delivery. It could be that the store does not really understand
its customers expectations due to poor relationship focus and failure to listen to the customers
complaints. The second scenario, Jane is sent to a nearby IKEA’s distribution center and its also a
worst place as she had to wait for half an hour for the generation of her receipt because the
company had lost her order request barely a week after placing her order. The company also
has poor customer services, as they do not keep their customers records, which can help them
learn about their market needs to help them satisfy their customers requests. The company also
does not understand its policy gap probably due to its poor management and lack of customer
service standards. This makes Jane sob because the product she had ordered did not meet her
expectations. Jane tries to face what she was in search for and decides to wslk away. Therefore,
failure by a business to meet the policy gap, causes the customers to seek for a similar service
but with better services than the latter, and this is evident in the case study as, Jane is informed
about Argos and Sainsbury stores that offer similar furniture products and this makes her smile
and says that she shall never again return to neither the Swedish retailers nor the IKEA’s
distribution due to poor customer services.
In conclusion, without customers, then there are no sales, and without sales, there can be no
revenue, nor profits. Therefore, its crucial for businesses to streamline their supply chain
strategies, by satisfying their customers with the expected products at relatively low costs. This
can be seen in the case study, where Jane sobs because with the anticipation she had for the
wardrobe, the company was not able to satisfy her needs, despite providing them at an
affordable price. Therefore, to improve the customers satisfaction and lower the riskof losing
customers, businesses should meet their demand and supply gaps and ensurethey drive down
their costs.