Ann picked up the phone. She heard a frantic voice on the other ...

[tuffie]

Ann picked up the phone. She heard a frantic voice on the other end of the line and knew immediately that it was Greg, one of her best customers to whom she had just made a rather large and profitable sale.
 
  Ann, Greg said frantically, Remember those parts you sold me? They were supposed to arrive yesterday. They're still not here and my production line is going down. I've got the line supervisor and the production manager in my face asking when those parts will be here. Where are they?
 
  Ann paused for a moment and then replied. Let me go see what I can find out, and I'll call you right back..
 
  Ann called the production department only to find out that there was a quality control issue, and the parts had not yet shipped. Furthermore, they would not be shipped until quality control personnel could diagnose the problem, which might be in a few hours or a few days. Ann wondered what action she should take.
 
  Is there any other action Ann can take?

Question 2

Ann picked up the phone. She heard a frantic voice on the other end of the line and knew immediately that it was Greg, one of her best customers to whom she had just made a rather large and profitable sale.
 
  Ann, Greg said frantically, Remember those parts you sold me? They were supposed to arrive yesterday. They're still not here and my production line is going down. I've got the line supervisor and the production manager in my face asking when those parts will be here. Where are they?
 
  Ann paused for a moment and then replied. Let me go see what I can find out, and I'll call you right back..
 
  Ann called the production department only to find out that there was a quality control issue, and the parts had not yet shipped. Furthermore, they would not be shipped until quality control personnel could diagnose the problem, which might be in a few hours or a few days. Ann wondered what action she should take.
 
  In hindsight, is there any prior action Ann could have taken to prevent this crisis?

[katheyjon]

Answer to Question 1

This crisis might be a wake-up call to Ann concerning her relationships (not only with her customers) but with her co-workers as well. Who else in the firm is important to her sales success? It may be the vice-president of quality control who needs to revise the company handbook so that the sales representative is immediately notified if a shipment is delayed due to quality issues, or it could be the mail room attendant who makes sure that the samples sent to customers go out in the early mail so the customers receive them sooner than expected. Selling depends on relationships; while many of those relationships are external to the company (i.e., customers), relationships within the company are also important.

Answer to Question 2

This role play underscores the importance of communication between the sales representative and all co-workers involved in product production. Ann needs to be certain she has good rapport with the quality control staff and/or supervisor; ideally someone would have notified her as soon as a problem with the parts was detected. Then Ann could have informed the customer and made alternative arrangements instead of the customer informing Ann about the problem. Unfortunately, this incident does not reflect well upon the company; if Ann loses this account, the company loses too.