Reference no: EM133394968

Tom was pleased to get the contract, worth over $1,200. This is the third or fourth contract in the same subdivision because of word-of-mouth advertising. His employees completed the initial sod removal and replacement, spraying and fertilizing, weeding, and pruning on Friday (June 26). Tom called Stu to inform him of that fact and he thanked Tom, then gave a credit card number for full payment at that time, since he was out of town. Tom received a call from Stu on Monday (June 29) morning when he returned from his trip. He stated that several trees were not trimmed to his satisfaction, some debris covering decorative rocks along hedges was not removed as agreed, and two bags of clippings had been left behind in the side yard. Because of other commitments, it was Wednesday afternoon (July 1) before Tom could send someone out to finish the job. On Thursday morning (July 2) there was an angry message on Toms answering machine from Stu stating that there was still an untrimmed tree and the clippings were still in the side yard. A personal emergency occurred, and Tom forgot to return his call until late that afternoon. Tom had to leave a voice message since no one answered. Stu called again Friday morning (July 3) demanding that Tom send someone to fix the issues he'd told Tom about in previous calls and stated, " This needs to done before noon today! There is a party with 40 people coming tomorrow!" He also stated that he was NOT impressed with Tom's company and would never use or recommend him again. Tom sent over a team to complete the job within an hour. Tom's supervisor called to inform him that there was no one home, but that they had taken care of the situation. It has been several days since the work was completed, and Tom assumes that Stu is now satisfied since he has heard nothing else from him.

Questions

1. How has Tom done on providing service to Stu? Explain.

2. What were Stu's needs in this case?

3. Could Tom have done anything differently?

4. Should Tom follow up with Stu? Why or why not?

5. If Tom had planned to follow up with Stu, should he do it in person or on the telephone and what should he say? Explain why.