The Case of the Dysfunctional Team
PrimeCell is a national provider of cell phone services targeted towards customers wanting a no-contract, pay-as- you-go relationship. The customer service branch of the Northeast Region is run by Mr. Bill Welch. Bill manages a team of five customer service representatives. He was recently hired by Ms Sally Gates, the Customer Operations Division chief, to head PrimeCell's customer service branch after the previous branch chief walked out unexpectedly because he couldn't stand the bickering among the customer service representatives. Mr. Welch is 42 years old and has extensive previous service in customer service management.
Jane , one of Bill's reps, is a 52-year-old call-center assistant. She is very responsive to customers but not very helpful to the younger call-center representatives.
Ted is the youngest call-center representative but even at the age of 24, he has more experience than anyone in the customer service branch except Jane and Bill. Ted likes working at PrimeCell but resents that his ideas for customer problem resolutions are not respected; instead, he is required to follow a template that flowcharts actions required from the beginning of a customer complaint to the resolution of the problem for the customer.
Mary is a 34-year-old who was hired several months ago. She is struggling with her job because nobody in the office talks to her. She is also required to follow a template in resolving customer complaints but doesn't know what to do when a customer has a problem not addressed in the customer service manual.
Mamie , a 24-year-old recently graduated from college, is also a new hire. She doesn't identify with Mary, who is older but less educated. She doesn't like Ted or Jane either, but she respects Mr. Welch. Mamie took this job just to have something to do until she could find employment in the area of her college major, which is music appreciation. She tries to do what Ted does because she is shy...