Rubrics Key
This key is only meant to guide the judge in the Oral event. As a team and with your Series Director, discuss
various scenarios and, as a consensus, decide on a model to follow.
RMS Oral Event 1 Answer Key
1. Reinforce service orientation through communications.
 staff to be trained in proper customer service techniques, including greeting customers, asking to assist
them, wishing them a good day when leaving, etc.
 customer service training, tips and messages to take place on on-going basis in staff meetings,
employee newsletters, employee bulletin boards
 training to include role plays of customer service situations
 thanking customer to be part of role plays concluding transactions at cash
 employees must make it clear to customers that we want to help them; the whole experience in our
store must be positive
 open communication from customer – employees – management (full circle)
 customers can be given opportunity to fill out comment cards/on-line surveys, perhaps with chance to
win something/discounts
 employees also be given chance to fill out feedback forms, surveys, suggestions
2. Explain the nature of positive customer relations.
 Meet the needs of the customer 100% of the time
 Customer service is a critical part of any business
 Happy customers return to the store, unhappy ones do not and then complain to other people about
the treatment they received
 Businesses which have good customer service have more returning customers and are more profitable
 Important for customers to leave on a happy note, feeling good about their experience so they will
come back
3. Explain the use of descriptive statistics in marketing decision making.
 Stats can be used to set goals and measure performance in achieving those goals
 Stats used to know where to focus marketing efforts, e.g., if large proportion of population doesn’t
recognize our brand/logo, we might want to focus efforts on increasing awareness
 If stats show customers are not thanked to conclude a transaction or are left with an ambivalent
feeling, we can focus our efforts on improving our relations with customers
4. Explain the nature of marketing plans.
 Marketing plans used to meet goals
 Marketing plans set a goal and then develop a plan to achieve the goal
 Goals may be short, medium or long range
 Use customer surveys, stats to measure achievement
 Marketing plans may include strategies for product, price, place and promotion
 Customer service will fall under the product plan – service is part of the package we are selling to the
customer, a reason to make them come back
5. Demonstrate a customer-service mindset.
 Greet the customer when they enter the store
 Ask to help customers in the store
 Smile
 Listen to customer questions & answer politely
 At cash register, ask if they were able to find everything they were looking for
 After completing the transaction, thank them for their business and wish them a good day
 Provide customer surveys to get feedback – could be every 10th customer or could be every customer
 Customer comment cards available in store and on website if store has one
 Customers who complete survey may have chance to win products or discounts
 Could send emails to customers on mailing list advising of special promotions of products or services,
e.g., free blood pressure testing
During the course of the role play, these questions are to be asked:
1. How will we evaluate the plan you recommended to determine if it is working?
 Evaluate based on customer service surveys and comment cards
 Do similar field research as prior to implementation of the plan and determine if results have
improved – more customers should remember being thanked and wished a good day
2. How will you communicate your plan to OLSON employees and managers?
 Customer service plan to be communicated through staff meetings, retraining, bulletin boards,
staff newsletters
Rubrics Key
This key is only meant to guide the judge in the Oral event. As a team and with your Series Director, discuss
various scenarios and, as a consensus, decide on a model to follow.
RMS Oral Event 2 Answer Key
1. Explain the nature and scope of channel management.
 Need to find a way to get laundry to and from temporary pickup point to cleaners and back
 Laundry transfer must be timely and without loss of laundry
 Need to develop routine procedures to ensure that transfer runs smoothly
 All employees must be trained in proper customer service – employees at temporary location and at
main location
2. Explain the relationship between customer service and channel management.
 Customer service is key to our business
 Happy customers will keep coming back
 Unhappy customers will complain to their friends and look for alternatives to our business
 Customers must feel that this is an easy transaction for them – if it is difficult to drop off their laundry,
they’ll look for an alternative
 Must have same pleasant experience at transfer point as they regularly get at main location
3. Identify sources that provide relevant, valid written material.
 Local newspapers will provide construction information and updates
 Coupons can be provided in the temporary location, through newspaper, local coupon clipper
magazines, flyers
 In-store flyers to provide details of construction updates
 Mobile sign outside main location to provide address of new temporary location
 Mobile sign outside new location making people aware of its existence, specials
4. Coordinate channel management with other marketing activities.
 Prior to commencement of construction, advertise in store and tell customers of new drop off/pick up
location
 If we have email list of customers, send them an email with details of upcoming construction and how
we will handle it; include coupons in email
 Hand out flyers with details of new temporary location (address, hours, details of drop off/pick up
information) and coupon for discount during construction period; flyer could include a coupon for each
month of projected construction period – emphasizes 3 month duration
 Flyers to be given out at store and put in local newspaper
 Offer incentives to customers to stay with us through the construction period, e.g., clean three for the
price of two, construction discounts/specials – pick one item to clean at a reduced rate for each month
of construction
5. Explain the role of customer service as a component of selling relationships.
 Customer service is key to our business
 Service is our business
 Make this as easy as possible for customers
 Listen to customer needs, greet with a smile, thank them for their business, thank them for staying
with us through construction period
 Happy customers are repeat customers
During the course of the role-play, these questions are to be asked:
1. What additional employees will we have to hire during the three months of road construction?
 Limited new employees – we will need fewer employees at main store to take laundry in since
there will be far fewer customers coming in; these surplus employees can be transferred to
new location (don’t transfer all – still may need someone to greet customers at main location)
 Will need a driver to transfer laundry back and forth – may have an employee who can do this
already, but may have to hire someone
2. What kind of signage must our business put up to direct customers to a different drop-off location?
Who must approve the signage?
 Mobile sign outside each location
 Flyers inside main location
 Newspaper ad prior to construction
 Owner should approve signage
3. Should I attend a city council meeting to express my concerns about the road construction project?
What concessions should I ask from the city?
 Yes, attend a meeting – all affected businesses should be going and could support each other at
the meetings
 Concessions – city should pay for some of the signage, ask for concession on property tax
during construction period