Customer returns were getting out of control at The Electronic Toy Shack. Approximately 65 percent of the toys carried by the company are made in China or Taiwan. Customers were queried by sales personnel when goods were returned about the reason for the return. After six months of gathering information from customers who provided responses, Toy Shack management had the following data.
Type of Complaint Number of Complaints
Did not perform as expected ........... 28
Found item cheaper elsewhere ............ 125
Instructions too complicated ............... 59
Instruction wording unclear ................ 85
Missing parts/ manual ......................... 14
Changed mind ..................................... 17
Used too many batteries too quickly ......... 31
Wasn’t fun ........................................... 19
Other ................................................... 12
a. Determine the percentage of complaints in each category and the cumulative percentage beginning with the largest complaint category.
b. Create a Pareto chart. (Directions on doing this with Microsoft Excel can be found at www.ehow.com/way_5798817_do-pareto-chart-microsoft-excel_.html.) Are these data consistent with the Pareto principle?
c. What actions would you suggest to Toy Shack’s management to help resolve customer compliant issues?