A home improvement store is interested in tracking why customers return merchandise. An employee suggests developing a spreadsheet to track the reasons for returns. He suggests that the return personnel tally the following: number customers who simply changed their minds; number of customers returning items that do not perform according to specifications; and number of customers who cite that they expected different functionality from the products.

a. Does the information regarding reasons for merchandise returns seem relevant for the store?

b. Keeping in mind the cost-benefit information constraint, does the suggestion seem appropriate? Will the costs of gathering and analyzing the data as well as the potential delay in serving customers justify the benefits to be derived from analyzing the results?