Assessing different approaches to customer service

For my Customer Service Unit I will be interviewing two leisure centres, College of St. Mark and St. John and the Mayflower leisure Centre. I have chosen these two centres because they are slightly different and I thought it would be interesting to see how different companies have different customer service. The College of St. Mark and St. John is in Derriford, Plymouth. It covers a very large area and its facilities include a 25 metre indoor heated swimming pool, a fitness suite, two squash courts, a fully equipped gymnasium, three sports halls, each with four badminton courts and a specialist built-in rock-climbing wall, computing facilities, and an outdoor pursuits centre. In addition to extensive playing fields, there is a full size all-weather floodlit pitch for top level hockey and football. A smaller all-weather surface accommodates tennis and provides a good training surface all year round. In addition to this there is a 36m. square sports hall for participation in a variety of sports which is also large enough to accommodate Trade Fairs and other large events; a gymnasium for martial arts, aerobics, ‘step' and tone & trim classes; a standard size sports hall available for volleyball, basketball, badminton; 2 squash courts and a Fitness Suite with up to date cardiovascular and weight training equipment. Although this sports centre is within the college, it is open to any member of the public, not just the students at the college. The Mayflower Leisure Centre is situated in Central Park, Plymouth. It is quite old and may need to be revamped within the next few years. It's facilities include a fitness suite which has treadmills, cross trainers, climbers, bikes, rowers and resistance machines and it also has squash courts, indoor bowls and sun beds. There are two sports halls, one is a 5-a-side football hall and the other is a multi purpose sports hall, which can house badminton, volleyball, basketball, short tennis and dry board diving. The College of St. Mark and St. John is a sports college therefore it has numerous amounts of sports facilities. The college is a Church of England voluntary college, with a history of over 150 years and it moved from London to Plymouth in 1973. The Mayflower Leisure Centre is quite old, as I mentioned previously but is the most well used public sector leisure facility in the area. It works in close partnership with the Central Park Swimming Pool which is it's neighbouring building. To find out the information I want, I am going to visit each venue for an interview. For letter, see Appendix 1. I am going to ask them several questions on different topics to find out as much as I can about the Customer Service in their establishment. For questions, see Appendix 2. I will then analyse the answers of the questions and compare the two companies to see who has the best customer service.

Fast Food America Essay

Fast food has become a major phenomenon here in America. According to Eric Schlosser, he writes in the New York Times, on average $301,369,863 is spent a day on fast food. As Schlosser shows, American people are abusing fast food. In accordance with fast food binging, obesity has become a widespread epidemic. According to Joseph Mercola M. D. , on a personal website states obesity is, â€Å"A chronic condition that develops as a result of an interaction between a person’s genetic makeup and their environment. † Here Dr. Mercola expresses how obesity is directly related to an individual’s environment. Today it is not uncommon to find major fast food chains with in a short distance from residential areas. With so many choices for fast food, Americans turn to the fast food as an alternative to the healthy home cooked meal. The reason for so many Americans eating out is simply because they are in a hurry or unable to cook and just want something fast and easy. A majority of these people get into the habit of constantly eating at these fast food chains. According to Morgan Spurlock, in his documentary Super Size Me, he quotes Elliot Bloom, a young marketing wiz for Taco Bell, â€Å"The fast food chains were sustained by a large group of diners who ate out more than twenty times a month. A big chunk of this group, about 30% of customers, were considered to be â€Å"heavy users† and accountable for bringing in a whopping 70% of total revenue. † These numbers show how important fast food has become to Americans daily eating habits, and further demonstrates the connection between fast food eating and the increases in obesity. Accordingly, excessive amounts of fast food can be very damaging to ones body, and there is proof to back up this claim. Director Morgan Spurlock, set out to document a strictly fast food diet, â€Å"I am trying to prove, fast food makes someone fat. † Spurlock closely documented his thirty-day McDonalds binge, eating only foods and beverages served at the one of the many â€Å"Golden Arches. † Over the thirty-days, he underwent some amazing conditions that even the doctors and health care professionals could not have predicted. Besides the usual changes which included skyrocketing cholesterol and a major increase in body fat, his liver was showing signs similar to that of a smoker. Though the symptoms that Spurlock experienced were on a very drastic scale, this is what is slowly damaging many Americans who are unable to control their fast food cravings. Research has shown the severity of obesity since the late 1980’s, and the studies show the common health problems related with obesity are Type 2 Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, and Osteoarthritis. However, little is known publicly about the dangers of obesity, and the future repercussions if obesity. According to Nanci Hellmich, writing in the USA Today, she states that, â€Å"Overall, employers and privately insured families spent approximately $36. 5 billion on obesity-linked illnesses in 2002, up from an inflation-adjusted $3. 6 billion in 1987. † Hellmich’s statistics show a tenfold increase in obesity spending over a span of fifteen years. If obesity continues to increase at this rate, in the future obesity may become the deadliest disease in America. Hellmich goes on to say, â€Å"On average, treating an obese person cost $1,244 more in 2002 than treating a healthy-weight person did. In 1987, the gap was $272. † As Hellmich shows in her quote, there exist a connection between obesity and increasing health care cost. Since the majority of Americans pay for health care, the epidemic spreads beyond those affected directly, and raises prices for the healthy Americans too. Hellmich shows there is a cause for concern, simply because obesity has predominately increased over the past two decades. The problem starts with the media which influences Americans eating habits on a daily basis. Today Americans have numerous choices in fast food as compared to five to ten years ago. As well as more commercials there exists the convenience of eating fast food. Within minutes, fast food is ready to serve at most fast food restaurants, and for relatively cheap. Besides the fact food preparation is fast, every year thousands of commercials can be seen on TV. According to Spurlock, on average a single person watches about 10,000 different commercials per year, most of them being junk or fast food products. These influential commercials broadcast smart slogans and offer cheap food to attract customers. In a recent survey, at the Brea Mall Food Court, when asked if they ate on a daily basis, 28 % of males said yes, while 25% of women said they too ate out daily. A surprising portion of people, 30% said they enjoyed the taste and quality, while majority about 46% said there was no time to cook at home because of work or hectic schedules. With so many great food specials and a plethora of commercials, its no wonder Americans turn to fast food for meals. Fast food is practical, quick, and reasonably cheap, though unhealthy many seem to no care. The first signs of concern came in 2003 when legislation was passed by Congress to help to slow obesity among children. The new law banned all junk foods from public schools and enforced new cafeteria food requirements. Robert Colin Carter a medical researcher from the John Hopkins School of Medicine showed that the meals served prior to changes by school cafeteria’s exceeded the newly established limits for total and saturated fats, set by the National School Lunch Program and National School Breakfast Program. Here Carter shows the importance for the legislation, as well as exposing children to healthier foods. In a recent interview, with Sonya Dravenstatt, a School Nutrionist, she stated, â€Å"The new menu now consists of vegetables, low calorie pizzas, and salads. The unhealthy items such as Tatter-tots and French Fries have been substituted with corn, green beans, and fruit cocktail. † As Mrs. Dravenstatt mentioned, the meals are better for the students and follow the limits recently established by NSLP and NSBP. As well as healthier foods in cafeterias, there has been a fairly recent ban of â€Å"unhealthy† foods and drinks in public school vending machines. The soda selection has been exchanged with Dasani water, Minute Maid Juices, and various PowerAde flavors. As for food, all candy and snacks high in fat and sugar have been replaced with healthy low fat alternatives. As well as the changes Spurlock noted in his documentary, there has also been recent public out cry for fast food restaurants to create healthier portions. â€Å"In 2004 McDonald’s forever banished their Super Sized soft drinks and fries, and in 2005 Arby’s abolished their Giant Size offerings. While removing these bigger portions from the menu, food chains like McDonald’s now offer healthier portions and substitutions. For example french fries can be replaced with a side of apple slices or mini salad and instead of soda a variety of juices are offered† (Spurlock). These healthier changes need to be continued due to the fact fast food is a major contributor to obesity. However, the change must begin with the consumers. The numbers show that people are dining out too often and it is affecting their physical health. Since a majority of Americans are either unaware or uninformed on how to prevent obesity, the solution should be enforced by the Government. By issuing a plan of action for fast food companies, a majority of unhealthy food can be exchanged with healthier portions. If the Government passed legislation subjecting fast food chains to restrictions on what consumers can purchase, maybe then fast food consumption could help the obesity epidemic. Fast food companies need to abide by nutrition laws, in the same way schools do, to protect naive consumers. The creation of a program could strictly regulate the unhealthy content commonly found in fast food. A program with capabilities to regulate big corps such as McDonalds, Taco Bell, and Kentucky Fried Chicken would be a major success in terms of stopping the widespread disease. Americans need to wake up and face the facts. Consumers must take the initiative to learn the facts on healthy dieting. The problem needs to be dealt with now, and not in the future. Obesity is affecting millions of Americans each year and is a major threat to American children’s future health. If parents and children are not held accountable now, obesity will continue to shorten lives and cost billions of dollars in health care. Hellmich, Nanci. â€Å"Health Spending Soars for Obesity. † USA Today on the Web 26 June. 2005. 18 Oct. 2005 < http://www. usatoday. com/news/health/2005-06-26-health-spending-obesity_x. htm> Mercola, Dr. Joseph. Home page. 2005. 18 Oct. 2005. Schlosser, Eric. â€Å"Fast Food Nation, The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. † New York Times on the Web 2000. 18 Oct. 2005.

Pressure groups in U.K. and U.S. politics Essay

Pressure groups in U.K. and U.S. politics - Essay Example Pressure groups are essential part of democratic process - they provide a real possibility to influence governmental decisions and transform public views into actions which often assert government to change its policy, but there are also essential lacks: the groups often defend their interests ignoring other sections of population and making misbalance in governmental policy. Pressure groups activity is widely developed in such democratic states as the United States and the United Kingdom. There are differences and similarities of pressure groups activity features in these countries, and the aim of this paper is to analyze and compare the roles played by pressure groups in U.K. and U.S. politics. The paper will be referred to common trends of U.K. and U.S. pressure groups development, as well as specific organizations and their activities in the both countries. 2. The main difference between U.K. and U.S. pressure groups activities is that there are more such groups in the United States than in the United Kingdom. ... So, pressure groups features in Great Britain are determined by its political system. One more feature of U.K. pressure groups activity is that groups and parties in Great Britain cannot influence governmental policy so much as in the United States because of partial secretiveness of the British political system, and the range of pressure groups is not so widely presented as in the USA with their constitutional and more democratic traditions. Some of the most powerful British sectional pressure groups (groups which present interests of some sections of the population) are the National Union of Teachers, Trades Union Congress, the Confederation of British Industry, the Nation Farmer's Union and some others. There are also promotional pressure groups in U.K. politics. These groups are fighting for real aims, and they can consist as well of small amount of members as great amount. The examples of such groups are Liberty and Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), but their influence on British political parties and governmental decisions is limited unlike such groups in U.S. political life. One of the reasons of this situation is that the British government is not so fragmented and decentralized as that of the United States where the policy of federalism is prevailed. So, "in the early 1980s over 250,000 supporters of CND marched in London on several occasions. Despite this show of popular support, CND failed to influence the government's defense policy" (What are promotional pressure groups). As was mentioned before, pressure groups in the political process of the United Kingdom provide wide developing of democratic processes and allow public opinion to be heard. Political parties in Great Britain cannot represent the

Confederate Government Complicity in the Assassination of Abraham Research Proposal

Confederate Government Complicity in the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln - Research Proposal Example Among the authors who have substantively dealt with this issue is William Hanchet who states that like in any crime where the perpetrator is not appropriately tried or punished, there are a lot of conspiracy theories that came forth concerning the murder of Lincoln.3 Fingers have been pointed at the Vatican, the confederate Government and Lincoln’s own cabinet on the issue of the murder4. In analyzing the issues surrounding such a historical event, it is important to state what the known facts are before delving into the unknown. The assassination United States President Abraham Lincoln was carried out on the 14th of April, 1865, by John Wilkes Booth who was a renowned actor at the time. This was the first in a subsequent long list of assassinations of United States Presidents. On the fateful day, Lincoln was seated inside the presidential booth at the Ford’s Theatre in Washington watching a play Our American Cousin. With him in the box was his wife Mary who witnessed t he assassination. Booth sneaked into the box and shot the president from behind. He subsequently made good his escape even though he was challenged and nearly captured by Major Henry Rathbone who was in the President’s party to the show5. ... In fact, he shouted in Latin â€Å"Sic semper tyrannis!† which was the motto of the Virginia state that meant: Thus always to tyrants. However, the entire plan that booth and his two associates Lewis Powell and George Atzerodt did not materialize after the latter two failed to assassinate Secretary of State William Seward and Vice President Andrew Johnson respectively. Powell managed to wound Seward but Atzerodt totally freaked out of the plan6. The purpose of this research is to find out to which extent if at all the Confederates were responsible for the plan to assassinate President Lincoln. The Hypothesis here is that the assassination of Lincoln was solely the work individual extremist fanatics inspired by the lost Confederate cause. Background By April 1865, the Civil War was nearing a historic crossroads. With the surrender of Lee’s badly mauled army, a rising chorus of voices from inside and outside of Confederate government called for a radical change of tactics . Members of President Jefferson Davis’ cabinet and a core group of army officers proposed a guerilla campaign, to be based in the wilds of western Virginia. Others favored a direct strike at the heart of the federal government, a bold and destabilizing gesture aimed at bringing the Union to its knees in on stroke.To that end, the Confederate government conceived a plan to kidnap Abraham Lincoln to force the Union to free Confederate prisoners of war. This scheme never came to fruition but does call into question whether, and to what extent, the Confederate administration may have been involved in Lincoln’s assassination.7 To be sure, Davis and key members of his government had conceived of, and funded, an initiative aimed at striking the Union beyond the battlefield, an initiative that

The cause of Japan's nuclear pollution and afluences on environment Essay

The cause of Japan's nuclear pollution and afluences on environment - Essay Example This meant that Japan joined the United States and other countries interested in the utilization of nuclear power for the economic benefits and promotion of peace. Most importantly, the atoms for peace movement served to highlight the alternative uses of nuclear power contrary to what had existed previously. Prior to these initiatives, nuclear power was of central interest in the development of nuclear weapons. Over the years, Japan has established numerous nuclear plants and has benefited from them immensely. Worth noting is the fact that the country has over 50 reactors, which contributed to about 30% of the county’s electricity supplies. Japan has to invest in alternative energy sources such as nuclear power because it imports over 84% of its energy. The country has established policies that govern the utilization of nuclear power. However, investing in nuclear power poses numerous risks to the environment. The case of Fukushima is an evident illustration of the nuclear pol lution that took place in Japan. This paper will discuss the causes of Japan’s nuclear pollution as well as the effects on the environment. As highlighted above, Japan has invested immensely in developing nuclear power research stations. The main purpose of indulging in research as well as establishing numerous radioactive reactors was to develop energy solutions for the country. The potential of nuclear power and energy cannot receive any form of underestimation. The developed world has often regarded nuclear power as the basis of the future energy supply (Evangeliou et al 351). With the increasing overdependence on nonrenewable energy sources, countries such as the United States as well as Japan have focused on developing alternative energy sources from nuclear power. Japan has established policies that define its ventures in the development of nuclear power (Hayashi,

Cattle Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cattle Industry - Essay Example Cattle are raised in three phases before it is processed. Calves are first raised on pasture and raised land. They are then sold to a stock feeder who builds them around nine hundred to thousand pounds by allowing them to feed on pasture, crop residue and range land and finally go to feedlots where they are fattened with high-protein feed for slaughter. At the slaughterhouse the carcass is divided into â€Å"cuts†. Earlier the sides of beef would go to wholesalers but now disassembly occurs at the plant itself. After slaughter one portion goes directly to the wholesalers who distribute to institutional users or grocery stores. The grocery chains are directly linked to the packers. Another portion goes for processing into hot dogs or sausages or other forms of meat. It is then canned or frozen for further consumption. The bacterial count has to be kept low while storing so that spoilage is minimum. This is done through plant cleanliness, careful slaughter procedures and keeping temperatures low so that bacteria multiply at a low rate. Transportation is done in refrigerated trucks and spoilage and distribution too has become easy due to vertical integration of firms that deal with packed food. The links in the commodity chain have reduced as even restaurant chains are forming tighter linkages with packers, feedlots and stock feeders.

Jehovah Witnessess feelings about receiving blood and how it should be Research Paper

Jehovah Witnessess feelings about receiving blood and how it should be handled with a minor child in a life or death situation - Research Paper Example The insistence of Jehovahs Witness parents in refusing blood transfusions for their children can be viewed in the larger context of alternative religious beliefs and their effect on medical treatment. Many people in contemporary society are guided by religious beliefs which prohibit them from accessing medical care in favor of spiritual healing (Catalano, 2010, p. 157). Whilst adults have the right to refuse medical treatment, their behavior becomes controversial when they refuse medical treatment for their ill children (Catalano, 2010, p. 157). The decision to refuse medical treatment to children may necessitate intervention by the State in cases when children suffer from serious illnesses (Catalano, 2010, p. 157). Many Constitutional issues are raised by this situation, such as religious freedom, the right to privacy, and fundamental liberty issues related to parenting (Catalano, 2010, p. 157). In such cases the Courts are forced to decide between the religious liberty of the paren ts and the States interest in protecting the lives of minors (Catalano, 2010, p. 158). This matter if particularly controversial because no matter what the outcome of, somebodys rights are infringed (Catalano, 2010, p. 158). In some cases government intervention is secured too late and the childs life is lost (Catalano, 2010, p. 158). Between 1975 and 1995, 172 children died because they were denied medical care for religious reasons (Catalano, 2010, p. 158). The State must balance the interests of religious parents and their innocent children, respecting the welfare and autonomy of both parties. A fundamental concern of the state is the protection of the welfare of children, one for which it may intervene when it is absolutely necessary (Catalano, 2010, p. 159). Despite this fundamental concern, the United States gives parents ample autonomy to raise their children in the