Services Marketing Issues - Assignment Example

Running Head: Service Encounter Name Course Tutor Date Service Encounter Journal Entry: __1__ Your Name: ____xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx______ Name of Firm: _____THE OILERS____________________________ Type of Service (industry): _____Oil and Cash_______________ Date of Encounter: ________06/08/2012_______________________ Time Encounter Occurred: ___10:30 AM______________ What were the circumstances that led to this encounter? I always made my purchasing at the oil stations but at The Oil station was my first time to have a purchase at the junction. It was a coincidence as I had done other shopping’s from a supermarket and therefore I was working under a tight budget and therefore I had to make a cheap purchase and in return get a change from the transaction. What exactly did the firm/employee say or do? I told her not to sell me the expensive oil but she seemed to be very much stubborn as age tried to persuade me to purchase the expensive oil for reasons not able to explain. Surprisingly she presented a bill that was triple the amount that had in my pocket. The most annoying thing is that she went ahead and insisted that I had to pay for it .I left some important documents with her since I had to attend a meeting that I was one hour late How would you rate your level of satisfaction with this encounter? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 extremely extremely dissatisfied satisfied What exactly made you feel that way? I was extremely dissatisfied with the experience because I was forced to pay extra amount to a service I didn’t ask for. What could the employee/firm have done to make you satisfied with the encounter? The Oil Company should train the employees on the ways to handle customers with different needs. The company’s management should focus on the implementation of customer care programmers that I feel lacked in this company. The company should also apply a good selective strategy for its employees who had a good interpersonal relationship among themselves approval (Lovelock, Patterson& Walker, 2007). The management should have defined a good relationship between the power of the employee and the customer How likely are you or will go back to this service firm? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 extremely extremely unlikely likely Why? I fear facing the same scenario in future of paying an extra amount of money. Entry: __2__ Your Name: _____xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Name of Firm: _______BIG BROS Restaurant __________________________ Type of Service (industry): _____USHERING AND SERVING_______________ Date of Encounter: _____23/09/12__________________________ Time Encounter Occurred: ___1:00 pm______________ What were the circumstances that led to this encounter? It was around 1:00 PM after a long walk with my best classmate. We had gone for an adventure and we had not carried food stuffs. Therefore we decided to get into Big Bros restaurant and take our lunch there. Since we were tired we expected to have a great service encounter and be provided with the meals that were light and could cool our tire. What exactly did the firm/employee say or do? The waiter was so rude to us just at the entrance of the door and no directions were given to us when we entered. There was no menu on the tables that we sat on and when we requested for the food the waiter took long to respond to us. Embarrassingly, some ruthless guy’s enterer the restaurant and they were very much noisy and the waiter seemed not to be concerned in the disturbances that they caused to us. One of them came and ate from the plate that I was eating from. How would you rate your level of satisfaction with this encounter? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 extremely extremely dissatisfied satisfied What exactly made you feel that way? The service was poor from the time we entered the restaurant and I was forced to pay for the food that was contaminated by the nuisance customer. What could the employee/firm have done to make you satisfied with the encounter? Training the attendants on the customer care programs such as ushering in of the customers is of great importance. The duration of the attendant’s response to the customers should be implemented in the Restaurant which will display a positive emotion to the customers that the service is good and they will feel well catered for. The management should implement ways of handling the customers who cause nuisance (Lovelock, Patterson & Wirtz, 2011). How likely are you or will go back to this service firm? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 extremely extremely unlikely likely Why? Because am not sure whether the nuisance customers frequently visit there and take foods from the customers. Entry: __3__ Your Name: __xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_______ Name of Firm: ______ PPL hospital ___________________________ Type of Service (industry): _TREATMENT___________________ Date of Encounter: _________17/09/12______________________ Time Encounter Occurred: __4:30 PM_______________ What were the circumstances that led to this encounter? I had taken my friend who had been bitten by a snake in the school compounds .The school nurse had attended my friend with great care and she administered first aid to my friend. She recommended for further treatment that’s the reason why I took her to PPL hospital. It was late in the evening and we expected to meet the nurse on duty. What exactly did the firm/employee say or do? When the nurse was contacted she took long to arrive to administer the service to us. She came and she was on phone call and instead of attending to us she continued talking with the phone. Surprisingly we had forgotten the hospital card and first she questioned us of whereabouts of the card. We argued with her before attending to us. She continued with the service and she didn’t even wear the gloves when she was attending to my friend. She took long with my friend as she had a crush on my best friend. How would you rate your level of satisfaction with this encounter? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 extremely extremely dissatisfied satisfied What exactly made you feel that way? The delaying of the nurse and the way she attended my friend What could the employee/firm have done to make you satisfied with the encounter? To train its employees on the need to be responsible and respond quickly to the emergencies and therefore the development of care programs The waiting duration of the patients should be reduced and also implement programmed personalization at the waiting area by encouraging a small talk by using the attendant’s names, the hospital services and the mission of the hospital. The hospital should have a help line. How likely are you or will go back to this service firm? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 extremely extremely unlikely likely Why? I wouldn’t risk my life with a nurse who never knew her responsibilities Entry: __4__ Your Name: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Name of Firm: Myer Center Food Courts Type of Service (industry): Hotel Industry Date of Encounter: 25.09.2012 Time Encounter Occurred: 01.45 PM What were the circumstances that led to this encounter? After having a very busy morning hours, I was very hungry and therefore I moved along the streets looking for a place I can have fast food. Most of the places I was coming across were packed with people and some were even in queues waiting to be served food. I could not have waited any more. I finally found my way into Myer Center Food Courts where they were not offering self services and thus there were no people waiting in queues. Due to the situation that I was in, I was not really expecting a great service encounter. My main expectation was to simply have something to eat and get out of the hotel peacefully so that I can continue with my work which was nearing its deadline, What exactly did the firm/employee say or do? At exactly 1.45 PM when I got into the hotel, waiters were busy serving customers who were streaming in and out of the hotel. It took me less than 2 minutes to secure a sit and immediately a waiter arrived to my table with a smile the customer took my order and swiftly served me with food. It did not take much time to prepare the food and so the order was completed in less than 3 minutes. Additionally, the meals were accurately organized in menus and this was very convenient. The accurate and quick response of the waiter completely satisfied me and justified my expectations, not forgetting that, this also made me feel that I am a valuable customer. How would you rate your level of satisfaction with this encounter? (Circle the most appropriate number.) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Extremely extremely Dissatisfied satisfied What exactly made you feel that way? First of all the waiter was very good and polite. She also applied maximum effort to guarantee customers’ satisfaction and approval (Lovelock, Patterson& Walker, 2007). Well organized and accurately directed performance signified that the respect of a customer and efforts to please a customer were part and parcel of this hotel. Such swiftness in operations made me decide that this is the place to always visit when I am within town. What could the employee/firm have done to make you satisfied with the encounter? Customer service in this hotel is awesome. Customers are treated like kings. Secondly, service provision is accurate and fast and finally, the management and the organization of the staff is well coordinated to ensure that service provision is high class. How likely are you or will go back to this service firm? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Extremely extremely Unlikely likely Why? Customers are treated like kings and services offered in the shortest time possible. One is assured of getting what one ordered without delay and in the most comfortable and most appreciated environment. Service Encounter Journal Entry: _5___ Your Name: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Name of Firm: Telstra Type of Service (industry): Telephone/Communication Date of Encounter: 05/08/2012 Time Encounter Occurred 11.30 AM What were the circumstances that led to this encounter? As it was the time to receive bills, I received my telephone bill and to my surprise, something was amiss because there is in no way I would have spent all that amount of money with the number of call I had made the previous month. And I was worried because I was not ready to pay for all the extra calls which far exceeded my allotted minutes. I decided to make a call to the Telstra customer care to see if I might get help. Having had experiences with other service providers, I was not optimistic of the outcome. But I made the call. What exactly did the firm/employee say or do? To my surprise the lady who picked my phone name Ruth was very polite and did not transfer me to another staff. I told her of my situation and asked her if there is anything that can be done or if there is any explanation of the situation at hand. If she put me off, I would have done nothing else other than paying the bill. However, I was mistaken. Because Telstra viewed this chance as an optimum chance to market their services, they attended to my call satisfactorily. How would you rate your level of satisfaction with this encounter? (Circle the most appropriate number.) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 extremely extremely dissatisfied satisfied What exactly made you feel that way? Ruth explained every occurrence to me and explained to me of another program that I could subscribe and never have such a problem again. As for the current situation, she checked my previous bills and agreed with me that there is in no way I would have spent all that within a month. It was an over estimation. She handed the case to the technical department who reviewed it to my satisfaction even though it was a little bit higher than am used to paying. I was satisfied and before I ended the call, I assured her than am writing a post online telling everyone to try Telstra as their telephone service provider. What could the employee/firm have done to make you satisfied with the encounter? This was an accurate communication to the customer. This employee explained to me all what could have transpired and agreed to assist me personally without having me transferred here and there, as it is the case of many other telephone service providers. She was informed of the operations of the company. How likely are you or will go back to this service firm? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 extremely extremely unlikely likely Why? Communication is very important. This is a very powerful marketing tool which this employee used to create a remarkable service experience which made me even opt to spread the same words to others free of charge. Service Encounter Journal Entry: __6__ Your Name: xxxxxxxxxxxx Name of Firm: Peter Bowey Computer Solutions Type of Service (industry): Computers Date of Encounter: 28/08/2012 Time Encounter Occurred: 9.00 AM What were the circumstances that led to this encounter? I worked on my project form mid night to around 7.00Am the following morning when my laptop went off and I suspected it had crushed or else the battery had a problem. I tried all I could to restart it to no avail until I gave up. I decided to take it to computer experts so that it can be checked and this is how I found my way to PBCS, where I was directed by a friend who had her laptop repaired in the same place some months back. What exactly did the firm/employee say or do? After the technician changed the charging system of my laptop, I was getting prepared to pay and leave. To my shock he continued wiping and brushing away dust from the laptop was trapped between the Keyboards and other places. He even sprayed some liquid which he then used a dry clothing to wipe and polish with much care. He brew the dust from the laptop and it finally looked as if it was a new machine. I felt humbled by his professionalism and pride of his work (Lovelock, Patterson & Wirtz, 2011). This was out of my expectation and I was very happy and completely satisfied with the whole service. How would you rate your level of satisfaction with this encounter? (Circle the most appropriate number.) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 extremely extremely dissatisfied satisfied What exactly made you feel that way? Customer service and the value accorded to me were commendable. The employee went ahead and did what I would have paid some money to be done free of charge. The service was satisfactorily done and accurate. What could the employee/firm have done to make you satisfied with the encounter? Customer service was commendable. Secondly, the quality of work done translated to the value of the amount of money paid to the same and finally it took a very short time for them to do a lot of work and accurately. How likely are you or will go back to this service firm? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 extremely extremely unlikely likely Why? Customers are valued and value for their money realized. Additionally, they also gave advice on how to use the laptop in a manner that will make it last for a long time, like unplugging the charger when battery is full. Bibliography Lovelock, C. H., Patterson, P. G., Walker, R. H.,. (2007). Services Marketing: An Asia-Pacific Perspective (Fourth ed.). Sydney: Pearson Education Australia. Lovelock, C.H., Patterson, P.G. and Wirtz, J. . (2011). “Services Marketing – An Asia-Pacific and Australian Perspective”, 5th Edition. Sydney: Pearson Education Australia. Read More