The Impact of Expected Variance in Performance on the Satisfaction Process - Research Paper Example

Service Journal Entry Form Name of Student: Name of Professor: Name of Course: Code of the Course: Date of Submission: Executive Summary The service industry is a major industry in the global economy. It is the fastest growing industry in international and domestic markets. In Australia, the industry provides employment to 80% of the population and contributes about 70% of the total Gross Domestic Product. Owing to the competitiveness in the market service providers have embarked on various marketing campaigns aimed at attracting and retaining customers. However, the marketing strategies have been matched by poor strategy implementation which has led to poor customer service and low quality services. The following report will discuss and analyze five personal experiences in five different services providers with respect to several services marketing models and concepts. The introduction will give an insight into the service industry. The background information section will give some literature on services; the methodology section will indicate how the findings of the report will be realized. The discussion and analysis section will discuss and analyze five personal experiences in five different services providers with respect to several services marketing models and concepts. The recommendations section will give a possible strategy which service providers can use in marketing. The conclusion section will give a brief account of what has been analyzed and discussed in the report. Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 Table of Contents 2 1.0 Introduction 3 2. 0 Background Information; Services 4 3.0 Methodology 5 4.0 Discussion and Analysis 5 4.1 Telstra 6 4.1.1 Discussion of Experience 6 4.1.2 Customer Satisfaction 6 4.1.3Service Quality 7 4.2 Myer 7 4.2.1 Discussion of Experience 7 4.2.2 Customer Satisfaction 7 4.2.3 Service Quality 8 4.3 Westpac Bank 8 4.3.1 Discussion of Experience 8 4.3.2 Customer Satisfaction 8 4.3.3 Service Quality 9 4.4 Gloria Jeans 10 4.4.1 Discussion of Experience 10 4.4.2 Customer Satisfaction 11 4.4.3 Service Quality 11 4.5 TGI 11 4.5.1 Discussion of Experience 11 4.5.2 Customer Satisfaction 12 4.5.3 Service Quality 12 5.0 Recommendations: The Experiences and the Marketing Mix 12 5.0 Conclusion 13 References 14 Appendices 15 Service Journal Entry Form 1.0 Introduction The world economy has been slowly transforming from a product based economy to a service based one. Ass to this effect, the service industry has become a very important industry in the economies of many countries. The service industry accounts for about 70% of Australia Gross Domestic Product (Australian Government, 2013). In addition to this, the service industry is the major employer in the country, accounting for about 80% of the total jobs in the country (Australian Government, 2013). Ideally, a county cannot be able to function without a service industry owing to its input in other industries. Taking a look at the global market, it can also be acknowledged that the service industry is equally important. Currently, services top the list in the component of trade in the global trade. The provision of efficient services to customers is multidimensional. The underlying factor which service providers should consider is ensuring that the quality of their services is great in addition to ensuring that customers get satisfied. Another factor which organizations have to consider is competition, and on this, they should always ensure that they have a competitive edge over their competitors. On this light, the need for appropriate marketing, customer attraction and retention strategies become of utmost importance to service providers. The following report will give an insight into services marketing theories and practice by analyzing five personal experiences from service providers. 2. 0 Background Information; Services A service is defined as a performance, act or experience offered by one party to another and paid for in return (Walker, 1995). A service is intangible; hence its exchange does not result to the ownership of anything, but leads to a feeling (Walker, 1995). For instance, when a person goes to a massage parlor, one gets a felling of relaxation, but cannot be able to touch the service. A service also varies from one provider to another. One massage therapist may be professional than another, hence the quality of their services vary. A service is also associated with perishability since it cannot be stored for future use. On this point, a customer cannot be able to store the massaging felling, hence has to go back to the parlor in the future. Lastly, a service cannot be separated from the provider (Walker, 1995). On this point, the therapist is the only one who has the skills to massage; the customer cannot detach those skills from him/her. In the service industry, it is always important for organizations to create and maintain good relationships with the customers. Just as other business organizations, one of the main objectives of businesses is to make profits. Therefore, service providers must integrate the use of strategic business models in a bid to ensure that that they are able to operate above the break even points. However, with the increase in competition among other market forces, service organizations have to market it’s their primary objective to satisfy their customers. With this, they will be able to profits more easily owing to the increased market share which they will command as a result of an increased customer attraction and retention. One of the ways in which organizations can do this is by ensuring that their marketing models are matched by an efficient implementation process (Lovelock, Patterson & Walker, 2011). As indicated earlier, this report will analyze some five customer experiences which I experienced in several service organizations with respect to marketing models. 3.0 Methodology The report will discuss my personal customer experiences at Telstra, Myer, Westpac Bank, Gloria Jeans, and TGI. The Report will then analyze each of the experiences with respect to services marketing models and concepts. 4.0 Discussion and Analysis 4.1 Telstra 4.1.1 Discussion of Experience My experience with Telstra, a telecommunications provider was via phone and mail. I had arranged to have the internet connected via Bigpord through Telstra on a casual basis, which was month to month over the phone. My experience with Telstra was terrible. Instead of meeting my request, I was informed by mail that I was placed on a 24 month plan with Bigpord by Telstar. From the experience, it can be argued that the company has poor customer relations services in addition to failing to meet the expectations of the customers. 4.1.2 Customer Satisfaction From the experience with Telstra, the customer satisfaction was low. The experience with Telstra with respect to customer satisfaction can be analyzed from the perspective of an expectation concept. According to the concept/ model, customer satisfaction is achieved when the customer is given a service according to his or her expectations from the service provider (Lovelock, Patterson & Walker, 2011). According to me, I expected that the Telstra employee should have listened to my request. However, it was only after that I informed Telstra that I would take up the issue with Telecommunications Ombudsman that they considered to resolve the issue. According to the expectation model, the equitable / deserved expectations of the customer from Telstra were not met. These types of expectations indicate the feelings of customers pertaining to what they should receive from a service provider. Telstra needs to clarify to potential customers all aspects of their products or services that they sign up for, so as to ensure that the expectations of the clients are always met. 4.1.3Service Quality The quality of services which were offered by Telstra was very poor. The company’s employees refused to resolve my issue until the time I notified them that I was taking up the issue with Telecommunications Ombudsman. The quality of service received from Telstra can be analyzed from the perspective of the SERVQUAL model (Donnely, Kerr, Rimmer & Shiu, 2006). According to the model, the service delivered lacked in the reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. This made the quality of service terrible (Lovelock, Patterson & Walker, 2011). 4.2 Myer 4.2.1 Discussion of Experience My experience with Myer, a departmental store was in person. My wife purchased a pair of jeans for me from the store and I later found that they were too small. My expectations were that the jeans could be returned to the store and replaced with a bigger size. My experience with Myer was great since as soon as my wife explained to the staff behind the service counter about the problem which I had encountered, they resolved it quickly by replacing the jeans with a larger size. 4.2.2 Customer Satisfaction The experience with Myer was satisfying owing to the fact that my expectations were met appropriately. The staff attended to the issue promptly, replacing the small pair of jeans with a larger size. This met my expectations. Therefore, Myer does great with respect to the expectations model. Another concept which can be linked with the customer experience is the perceived value theory (Lovelock, Patterson & Walker, 2011). According to the theory, a customer gets satisfied when he or she gets value for his or her money. If the return policy of the store was bad, I would have had to remain with the small pair of jeans, which would not be useful to me. On this, I and my wife would not have gotten value for money. However, the customer service at Myer upholds the need for giving value to customers, hence their excellent return policies. 4.2.3 Service Quality The quality of service given at Myer was of top quality. Analyzing it from the perspective of a SERVQUAL model, it can be acknowledged that the tangibles met the expectations of the customer (the right size for the pair of jeans) (Donnely, Kerr, Rimmer & Shiu, 2006). The customer service at Myer was also reliable since it had an accurate performance. It was also responsive owing to the promptness in solving my problem. The service also gave assurance to the client and was empathetic, owing to the good communications and the high level of customer understanding. 4.3 Westpac Bank 4.3.1 Discussion of Experience My encounter with Westpac bank was in person. The encounter with the bank was aimed at enquiring about opening up a new bank account at Coburg. My expectations were that the service would have been of a high standard. However, the service was rather slow and inefficient. The staffs at Coburg WestPac Bank were neither helpful nor accurate in the information which they provided regarding the situation of opening up a new bank account with them. 4.3.2 Customer Satisfaction The customer satisfaction as a result of the interaction was rather terrible. The employees should have been much quicker in their handling of my inquiry. The employees should also have been more informed so as to meet as to able to give me substantial information. The experience with the bank can be analyzed from a disconfirmation expectations paradigm. With respect to my experience at the bank, there was a sharp difference between my expectations from the bank and the actual service which I received from them; which led to a disconfirmation. In order to satisfy customers, the Bank ought to ensure that their staff is up to date with all the aspects of bank’s services. My experience shows that the employees need an in house professional development. My return to the bank is extremely unlikely. 4.3.3 Service Quality The quality of service at the bank was of poor. Analyzing the service quality from the perception of a SERVQUAL model, it can be acknowledged that the service offered failed in all the five dimensions; tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. The quality of service offered at the bank can also be analyzed from the perspective of a conceptual model of quality. The following figure illustrates this model. Figure 1, Conceptual Model of Service Quality Figure 1Conceptual Model of Service Quality (Lecture Notes, 2013) According to the model, my personal expectations and the prejudgment which I had about Westpac which is a reputable bank led me to expect that the kind of services which I would receive from the bank would be top class (Farmer, 2007). However, the perceived service did not match my expected service, thus leading to a low quality service delivery (Lovelock, Patterson & Walker, 2011). 4.4 Gloria Jeans 4.4.1 Discussion of Experience My encounter with Gloria Jean’s was in person. Gloria Jean’s is a coffee shop located in Melbourne central. My encounter was a result of a meeting which I had with a few of my friends at the café. I was rather delighted with the excellent service we received at the coffee shop. The service provided by the staff was excellent. The staff’s knowledge of the products offered were exceptional and the overall satisfaction was very good. 4.4.2 Customer Satisfaction The experience at the coffee shop can be analyzed from both the expectations and the equity models. With respect to the expectations theory, my expectations from the coffee shop were met with a quality service. With respect to the equity theory, the customer service matched the service delivery with the prices which the customers paid for. This ultimately leads to the realization of value from the side of the customer. With such a service, the perceived value from the customer was met by a service of equal value. 4.4.3 Service Quality The quality of service offered by the coffee shop was great. It met the expectations of the customers (Wirtz & Mattila, 2001). The quality can be analyzed with respect to a SERVQUAL model (Donnely, Kerr, Rimmer & Shiu, 2006). The tangibles were great since the quality of products served were great. The service was also reliable, assuring and had aspects of empathy. With respect to the last aspect responsiveness, the organization is doing great although it needs a slight improvement on the gap between the serving of drinks and food ordered. This will ultimately make the quality of service at the shop top class. From the service at the coffee shop, I am extremely likely to return to it in the future. 4.5 TGI 4.5.1 Discussion of Experience My experience with TGI, a restaurant Chapel St. Prahran was in person. I had gone to the restaurant to have dinner with a friend. The reason as to why we chose the place was because we enjoyed the quality steaks offered there. For this reason, we had high expectations with respect to the quality of food which would be served. The food served was great, but the customer service was poor since we had to wait for 40 minute before being served. The service was rather terrible since it fell short of our expectations. 4.5.2 Customer Satisfaction The customer satisfaction from the experience was low as a result of the lengthy time of time which we had to wait before being served. The experience can be analyzed with respect to the personal involvement and the disconfirmation of expectations paradigm models. With respect to the later, the service which was provided fell short of our expectations, hence leading to dissatisfaction (Wirtz & Mattila, 2001). With respect to the personal involvement with TGI’s staff, we expected that we would be given an apology over the delay in the preparation of our order or a discount to cater for the inconveniences. However, none of that was offered, which made our personal involvement with the staff rather terrible. 4.5.3 Service Quality The quality of services offered by TGI was low. Although the quality of their products met our expectations, the customer service was poor. The experience can be analyzed from the conceptual model of service quality. With respect to this model, the expected service did not match with the perceived service, which makes the service of low quality. 5.0 Recommendations: The Experiences and the Marketing Mix From the discussion and the analysis of the experiences, it can be acknowledged that the expectations of the customer and the relationship between an organization and a customer are very important in the service industry. The report recommends a marketing mix approach; owing to its multidimensional approach to marketing, customer satisfaction and quality of services (Rafiq & Ahmed, 2008)). The marketing mix is made up of the 7P’s of marketing namely; Products/ services- a service organization should ensure that the products it offers are able to meet the needs of the customer. Price-The prices at which the services are offered at should be competitive. They should take into account the perceived value. Place- the services should be offered at an appropriate location. Moreover, the location should create place utility Promotion- an organization should make use of appropriate promotion strategies aimed at attracting and retaining clients People- an organization should have a competent and adequate workforce to handle all the customer needs. Process – an organization should have the right processes in place geared towards enabling it deliver quality services. Physical evidence- all the organization’s activities and processes should give a physical impression of its aims of providing customers with excellent services. 5.0 Conclusion Concluding, it can be acknowledged from this report that there is a need for service industries to link up their service marketing strategies with an efficient practical implementation. This ensures that the service providers are able to create good relationships with their customers in addition to increasing their chances of retaining them. One of the aspects which has come out strongly in the paper is that the fulfillment of a customer’s expectations is critical to providing a good customers service in addition to ensuring that the quality of the service delivered is high. The report has given an analysis of five experiences in different service providing organizations. From the analysis, it has been identified that there is a need for service oriented organizations to analyze their service delivery with respect to various models which address specific issues. The report has recommended a marketing mix approach to service providers; which will go along way into enabling them deliver quality services owing to its multidimensional approach. Summing up, it can be concluded from the report that there is a need for a linkup between service marketing models and service delivery. References Australian Government, 2013. The Importance of Services Trade to Australia, Australian Government, Retrieved on 16th April 2013 from http://www.dfat.gov.au/trade/negotiations/services/overview_trade_in_services.html Donnely, M., Kerr,N., Rimmer, R., & Shiu, E., (2006). Assessing the Quality of police Services using SERVQUAL, Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, 29(1); 92-105 Farmer, J., (2007). A Conceptual Model to Service Quality, IJOPM, 8(6); 19-30 Lecture Notes, (2003). Service Marketing, week 3, 1-37 Lovelock, H., Patterson,G., & Walker, R., (2011). Services marketing. An Asia Pacific perspective (5thEd.) NSW: Pearson Prentice-Hall. Rafiq, M., & Ahmed, P., (2008). Using the 7P’s as a Generic Marketing Mix, Marketing Intelligence and Planning, 13(9);4-16 Walker, J., (1995). Service Encounter Satisfaction; Conceptualised, Journal of Services Marketing, 9(1); 5- 15 Wirtz, J., & Mattila, A., (2001). The Impact of Expected Variance in Performance on the Satisfaction Process, International Journal of Service Industry Management, 12(4); 342-358 Appendices Name of Service Provider: T.G.I. FRiDAY'S Type of Service:Restaurant Date: 11/04/2013 Time:6:23 pm How did the encounter take place?In Person What specific circumstances led up to this encounter? I meet up for a dinner with a friend at TGIs in Chapel Street South Yarra, the purpose that we had dinner there was that we always enjoyed the high quality steaks. How would you rate your level of satisfaction with the encounter? Terrible Delighted 1 2 3 4 5 What exactly made you feel that way? The expectation of the high quality food was provided I this instance but unfortunately we wait a long time for the meal to arrive being forty minutes and this made our visit to TGIs quite unpleasant. What could the employee/ firm have done to increase your level of satisfaction? What improvements need to be made to this service system? The TGI should have extra staff on hand to handle and process orders more quickly. TGI should have offered us an apology or even a discount due to the fact that the order took so long to prepare. How likely is it that you will go back to this service provider? Extremely Unlikely Extremely Likely 1 2 3 4 5 Name of Service Provider: Westpac Bank Type of Service:Bank Date: 04/04/2013 Time:12:30 How did the encounter take place? In Person What specific circumstances led up to this encounter? The encounter involved enquiring about opening up a new bank account with Westpac Bank branch at Reservoir near my home. My expectations were that the service would have been of a high standard. How would you rate your level of satisfaction with the encounter? Terrible Delighted 1 2 3 4 5 What exactly made you feel that way? The service was rather slow and inefficient. The staffs at the Reservoir Westpac bank were not helpful or accurate in the information that they provided regarding, the situation of opening up a new bank account with Westpac. What could the employee/ firm have done to increase your level of satisfaction? What improvements need to be made to this service system? The employee should have been much quicker in their handling of my enquiry. Further in order to increase my satisfaction the employee should have been more informed of the information provided regarding the establishment of a new bank account. Staff needs to be up to date with all aspects of the bank service thus they need more training. How likely is it that you will go back to this service provider? Extremely Unlikely Extremely Likely 1 2 3 4 5 Name of Service Provider: Telstra Type of Service:Telecommunicate Provider Date: 00/00/0000 Time: How did the encounter take place?Telephone & Mail What specific circumstances led up to this encounter? I had arranged to have the Internet connected via Bigpond, thru Telstra on a casual basis, which was month to month, over the phone. How would you rate your level of satisfaction with the encounter? Terrible Delighted 1 2 3 4 5 What exactly made you feel that way? Instead of meeting my request, I was informed by mail that I was placed on a 24 month plan with Bigpond by Telstra. What could the employee/ firm have done to increase your level of satisfaction? What improvements need to be made to this service system? The employee should have listened to my request but it was only after I informed Telstra, that I would take the issue to the Telecommunicate Ombudsman that they considered to resolve the issue. Telstra staff need to clarify to potential customers all aspects of the products or services that they sign them up for. How likely is it that you will go back to this service provider? Extremely Unlikely Extremely Likely 1 2 3 4 5 Name of Service Provider: Myer Type of Service:Department Store Date: 10/04/2013 Time:11:00 am How did the encounter take place?In Person What specific circumstances led up to this encounter? My wife purchased a pair of jeans for me from Myer store Northland, and they were too small in size. My expectations were that the jeans could be returned and replaced with a larger size. How would you rate your level of satisfaction with the encounter? Terrible Delighted 1 2 3 4 5 What exactly made you feel that way? As soon as me explained to the staff behind the service counter the problem, they quickly resolved the issue by replacing my jeans with a larger size. What could the employee/ firm have done to increase your level of satisfaction? What improvements need to be made to this service system? None as the issue of replacing the jeans with a larger size was immediately resolved, which highlighted Myer excellent customer service policy on returns. How likely is it that you will go back to this service provider? Extremely Unlikely Extremely Likely 1 2 3 4 5 Name of Service Provider: Gloria Jeans Type of Service:Coffee Shop Date: 16/04/2013 Time:3:45 pm How did the encounter take place?In Person What specific circumstances led up to this encounter? We meet up for a coffee with a few friends in Melbourne Central and Gloria jeans was near us. How would you rate your level of satisfaction with the encounter? Terrible Delighted 1 2 3 4 5 What exactly made you feel that way? The service provided by the staff was excellent, the staff’s knowledge of the products offered was exceptional and our overall satisfaction was very good. What could the employee/ firm have done to increase your level of satisfaction? What improvements need to be made to this service system? A slight improvement that needs to be made is that there is a gap between the serving of the drinks and the food ordered. How likely is it that you will go back to this service provider? Extremely Unlikely Extremely Likely 1 2 3 4 5 Read More