Objective
To become more aware of critical aspects of the service encounter from a customer’s perspective.
Directions
We all have a number of such encounters each week, including (but not limited to) restaurants, banks, airlines, dry cleaners, doctors, dentists, libraries, photographers, tutors, travel agencies, theaters, pest control agencies, phone companies, automotive mechanics, insurance companies, attorneys, accountants, and copy centers. You are to keep a “journal” of your service encounter experiences. The purpose of the journal is to identify sources of customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction with services.
Requirements
Journal entries. Each group member is asked to complete six journal entry forms. One blank copy is attached to the back of this handout. Each entry will correspond to one service encounter that you have during the semester. Your journal may be written (if you have neat, clear, legible handwriting) or typed. (If you desire, you can use your favorite word processor to set up a file with the questions from the entry form. You can then enter descriptions of the service encounters as you experience them.) Be sure to completely answer the questions on the journal entry form. If you make copies of the form and need more room to answer the questions, you may write on the back of the entry form or attach a page to the form. Your inclusion of the important details of the service encounter will help you in writing your service encounter paper.
Try to record an assortment of types of encounters from a variety of service industries (i.e., don’t do all restaurants) as well as some that you find satisfying and some that are very dissatisfying. The best way to complete your journal is to fill a form out immediately following a particular incident. Try to write up two or three service encounters per week, beginning immediately. If you try to do your entries from memory, or do too many at one time, the quality of the entries will suffer.
Due Date
All group members’ journal entries are due when the paper is due on November 12th.
(The other portion of this assignment, the service encounter analysis, is described below.
Service Encounter Journal Analysis
Objective
To evaluate critical aspects of distinct service encounters from your own perspective as a customer and as a services marketer.
Directions
Please distribute a copy of your journal to everyone on your team. Working individually, carefully read all the journal entries prepared by each person. Which service encounters (both good and bad experiences) do you think provide useful illustrations of some of the challenges facing service marketers as they try to ensure good service for their customers?
Meet with your group to prepare the following assignments and be prepared to present in class:
Part A
1. Categorize each journal entry into one of the following types of experience: (a) mainly positive; (b) mainly negative; (c) neutral.
2. Further classify them according to the relative importance that the performance of front-stage personnel played in each specific experience: (a) very important; (b) somewhat important; (c) not important.
Now use the results to create a 3 x 3 (nine-cell) matrix featuring the above classifications and indicating the number and percent of all observations falling in each cell. Put this matrix on a PPT slide plus a brief evaluation and conclusions on a second PPT slide.
Part B
1. Select one positive service experience from among all the diary entries. Summarize the situation on 1–2 PowerPoint (PPT) slides. Identify the factors that you believe underlie successful service delivery in this instance and put them on another 1–2 PPT slides.
2. Similarly, select one negative service experience and identify the underlying causes. As a manager (or owner) what steps would you take to improve service quality and customer satisfaction in the future? (Total, 2–4 PPTs)
3. Compare and contrast the two experiences and relate them to the concepts and frameworks discussed in this course. Summarize the key learning points from the two selected experiences that are generalizable to other service organizations (Total, 2–4 PPTs).
Groups will make brief (15 minute) presentations in class of their analysis and conclusions.
Grading
The grading criteria used for evaluating your presentation include your ability to relate material from readings and lectures, your ability to diagnose probable causes of problems and match them with appropriate solutions, depth and substance of your observations, persuasiveness of your observations, and the quality of writing. (You may find the recommended book, The Elements of Style, helpful in improving your writing of the journal entries.) Group grades may be adjusted if a group member fails to turn in his/her journal entries or has not made a serious effort to record their service encounters.
Your service encounter project is due on November 12th. You should turn in both a hardcopy of your powerpoint slides and copies of all journal entries from all group members
Journal Entry: ____
Your Name: __________________________________
Name of Firm: ___________________________________ Type of Service (industry):_____________________
Date of Encounter: ________________________________ Time Encounter Occurred:_____________________
What specific circumstances led to this encounter?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Exactly what did the firm/employee say or do?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
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?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
What could the employee/firm have done to make you happier with the encounter?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
How likely is it that you will go back to this service firm? extremely extremely
unlikely
Service Encounter Example
Journal Entry: __1_
Your Name: __________________________________
Name of Firm: : Oren’s Daily Roast _________________ Type of Service (industry) ): Retail sales of brewed coffee and tea
Date of Encounter: 9/7_____________________________ Time Encounter Occurred:_1:30pm_________________
What specific circumstances led to this encounter?
I went to the above take-out coffee shop to get a coffee beverage before I got on the train at Grand Central Station. I was in a rush to make my train, I usually go to Starbucks.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Exactly what did the firm/employee say or do?
I first placed my order with the man at the register who yelled out to the young woman behind the coffee pot “small cappuccino to go”. I paid him, he took the money and said nothing. So I walked to the other end of the counter and waited. The woman behind the coffee pot said nothing, so I continued to wait. After a few minutes, I still did not have my cappuccino. I asked, “is my small cappuccino ready?” She snapped, “It’s being made”. I replied “Oh…I’m sorry”. She shook her head, put down the pitcher she was filling, fixed my cup of cappuccino and put it down on the counter without saying a word.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
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?
Thinking about the encounter mentioned above at Oren’s Daily Roast, you may find yourself evaluating the service delivered to you as follows:
– Responsiveness: I expected my cappuccino to be made immediately. I did not anticipate a wait. It took over 5 minutes to get the cappuccino.
– Courtesy: I also expected that if there was a delay due to the fact that an ingredient (ground coffee beans) was not available or prepared for use at the counter that I would have been told. Perhaps, Oren’s staff might have simply offered “It will take a minute or two for me to grind a fresh batch of coffee beans;” as I have heard elsewhere. Further, the employee shook her head at me when I asked about my order. I interpreted that behavior as rude.
Try to touch on as many of these elements as possible (e.g., courtesy, assurance) and present them in the order of importance to you. For instance, it is likely that accuracy (reliability) of one’s bill is far more important to most than the appearance of physical facilities. Clearly, experiences are multi-faceted, as Zagat’s Restaurant guides indicate its not just the food, but the service and atmosphere. While most people will weigh the food as most important, some are willing to endure much to experience atmosphere, and others are willing to discount ambience for seriously delicious food. Your service encounter journal should include a commentary which if presented to a manager would provide a recommendation for a remedy to any “service disconnect” you may have experienced. For example:
What could the employee/firm have done to make you happier with the encounter?
Thinking about the Gaps Model of Service Quality, this appears to be an issue related to Gap 3, not delivering to service standards. Oren’s or other coffee-shops like it should provide employees with basic customer service skills. Also, customers at Grand Central are, to some extent, a captive audience. Yet, there is a lot of new competition in the new mall and, in spite of its great location, Oren’s might find itself not generating the necessary or anticipated revenue.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
How likely is it that you will go back to this service firm?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
extremely extremely
unlikely