Marketing Theories Applied in the Analysis of the Service Encounter - Assignment Example

?Analysis of the Service Encounter Service Encounter of Service Provider (company, organisation Manchester United Football Club Ticket Allocation Department Type of Service (Profit, not-for-profit, public service, routine, rare): Football (not-for-profit) Date, time, length, and precise location of Service Encounter: The date of the encounter was 22/12/2012. The encounter occurred at 09:45. What did you choose to mystery shop this particular organisation (purpose, location, choice of provider, expectations) I had gone to Old Trafford to watch a premiership match because I had acquired the season tickets. However, I had accidently forgotten my tickets back home and was determined to attend the match. This prompted me to attend the game early to cofirm whether an arrangement could be done to enable me attend the match. Exactly what did you and the employee(s) say and do? I visited the Old Trafford ticket office near the stadium. They requested me to provide them with the serial number of my ticket or wait for someone for the real tickets to pass-by. They obtained a copy of my license and cross-checked my payment status over the internet. After confirming that all the information I provided was accurate, they let me enter the stadium and provided me with the fan-shirts and bands with a guarantee that non one is going to bother me over tickets issue. Describe and analyse the physical location, surroundings, decor, and general atmosphere of the outlet where the encounter took place: The employees were generally friendly, with constant assurance that the service that I was requesting will be granted so long as the information that I provided is accurate and genuine. The office is located inside the stadium, with the interior appearance designed to represent football mood. What could you and/or the employee(s) have done to increase the level of satisfaction? What improvements need to be made to this Service Encounter? The process should have been made more quickly and directly checking my details online, instead of first checking my licence. How likely is it that you will return to this Service Provider? Extremely Unlikely... ...Extremely Likely 1? 2? 3? 4? Identify and closely apply three (3) marketing models, theories, or concepts (or ‘parts of’ models, theories or concepts) that we have studied which are appropriate to this Service Encounter: Application of marketing theory; the staff at the booking office engages weighty and collaborative decision-making process in finding the solution for the absence of the entry tickets for a pre-paid customer. The Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs is also applicable because the staff ensured that I got the services I required instead of making me go back and pick my ticket. How would you rate your level of satisfaction with this encounter? Select a number corresponding to your feelings for each section Terrible... ...Delighted 1 2 3 4 5 Surroundings X Decor X Interaction with Staff X Staff Knowledge X Overall X Service Encounter 2 Name of Service Provider (company, organisation institution): Crunchy British Grill Type of Service (Profit, not-for-profit, public service, routine, rare): Restaurant Date, time, length, and precise location of Service Encounter: October 10, 2005 at 7.00 PM Exactly what did you and the employee(s) say and do? Some friends and I decided to visit the restaurant for dinner since we were celebrating my cousin’s birthday. Crunchy British Grill was our favourite restaurant due to the famous dishes offered at a fair price. Its location is also favourable since our neighbourhood is close to Manchester where the restaurant is located. Situating the party in the restaurant enabled us to gauge the environment around the hotel with that of the Shaw green neighbourhood that lived since our childhood. Describe and analyse the physical location, surroundings, decor, and general atmosphere of the outlet where the encounter took place: We arrived at the restaurant at 6.00PM on October 10, 2005 and had to wait for two hours before being seated for dinner as it is customary for most restaurants in Shaw green neighbourhood. However, after arriving, we did not wait for long as we had earlier anticipated. The seating places were readily available. This prompted us to seat immediately and started our event. The service delivery was also ensured by the active and committed waiters. The quality of food was superb while the atmosphere was excellent for the occasion. What could you and/or the employee(s) have done to increase the level of satisfaction? What improvements need to be made to this Service Encounter? The location of the restaurant should be convenient, the quality of food should also be improved to standardise it with the other restaurants in the city as well as increase the speed of delivery. How likely is it that you will return to this Service Provider? Extremely Unlikely Extremely Likely 1? 2? 3? 4? Identify and closely apply three (3) marketing models, theories, or concepts (or ‘parts of’ models, theories or concepts) that we have studied which are appropriate to this Service Encounter: One of the marketing theories applicable in this case is the consideration theory whereby the consumers make a choice on the most efficient restaurant that they would prefer for organising the birthday party. Another concept applicable in encounter 2 includes Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and ensuring consumer satisfaction. How would you rate your level of satisfaction with this encounter? Select a number corresponding to your feelings for each section Terrible... ...Delighted 1 2 3 4 5 Surroundings X Decor X Interaction with Staff X Staff Knowledge X Overall X Service Encounter 3 Name of Service Provider (company, organisation institution): Hair Doctor Type of Service (Profit, not-for-profit, public service, routine, rare): Hair Salon Date, time, length, and precise location of Service Encounter: The date of encounter in August 20, 2003 while the time 2.00PM What did you choose to mystery shop this particular organisation (purpose, location, choice of provider, expectations) I was direly in need of a haircut after my friend visited the Hair Doctor for hair cut and informed me of interesting and favorable things about the barber. His suggestion prompted me to visit the barber and confirm how well I can like the salon. This made me confident that I will receive excellent services at a reasonable price. Exactly what did you and the employee(s) say and do? I arrived at 2.00 PM for the haircut with no prior appointment because the barber offers walk-in services. I met a receptionist at the door who recorded my personal details in the computer and put me into a waiting list for the stylist. The initial stages of the process went along well until the stylist that was supposed to shave my hair entered. Her mood was unfriendly to the extent of ignoring the advances of establishing a conversation during the haircut. She seemed careless when cutting my hair and even left a sideburn unattended. This made me view this as a bad experience. Describe and analyse the physical location, surroundings, decor, and general atmosphere of the outlet where the encounter took place: The Barber shop is located within the neighbourhood, close to a car-wash place and basketball ball pitch. The surrounding area is serene and suitable for ensuring that the consumers feel comfortable as their hair being cut. What could you and/or the employee(s) have done to increase the level of satisfaction? What improvements need to be made to this Service Encounter? The barber should have been cordial and accommodative while talking to me. The experience I got form the visit was contrary to my expectations. How likely is it that you will return to this Service Provider? Extremely Unlikely Extremely Likely 1? 2? 3? 4? 5? Identify and closely apply three (3) marketing models, theories, or concepts (or ‘parts of’ models, theories or concepts) that we have studied which are appropriate to this Service Encounter: Appraisal theory and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. How would you rate your level of satisfaction with this encounter? Select a number corresponding to your feelings for each section Terrible... ...Delighted 1 2 3 4 5 Surroundings X Decor X Interaction with Staff X Staff Knowledge X Overall X Summary A service encounter is defined as a period through which the customer interacts with the service provider. However, the definition is broad and includes other aspects customer’s interaction with employees, automated systems, machines, physical facilities and other aspects of service provider. The expectations and preconceptions developed before the encounter set the high standards that assist in judging every encounter. Customer satisfaction is the aspect of the product that enhanced the achievement of the customer’s need or expectation (Zeithaml, Bitner and Gremler, 2009). When customers are satisfied with the service, they always feel good. In my case, I am satisfied with the Crunchy British Grill, because they do not only offer high quality services, but their staff is always friendly (Encounter 2). On the other hand, the customer dissatisfaction emanates from the service provider’s behaviour of delivering the service below what is expected on the consumer’s end. For instance, in encounter 3 where showcasing of awful moods with the customer reverts the integrity and efficient experience created dissatisfaction with the customer. The service quality is evaluated through comparing the value received and what is expected from the service (Stauss, 2002). Satisfaction is normally driven by a high quality service. However, there are some instances where the customer may enjoy the service and still classify the service as unsatisfactory. For instance, in Encounter 2, we were impressed by the quality of food offered but the prices of the services and products were not fair. Some of the factors that can influence the customer’s evaluation of a service encounter include their expectation and emotions. The role of the customers experience is related to their level of consumption experience (Wang and Hsu, 2012). Positive emotions will always lead to a positive approach while the negative emotions discourage consumers; this makes them to shift their loyalty to the consumers. In the case of the barber shop the service provider is required to understand the emotions of the consumer to ensure that her personal feelings do not tamper or scare customers. Understanding emotions enables the service providers to develop an emotional platform at a tactical level through identification of the stages of the service that are likely to cause string emotions and proactively manage them. The most proficient way of classifying the emotional responses is the appraisal theory (Pichler, 2012). This specifies the various emotions that lead to different emotional states due to the change in the neutral emotional states. According to the theory, the type of emotions experienced by human beings depends on whether the outcomes improve the existing situations or makes it worse (Glushko and Nomorosa, 2013). It also depends on whether it is characterised by penalty or rewards, certain or possibility or whether it results from the individual in or outside the agency. The barber could have earned my trust if she had applied the appraisal theory in the management of the emotional state that characterised her actions during the service delivery. In the case of Crunchy British Grill, the high quality food services offered in the restaurant as well as the reasonable prices offered for the services encouraged the birthday organisers to choose the place. This exemplifies the application of the marketing theory of consideration (Gamble et al, 2011). One of the marketing theories applicable in this case is the consideration theory whereby the consumer makes a choice on the most efficient restaurant that they would prefer for organising the birthday party. Consideration ensures that the consumers receive the quality level of the services they search. For Manchester United Football Club Ticket Allocation Department, the staff applied the marketing theory of involvement whereby the cognitive efforts were applied in decision-making process which was dependent on the level of importance that the customer places on the services offered (Gamble et al, 2011). Their cooperation and show of concern in the delivery of the services motivates the clients to adopt the service once more. According to Datta (2010), application of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is also efficient ensuring that the services delivered in the various sectors are appealing and attractive to the customers. This is a theory of human motivation that was developed by Abraham Maslow in 1943. The theory considers the self, social and physical motivation of the consumers to access the services provided by the service providers mentioned above. The measures applied include self actualisation, esteem and status and belongingness and love as well as safety and physiological. Conclusion Some of the marketing theories applied in the analysis of the service encounter include the appraisal theory, marketing theory of consideration, marketing theory of involvement and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is also efficient. The evaluation of the customer satisfaction does not only entail focus on the high service quality but also management of the customer expectation and frustrate the possibility of service failures in order to ensure competitiveness with the service providers. The three encounters exemplify that it is crucial for the service providers to focus on customer satisfaction for survival in the competitive market environment. References Datta, Y. (2010) ‘Maslow's Hierarchy of Basic Needs: An Ecological,’ View Oxford Journal, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 39-57. Gamble, J., Gilmore, A., McCartan-Quinn, D. & Durkan, P. (2011) ‘The Marketing concept in the 21st century: A review of how Marketing has been defined since the 1960s,’ Marketing Review, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 227-248. Glushko, R. & Nomorosa, K. (2013) ‘Substituting Information for Interaction: A Framework for Personalization in Service Encounters and Service Systems,’ Journal of Service Research, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 21-38. Pichler, S. (2012) ‘The social context of performance appraisal and appraisal reactions: A meta-analysis,’ Human Resource Management, vol. 51, no. 5, pp. 709-732. Stauss, B. (2002) ‘The dimensions of complaint satisfaction: process and outcome complaint satisfaction versus cold fact and warm act complaint satisfaction,’ Managing Service Quality, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 112-119. Wang, C. & Hsu, L. (2012) ‘How do Service Encounters Impact on Relationship Benefits,’ International Business Research, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 98-109. Zeithaml, V., Bitner, M. & Gremler, D. (2009) Services marketing, McGraw Hill, Boston. Read More