Services Marketing

ASSIGNMENT 2
Group - 3

ed To:
Submitt
Sudarshan
Seshanna

Dr.

Submitted By:

ADITHYA RAJ (08PG144)

GAURAV KUMAR (08PG304)

NISHANT CHOUBISA (08PG108)

SURBHI AGARWAL (08PG201)

URPREET KAUR SONI (08PG209)

VIPUL GUPTA (08PG141)

Choose an example of an IDEAL SERVICE ENCOUNTER that your
group has experienced recently:

As a group, we found this example as the best for an ideal service

encounter that we experienced. This incident happened with us in Sigree
Restaurant, Chennai, where we went to have dinner on the event of our
group mate’s birthday, (Urpreet Kaur Soni). It happened as such that after
ordering our dinner, we presented Urpreet with gifts along with singing
birthday jingle. Picking up on this, along with the food served we were also
served FREE mocktails, with a small Sigree Birthday note for Urpreet. The
hotel staff also greeted Urpreet with a “Happy Birthday mam. Have a
wonderful evening!”

1. What was the source of satisfaction?

The element of surprise made the hotel service experience more

pleasing and memorable. The mocktails served as a compliment, was
actually worth Rs.1600 (Rs.400 each) when calculated. The warmth
and caring shown by the hotel management thus satisfied us beyond
measure. Looking at it from the hotel management’s point of view, this
becomes a reliable way to tangibalize the intangible service.

2. Why was the encounter so special? What did the employee do?

The hotel staff provided us with free mocktails which was not
expected of him. This provided us with a great sense of satisfaction.
This simple act of picking up on customer’s actions made sure that we
visit the place again.

3. What were your expectations?

There were no expectations from our side and this became one of
the primary reasons that the encounter became so special to us. This
act by the Hotel Management exceeded our simple expectations of
getting standard food and service. This can be explained with the
Product levels-The Customer Value Hierarchy:
(a) Core Benefit: The core benefit in this case was to satisfy our
hunger.

(b) Basic Need: The basic need was to get Food and Beverage in order
to satisfy our hunger.

(c) Expected Need: We expected a certain standards out of the hotel,

that is, good quality food, pleasant ambience and friendly service.

(d) Augmented Need: Satisfaction plays a main role to fulfil our

augmented needs. The service provided in the hotel was upto the
mark. The food provided was standardized, service quality was top
standards mixed with other factors gave us a satisfaction, fulfilling
our Augmented needs.

(e) Potential Need: Here, the hotel management has come up with
new ways of satisfying customers and simultaneously distinguishing
their service. Customer Delight plays a main role here and by
offering extra service which showed that they care positioned the
hotel in our minds above all the other hotels.

By satisfying all the hierarchical needs of the customers, the

hotel created a strong image in our minds along with satisfying our
needs.
 Core
Product
Basic
Benefit
Expected
Benefit
Augmented
Benefit
Potential
Benefit

4. What could the company do to ensure that this kind of encounter is the
“rule” rather than the “exception” (if you think it should ensure this)?

If the hotel management makes this policy as a rule, it will not be

much of a surprise either to the management when customers turn up
specially on their birthdays or other such special occasions, nor to the
customers when they are actually given ‘the special treatment’. The
customers will tend to spread the word through buzz and viral
marketing and this will result in the inflow of customers only on special
occasions.

Hence, such encounters should be kept as an exception, rather than

making it a rule.

Choose an example of very bad service encounter that your group

has experienced recently.
 This is an experience that I personally do not even want to remember
and share. This is an incident that occurred with me at a public sector bank
(Canara Bank). I had been to the bank to get my loan application sanctioned.
But I had a list of formalities to be completed. So, I was waiting to submit my
forms to the bank clerk to clear the formalities. The bank clerk was
continually neglecting me justifying that he was busy. I had to wait for
around 4 hours in the bank hoping that the bank clerk will call me. I felt
dejected and was disheartened by the bank’s service. It made me feel as if I
was begging for the Bank loan. I was then requested to come the following
day to get my papers cleared. This process wasted my valuable time and
built a bad impression for the bank.

We as a group felt this incident to be an ideal example of very bad

service encounter.

1. What was the source of dissatisfaction? Can you categorize the

encounter according to the four common themes?

The bank clerk’s ignorant behaviour was the primary source of

dissatisfaction. The categories of the common themes basically
involved-

• I was dissatisfied with advice issues

• With process aspects, such as the interpersonal skills of the

staff member (clerk)

• Due to lack of acknowledgement of physical or emotional

needs, and

• Due to access problems.

2. What did the employee do to make this such a bad encounter? What
were your expectations?

The employee did not respect my time and made me wait for hours
without entertaining me. This act worsened my experience with the
bank and overall led to a negative experience about the bank’s
service.
 I had normal expectations of speedy and quality service from the bank.
I also expected ample respect from the bank authority as I was a
regular customer of theirs.

3. What should the employee have done?

The employee should have calculated the service time before-hand

and should have told me. And his treatment should have been more
diligent and polite.

I personally believe service organisations should treat customers

according to Mahatma Gandhi’s definition-

"A customer is the most important visitor on our premises.

He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him.

He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it.

He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it.

We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour

by giving us an opportunity to do so."

4. Using the GAPS model of service quality can you identify likely gaps
that may have caused this service failure?

Provider Gap 2: Not having the right Service Quality Designs

and standards (Responsiveness)
This is primarily due to-
• Poor service design
• Absence of customer defined standards
• Inappropriate physical evidence and services cape

Provider Gap 3: Not Delivering to Service Standards (Accuracy)

Provider gap 3 is the discrepancy between development of customer-
driven service standards and actual service performance by company
employees. Here in our case the bank promises to provide the best
service in its category. But in reality it is just the opposite which is
disheartening. Hence the bank is not able to deliver to the service
standards.