Service Marketing Encounters
SERVICES MARKETING
SERVICE ENCOUNTER REPORT
I have evaluated six encounters with a variety of industries; they are all from the service sector. A service sector business is one in which the perceived value of the offering to the buyer is determined more by the service rendered than the product offered.
The services I encountered have various levels of intangibility. For example, my service encounter at Odeon cinemas included physical aspects such as the theatre, popcorn, and tickets. However, with the telephone banking service encounter there is almost no tangible aspect.
The services I encountered also varied in the separability of the buyer and provider. For services such as going to the hairdressers, it is essential for the buyer and seller to be at the same place at the same time. However, when using self-service technologies such as Amazon' there is no interpersonal aspect. For self-service technologies, customers play a role in creating quality service for themselves through their own behaviour during the interaction (Mary Jo Bitner, 2003).
Services are characterised by the lack of inventory. For example, hairdressers' cannot store appointment slots from one day to the next.
Services are very sensitive to time because they cannot be back ordered. For example, fast-food restaurants such as KFC cannot tell customers to come back tomorrow when the food is ready.
The intangibility of services leads to difficulty in measuring and controlling quality. For example, with a telephone-banking encounter, a new call staff member will offer a different level of service than a long-term staff member who feels comfortable in their job. However, self-service technologies such as ATM's operate uniformly and are therefore easier to control quality.
The difficulty in measuring quality means that services are risky. It is difficult to trial a service. For example, it is impossible to trial a film at the cinema.
Services can often be customised to the
SERVICE ENCOUNTER REPORT
I have evaluated six encounters with a variety of industries; they are all from the service sector. A service sector business is one in which the perceived value of the offering to the buyer is determined more by the service rendered than the product offered.
The services I encountered have various levels of intangibility. For example, my service encounter at Odeon cinemas included physical aspects such as the theatre, popcorn, and tickets. However, with the telephone banking service encounter there is almost no tangible aspect.
The services I encountered also varied in the separability of the buyer and provider. For services such as going to the hairdressers, it is essential for the buyer and seller to be at the same place at the same time. However, when using self-service technologies such as Amazon' there is no interpersonal aspect. For self-service technologies, customers play a role in creating quality service for themselves through their own behaviour during the interaction (Mary Jo Bitner, 2003).
Services are characterised by the lack of inventory. For example, hairdressers' cannot store appointment slots from one day to the next.
Services are very sensitive to time because they cannot be back ordered. For example, fast-food restaurants such as KFC cannot tell customers to come back tomorrow when the food is ready.
The intangibility of services leads to difficulty in measuring and controlling quality. For example, with a telephone-banking encounter, a new call staff member will offer a different level of service than a long-term staff member who feels comfortable in their job. However, self-service technologies such as ATM's operate uniformly and are therefore easier to control quality.
The difficulty in measuring quality means that services are risky. It is difficult to trial a service. For example, it is impossible to trial a film at the cinema.
Services can often be customised to the
References: Bitner, Mary Jo. ‘Self-service technologies: What do customers expect? ' Marketing Management. Chicago: 2001. Vol 10, pg. 10, 2 pgs. Dabholkar, Pratibha (1991), ‘Decision-making in Consumer Trial of Technology-based Self-Service Options '. Georgia State University. Lovelock, C. 4th Edition, (2001), ‘Services Marketing ', Prentice Hall, New York. John Lovett. ‘Want happy, loyal online customers? Focus on raw speed and reliability; Financial services firms pioneered Web self-service '. New York: Dec 2003 Vol. 5, Iss. 9; pg. 45 Meuter Matthew L, Amy L Ostrom, Robert I Roundtree, Mary Jo Bitner. ‘Self-service technologies: Understanding customer satisfaction with technology-based service encounters. ' Journal of Marketing. Chicago: 2000. Vol 64, pg. 50, 15pgs. Prendergast, Gerard P, Marr, Norman E, (1994), ‘The future of self-service technologies in retail banking '. The Service Industries Journal. London. Vol 14, Iss. 1;pgs. 94-115 Rowe, Amanda T, Leonard V. Coote, (2000), ‘Measuring Satisfaction with Interpersonal Service and Self-Service Technology '. Queensland. Zeithaml A Valarie, Mary Jo Bitner, 3rd Edition, (2003), ‘Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus across the firm '. McGraw-Hill/Irwin, New York.