Organisational Conditions for Service Encounter-Based Innovation - Assignment Example

Services Encounter Executive summary The service encounter is termed as the moment of truth for the organization as it determines whether the customers are satisfied with the services of the company. The consumer behavior factors also play an important role in terms of influencing the service encounter. The report is based on a personal experience with different service providers and the concepts of service encounter have been utilized. The first encounter is based on a visit to a restaurant where the issues of culture has been analyzed. The experience was good as the concepts of culture were considered. The second encounter is based on the visit to the airport for the purposes of obtaining a ticket. The three stage model of service consumption has been has been analyzed in relation to the experience where it is recommended that more should be done by the company in terms of availing information. The disconfirmation of expectation model has been analyzed on the third encounter which is based in a private hospital. According to the analysis the service encounter was not good as it did not meet the expectations. The last encounter is at a bank where positioning has been analyzed. This is an important marketing concept that also plays an important role in terms of enhancing the service encounter. It has been recommended that the companies should put in place measures that will ensure that the customers are satisfied and their expectations are met in order to enhance the service encounter. Introduction The service encounter by the customers is an important stage as it involves the direct interaction of the customers and the service providers. The service encounter may influence the decision making process of the customers with regards to the future use of the services (Zapf, 2010). The service providers on the other hand have to enrich the service encounter in order to ensure that the customers are satisfied and thus maintaining the customers and attracting new ones. The service encounter is sometimes regarded as the moment of truth as it determines the reaction of the customers. In some instances, the customers have experienced a bad encounter with the service providers which greatly affect the relationship between the customer and the service provider. Several factors also affect the service encounter and hence the need for the service provider to put in place initiatives that will ensure that the customers are satisfied (Mattsson, 2013). The paper thus discusses four service encounters based a personal experience among different service providers in the last three months. The service en counters includes; obtaining a ticket at the airport, ordering food at a restaurant, transacting at a bank and a hospital visit. Various theories will also be used with an aim of analyzing the service encounters and they include; control theory, role theory, three stage model of service, disconfirmation of expectations model and script theory. The concepts of culture as well as positioning will also be used during the analysis of the service encounters. Encounter 1: ordering food at a restaurant Brief description: ordering food at a restaurant This encounter took place at a local restaurant during one of the weekends. It was during lunch time and the restaurant is usually full at the time due to the high number of customers. People from diverse groups usually take their lunch at the restaurant because of its popularity in the location. The service involves a direct interaction with the members of staff of the restaurant who usually takes the orders for the customers. The services of the restaurant are unique and this aimed at ensuring customer satisfaction is achieved. The staff members are friendly and ready to assist the customers at all times in the restaurant. Ordering food at a restaurant: Culture analysis Culture plays an important role in terms of influencing the consumer behavior. This is because the consumers are used to certain ways of doing things which emanates from their culture. Any changes or procedures that are not related to their culture may have negative impacts during the first encounter. This may also lower the quality of service during the encounter. Culture therefore influences the service provision among the service providers (Mattila, 2010). During the service encounter, some elements of culture were evident in the service provision. This is also considering that the restaurant is usually frequented by people from diverse groups. The aspects of individualism were evident in terms of service provision. This is because self reliance was highly valued as most of the processes involved the customers themselves. On the other hand, the staff was sensitive on the issues of culture when serving the diverse customers. This was for the purposes of ensuring that everyone was comfortable with the services being offered. Different types of food were also available during the encounter and this was for the purposes of addressing the needs of each individual in terms of culture. The communication process during the encounter was also influenced by the culture as the staff members were trying to communicate to the customers in a way that suites their culture. During the interpersonal interaction, kit was evident that equality was valued which is an important concept of power distance. The service was however of high quality as most of the cultural aspects were considered during the service encounter. Ordering food at a Restaurant: Recommendations Although the service encounter was good in terms of the cultural aspects, several factors needs to be considered. It is recommended that the restaurant should put in place measure that will ensure that the communication process is enhanced. This is because some of the customers from diverse cultures may not understand some modes of communication. The use of signs during the communication process should also be minimized as it always means different things to different people. It is also recommended that the company should ensure that each customer can be satisfied by ensuring that the meals prepared are suitable for the members of the diverse cultures. The concepts of collectivism should also be considered as it is common in some of the cultures. Over reliance on individualism has a negative impact on some of the customers who are mainly reliant on the services of the other people. Encounter 2: Obtaining a Ticket at the Airport Brief description: Obtaining a Ticket at the Airport This encounter involved the purchasing of a travelling ticket at the airport. Although the tickets can be purchased online, they are also available at the airport. The process of purchasing the ticket also involved the personal interaction with the staff of the company who were in selling the tickets. The process was a little bit tiresome because of the high number of passengers who were also involved in the purchase process. The whole process lasted about thirty minutes. The interaction with the staff member lasted about five minutes. This is because much time was spent on the queue. Obtaining a ticket at the airport: Three Stage Model of Service Consumption The three stage model of service consumption is a process that involves various stages of decision making and the use of the products or services. The model is important in terms of influencing the consumer behavior (Noone, 2010). The pre-purchasing stage is the first stage in the model. During this stage, the need to travel influenced the decision to purchase the ticket at the airport. The evaluation of alternatives was done and the use of the online method was not efficient at the time and hence the decision to purchase the ticket at the airport. The interaction with the service provider was the next stage and it is also in the second stage of the model. This took place during queuing as the interaction with the members of staff started at this point. The quality of the services was good as the staff members were polite and willing to assist. Cognitive structures were in place and it played an important role in terms of guiding the operations of the employees. According to the script theory, a structured way of guiding the operations of the employees for the purposes of interacting with the customers is important (Kark, 2012). The post purchase stage is the last stage of the model and it involves the evaluation of the services performance. The services of the company can be ranked as high quality although the level of contact was medium. The services can still be considered in future as no inconveniences were caused during the process. Obtaining a Ticket at the Airport: Recommendations The service encounter was good but the service provider can still do more for the purposes of enhancing the customer experience. The service provider should put in place measures that will ensure that the time taken to complete the procedure is reduced. On the other hand, it is also recommended that the staff should be more sensitive on the needs of the customers. More assistance should be according to the elderly and those with special needs. This is because the time take at the queue may impact negatively on them. On the other hand, it is also recommended that the company should be more provocative in terms of providing information regarding the services. This will improve on the decision making process of the customers. The customer satisfaction process should be highly prioritized by the company in order to benefit the customers. Encounter 3: Hospital visit Brief description: Hospital visit The encounter took place in the one of the visits to the hospital. Due to some headache, the hospital visit was required. Other than visiting the usually public hospital, a high class private hospital was visited. This is because of the belief that the quality of services offered at the private hospitals is quite high as compared to the public hospitals. This belief has also been true in some of the cases as the doctors a private hospital are more qualified and are also more careful when dealing with the patients. The service encounter with the service provider lasted for about one hour. Hospital visit: Disconfirmation of expectations model The disconfirmation of expectations model is an important model in terms of explaining the concepts of consumer behavior. The model mainly deals with the expectations of the customers before and after the purchase of a certain product or using a certain service (Goyal, 2010). On the other hand, this model is important in terms of determining the satisfaction rate of the customers. During the hospital visit, the interaction with the service provider was not good as it feel below the expectations. Initially, it was expected that the service provider would offer a different service as compared to that of a public hospital. However, most of the services were similar as the same tests were carried out and the same medication administered. This is in comparison to the previous visits to the public hospital with the same problem. The cost of treatment was also high although this was expected. There was no queuing at the hospital as compared to the public hospitals. This was also expected of the hospital. Most of the expectations were not met leading to the dissatisfaction with the services provided by the hospital. The quality of the services provided was thus low despite the high levels of interactions with the members of staff at the hospital. According to the control theory, it is important for the customers to feel that they are in control of the situation (Lankton, 2012). This was however not the case at the hospital. Customer satisfaction is also dependant on the expectations and the services that are offered by a provider. Hospital visit: Recommendation It is recommended that the service provider should put in place more efforts aimed at meeting the expectations of the customers. This requires improvements of the quality of services that are being offered. On the other hand, it is also recommended that the service provider should offer unique services. This is for the purposes of meeting the expectations of the clients with regards to the quality of services that are offered at the private hospitals. On the other hand, it is also recommended that the service provider improve on the procedures that are used during the treatment process. This will ensure that the clients are more confident wit the products of the company. The cost of services being offered should also be in line with the services that are provided. It is also recommended that the management should consider the issues of customer expectation during the planning process. Encounter 4: Transacting at a bank Brief description: Transacting at a bank The service encounter at the bank was necessitated by the need to deposit money in the bank. The transaction required the visit to the bank as the amount was huge. This meant that the only convenient method of carrying out the transaction was through visiting the bank. The interaction with the staff of the bank lasted about one two hours. This is because of the long queue at the bank and the high number of clients that the bank had to serve. The transactions have to be carried out carefully for the purposes of avoiding any errors which may impact negatively on either the bank or the customers and hence the time taken. Transacting at a bank: Positioning Positioning plays an important role in terms of influencing the customers to purchase a product or service from a customer. The measure is also important in terms of dealing with the competitors in the market (Sung, 2010). The main types of positioning process in the market involve the functional, symbolic and experimental. The poisoning process also plays an important role in terms of enhancing the image of an organization (Hollensen, 2010). The bank has put in place measure to ensure that its brand is positioned well. This is for the purposes of promoting the services of the company. During the interaction with the customers, the staff was actively involved in promoting the brand image of the company. Booklets that contain the services of the company were offered to the customers for the purposes of advertising its services. The staff members were also polite to the customers and they answered every question regarding the products and services of the company. They were also willing to offer any explanations regarding the products and services of the company. The bank also advertised its services through an audiovisual means at the waiting are for the purposes of ensuring that the customers have adequate information regarding the services of the bank. The control theory is also applicable in the company as the customers are made to feel in total control of the process. On the other hand, the positioning of the company also includes promotions for the purposes of encouraging more customers to use the services of the company. Transacting at a bank: Recommendation The services of the company were good despite the long queues. It is thus recommended that the bank should put in place a queuing management system for the purposes of improving the experience of the customers. The positioning of the company should also involve concepts of perception. This is important for the purposes of capturing the minds of the customers regarding the services of the company. On the other hand, it is recommended that the concepts of functional positioning should be utilized in the company. This is mainly for the purposes of providing benefits to the customers and hence improving on its position. The self image enhancement of the company should also be done for the purposes of improving on its experience and public image. Summary of recommendations It is evident that the communication process plays an important role in terms of service encounter. This is because the issues of culture which are associated which influences the service encounter. It is also evident that the proper use of cultural aspects will enhance the service encounters of the customers. It is also evident that being sensitive to the needs of the customers is important in terms of enhancing the service encounter. This is especially important when dealing with different classes of people. The services at the airport can be enhanced through provision of enough information regarding the services of the company. The three step model is also important in terms of influencing the decision of the customers. The disconfirmation expectation model also plays an important role in terms of determining the rate of customer satisfaction. The hospital can improve on the satisfaction of the customers by putting in place measures that will ensure that the services are unique as compared to the public hospitals. This will also play an important role in terms of meeting the expectations of the customers. Positioning is also an important aspect of marketing and it greatly influences decision of the customers. Enhancing the image of the bank as well as improving on the perception will play an important role in terms of enhancing the service encounter. Service encounter is thus important in terms of improving the rate of customer satisfaction. References Zapf, D, 2010, Service encounter needs theory: A dyadic, psychosocial approach to understanding service encounters, Research on Emotion in Organizations, 6, 221-258. Mattila, A, 2010, Restaurant servicescape, service encounter, and perceived congruency on customers' emotions and satisfaction, Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 19(8), 819-841. Mattsson, J, 2013, Organisational conditions for service encounter-based innovation, Research Policy. Noone, B, 2010, Consumer Goals and the Service Encounter: Evaluating Goal Importance and the Moderating Effect of Goal Progress On Satisfaction Formation, Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 34(2), 247-268. Kark, R, 2012, It takes three to tango: Leadership and hostility in the service encounter, The Leadership Quarterly, 23(1), 81-93. Goyal, S, 2010, Expectation disconfirmation and technology adoption: polynomial modeling and response surface analysis, MIS quarterly, 34(2), 281-303. Lankton, N, 2012, Examining two expectation disconfirmation theory models: assimilation and asymmetry effects, Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 13(2), 1. Sung, Y, 2010, Constructing a mixed-logit model with market positioning to analyze the effects of new mode introduction, Journal of Transport Geography, 18(1), 175-182. Hollensen, S, 2010, Marketing management: A relationship approach, Pearson Education, New York. Read More