Service Encounter Blog #4

The Bay, Mayfair Mall, Jewellery Department

June, 25, 2013, 5pm

Chapter 7, Service Recovery: 

• Service Failure, p.180
• Provide Appropriate communication, p.191
• Supply adequate explanations p.192

Chapter 12, Customers role in service delivery

• Promoting the company, word of mouth p.364

Price of Service: return of jewellery valued at $400

I went to The Bay trying to exchange an anniversary gift. I walked up to the jewellery counter with receipts and the earrings and necklace I was hoping to exchange. I explained my reason for returning to the clerk and everything seemed alright until she looked at my receipts. She abruptly handed the receipts back to me and said “I can’t help you with this, you have the wrong receipt.” My boyfriend and I were confused as we only had the receipts that he was given at the time of purchase. The clerk told us that the receipt we had was the “store receipt” and that since we had bought it at the other Bay store, we would need to go downtown and get the “customer copy.” We asked her politely if she could call the other store or perhaps a manager who could assist us in performing the return here, as it wasn’t our fault we were issued the wrong receipt. She firmly replied “No, I’m sorry I can’t help you.” This was a clear example of a service failure, the event was “poorly executed,” and the employee was “rude and uncaring” (Valerie Zeithaml, 2013, p. 180). So that was that, we went all the way downtown to the other Bay to do the exchange. When we got there, we explained our predicament to the new jewellery clerk. She was shocked and informed us that the number needed to complete the return was on the receipt the whole time. She couldn’t believe that the other attendant had sent us all the way downtown, when a simple return was all that was needed. I was surprised and a little bit angry, and I think the clerk sensed that we had been treated poorly. She made up for it by being extra polite and nice, and offering her apologies on behalf of the store. This was where the “service recovery” was initiated (Valerie Zeithaml, 2013, p. 181).

My expectations of the return were that it would be a simple and swift transaction, just like any other return I had experienced. I was extremely disappointed that the clerk at The Bay didn’t have the knowledge or the will to help us as customers. My expectations were definitely not met.

My level of satisfaction was a 4, only improved by the nice experience I had with the second clerk. My reaction to the encounter was a bit of anger, frustration, and confusion. I also told some of my friends about the poor service I had received. This is an example of how customers are responsible for promoting (or in this case demoting) the company (Valerie Zeithaml, 2013, p. 364) I will most definitely not purchase jewellery at The Bay again (1). To make me satisfied, the first clerk need only have confirmed with a manager/other sales associate that she needed a different receipt to perform the return. This would have been providing appropriate communication (Valerie Zeithaml, 2013, p. 191), and could have done much to prevent the negative feelings by giving a more “accurate explanation (Valerie Zeithaml, 2013). It is my guess that she really had no clue if she could use the store copy, simply because she never had before. 

 

Valerie Zeithaml, M. J. (2013). Services Marketing 6tg Edition. New York: McGraw Hill Inc.

 

Service Encounter Blog #3

Opa! Restaurant, Mayfair Mall 

July 17th, 2013 5:30pm

Price of Service: 2 meals= $24.00

Chapter 11 Topics

1. Transporting a Service Culture (p.314)
2. Employee Satisfaction, Customer Satisfaction, and Profits (p.318)
3. Develop People to Deliver Service Quality (p.330)
4. Retain the Best People (p.334)

After a bit of shopping at Mayfair mall, my boyfriend and I headed to the food court to get something to eat. We had just come from The Bay and were feeling a bit angry about he very poor customer service we had just recieved. At this point, I was not expecting much from a food court service encounter. We walked up to the counter at Opa! and ordered two salads with gyro souvlaki and pita. The young lady at the cash register then asked us if we would like something to drink. At first, I ordered a bottle of water but then remembered I had a full stainless steel bottle in the truck. I turned to my boyfriend and explained I was thirsty but didn’t want to buy water. The girl at the counter over heard and immediately offered me a cup for water with a smile. I am very appreciative of service that comes with a smile. I think it is all but lost in many service encounters these days, from both the customer and the employee. You could really tell that this was a satisfied employee, and it truly reflected in our experience (Valerie Zeithaml, 2013, p. 318). Next came the actual making of the dish, and we slid down the line to the prep tables. The two young guys working behind the glass both had smiles on their faces and were chatting politely with the customers. When it was our turn, the young man greeted us with a very polite and sincere, “Hey, how has your day been today?” We responded and then asked him the same question. He told us that he had been there since 6:30am, as the prep lady was sick and he offered to fill in for her. We were shocked that he had been there for 11 hours, and was still bringing positive energy and solid work ethic to his shift. On the “about” section of the Opa! restaurant, their is an explanation of the service culture at Opa! “The word OPA! is used in Greek culture to express a feeling of joy, high spirits and happiness.” (About Opa!, 2013). This is a prime example of an employee who is transporting a service culture (Valerie Zeithaml, 2013, p. 314).We continued to chat about our days while he made our meal, he even slid some extra gyro on our plates with a wink. While we were standing there, a customer had come that was wanting some meals for a staff party she was hosting. The Opa! staff had a quick little team meeting type thing while still all manning their stations. They made a plan as to how they would tackle the order efficiently. I was very impressed by their communication skills and the speed of their meeting. This is a clear example of good training for both techincal and interactive skills (Valerie Zeithaml, 2013, p. 330).The young guy that was serving us completed our order and then asked my boyfriend, “would you like a bag bro?” still with a smile. Some people may think its silly, but it felt endearing coming from this nice and polite young man. He then asked if our meal was “for here” or “to go.” We were worried that we wouldn’t have time to eat it (it was 5:45 and the mall closes at 6). He assured us that nobody would rush us out and that we had lots of time to sit and eat if we wished. He then handed us our meal, thanked us for coming, and wished us a good evening. Opa! is clearly doing a wonderful job with their hiring process, and also with retaining their employees by including them as part of the company vision(Valerie Zeithaml, 2013, p. 334). As we sat and ate our meal, both my boyfriend and I could not stop talking about how great the service was at Opa!, and the meal was delicious as well. After we had finished, I made a point of going back to the restaurant as they were cleaning up for closing time. I told them that we were very impressed with the service quality at Opa! and that we would seriously come to the mall just to eat at their restaurant. They all laughed and thanked us for the compliment. I was a 10/10 for satisfaction at this service encounter, not only for the 100% effort I recieved, but also for the smiles that came with it. I would also say that I was even more appreciative of Opa!’s good service, as I had just come from The Bay where I had recieved the exact opposite. I will definitely go back (7/7) and would recommend it to others. 

 

References 

Valerie Zeithaml, M. J. (2013). Services Marketing 6th Edition. New York: McGraw Hill Inc.

About Opa! (2013). Retrieved from Opa! Of Greece: http://www.opasouvlaki.ca/canadas-favourite-greek-and-mediterranean-restaurant

Service Encounter Blog 1

JK’s Bicycleitus, Bicycle Store

Date: June 22, 2013 3pm

Chapter 3 Topics:

• Service Expectations P.52
• Zone of Tolerance P.56
• Personal Service Philosophy P.58
• Situational Factors P.60
• Past Experience P.64

The cost of the service was $175.00 for 2 bicycle tune ups and replaced sprocket

Description: My boyfriend and I recently decided to get into biking as a means of transportation and exercise. We purchased two road bikes off craigslist and brought them to JK’s Bicycleitus on Bay St. for tune ups. First, they took my boyfriends bike in for a tune up, and when we got it back we decided to take it for a test ride around the block before driving home. It was a good think we went for a test ride, after just a few short pedals we realized that they had not only put the wrong size chain on, but had also adjusted several other cables incorrectly. We ended up having to leave the bike for another night for more tuning. Next we brought in my bike which was having gear problems. They were very uncertain as to when they would be able to work on it, and initially told us it would be a few days before they could even start. However, the owner came out at this point and stated otherwise. After leaving, we received several phone calls saying that the bike needed part after part and that it would take a much longer time than expected to fix. Eventually, we became frustrated, went and picked up the bike and dropped it off at MEC to get fixed instead. MEC figured out the problem almost right away, (which ended up being only one part) and all adjustments were done correctly. My expectations at JK’s were not met. I was used to the level of passion for bikes that I had always seen at Ozzies. There is a strong culture that exists around biking, and at JK’s I didn’t feel the love of the sport that I usually got from “bike people.” My level of satisfaction was about a 3. They were pretty price efficient but the quality of work was poor. 

My reaction of switching bike shops was reasonable. We gave them a chance with my boyfriends bike, and when they failed we even gave them yet another opportunity. It was the second screw up that pushed us away and lead us to believe they were not a capable bike service store. I was disappointed with the lack of enthusiasm the staff had for helping customers, and I was really longing for the bike store from home. I think I was also shocked that a busy bike store like JK’s had failed to handle the simplest of repairs. Thus, I would rate my likeliness of returning to the store a 2. 

To make our experience better, the staff could have put more effort into fixing our bikes properly. If they were unable to find the problem, they could have communicated with other staff members to team up and trouble shoot. I think that the owner needs to find employees that are truly passionate about biking, not just looking for a job. I had a hard time believing that any of the employees truly cared about biking. I would not return for the lack of bike culture and enthusiasm, and the lack of knowledge on the part of the repairs staff. 

My expectations of the place were based on the “past experiences” (chapter 3, p.64) I had at another bike shop a few years ago. I was very active in downhill mountain biking in high school, and always received amazing service at Ozzie’s Bike Shop in my home town, Port Alberni. I was comparing JK’s to Ozzie’s before I even walked into the store, I was thinking about all the people I knew and liked at Ozzies, and the skill they possessed for fixing bikes. I was also thinking about the culture I had become a part of while hanging around Ozzies, and I expected the same level of passion from the “pedal heads” in Victoria. 

I was thinking about situational factors that could have lead to my experience at JK’s to be a poor one (chapter 3, P.60). The weather had just started to become ideal for biking, and perhaps JK’s was experiencing a higher than usual repair volume. I can understand that an influx of service can lead staff to become flustered, but at the end of the day I received poor service on two separate occasions and could no longer tolerate it. This brings me to my next chapter topic, zone of tolerance (chapter 3, p.54). The service at JK’s was below the adequate service level, and therefore out of my zone of tolerance. They also did not provide service cohesive with my personal service philosophy (chapter 3, p.58). I am an old fashioned believer that a smile and enthusiasm is necessary in the customer service industry, and this was lacking at JK’s. Above all, JK’s did not meet my service expectations of a job done right, and a job done well (chapter 3, p.58). This ultimately lead me to take my business from the small shop to the chain store, something I do not usually support.