CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 3

Manage Expectations

Customer service embodies the management of expectations. When the service experience exceeds a customer's expectation, the customer is satisfied. On the other hand, when the service experience falls short of a customer's expectation, the customer is dissatisfied.

Customer high expectations pose a major challenge in today's demanding workplace. Customers are increasingly placing extreme demands upon service professionals, and often feel betrayed and angry when their needs are not met. This is the byproduct of service businesses over-promising and under-delivering, a major underpinning of CSS.

Many service businesses are guilty of artificially raising expectations to levels not easily or consistently attained. Unrealistic expectations are created by unrealistic advertising and marketing pitches and promotional materials and sometimes by staff and management who make unrealistic service guarantees. According to Len Schlesinger, an expert in customer service and previously senior associate dean and a professor at Harvard Business School: "Let's see, we've gone from `meeting customer expectations,' to `exceeding customer expectations,' to `delighting customers,' to `customer ecstasy.' I hate to see what comes next" (Fishman, 2001, p. 110). Hill (2001, p. 1) maintains that in the 1980s, experts recommended to always exceed customer expectations as an answer to competition. "What we did not count on was just how unrealistic customer expectations could become."

An owner of an independent property was ready to acquire a franchise from a major hotel chain until the true cost of the "100% satisfaction guarantee" offered by the hotel franchising company became apparent. The independent property owner, while at the franchisee training session, was informed by a group of the hotel's general managers that the 100% satisfaction guarantee tripled the cost of the annual franchising fee. The franchise properties frequently had to refund monies to dissatisfied customers.

Eradicating CSS requires the alignment of customer expectations with service performance. This begins with offering realistic service guarantees that emphasize the service attributes most important to customers based on the type of business (see table 1). Researchers have found that customers typically evaluate service quality based on five attributes: reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibles (Parasurman, Zeithaml, & Berry, 1988).

RELIABILITY

Reliability is the ability to perform promised service dependably and accurately. Research studies have shown that reliability is the most important determinant of perceptions of service quality among U.S. customers. Customers want to do business with companies that honor their promises. Domino's Pizza, for example, built its reputation based on the following promise: "A hot and fresh pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less." Domino's Pizza, the second-largest pizza chain in the U.S., prides itself on the fact that "nobody delivers better." According to the 2006 Health Care Satisfaction Report, patient

29

30 Chapter Three

Type of Service Business

Principal Expectations

Automobile Repair Car Insurance

Hotel

? Be competent ("Fix it right the first time"). ? Explain things ("Explain why I need the suggested repairs"). ? Be respectful ("Do not treat me like a dumb person").

? Keep me informed ("I should not have to learn about insurance law changes from the newspaper").

? Be on my side ("I do not want to be treated like a criminal because I have a claim").

? Play fair ("Do not drop me when something goes wrong"). ? Protect me from catastrophe ("Make sure my estate is covered

in the event of a major accident"). ? Provide prompt service ("I want quick settlement of claims").

? Provide a clean room ("Do not have a deep-pile carpet that cannot be completely cleaned").

? Provide a secure room ("Good bolts and peephole on door"). ? Treat me like a guest ("It's almost like they are looking you

over to decide whether they are going to let you have a room"). ? Keep your promise ("They said the room would be ready, but it was not at the promised time").

Table 1. Examples of service attributes most important to customers based on the type of business (Parasurman, Berry, & Zeithaml, 1991).

satisfaction in physician offices declines substantially for every five minutes an appointment is delayed. The critical threshold for waiting comes at 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, patient satisfaction may plunge to a level where patient loyalty is at risk if it is a persistent issue, even if patient satisfaction with the quality of the care is high. To align customer expectations with service reliability, the following things must occur.

1. Service standards must be carefully formulated, communicated to customers whenever possible, and monitored for compliance

This requires the development of standard operating procedures that clearly specifies:

? The standard (e.g., patients receive appointment reminders 24 hours in advance). ? How the standard is met and communicated (e.g., each appointment reminder call is logged,

new patients receive a packet that denotes how appointment reminders are handled, which is also posted on the Web site). ? The necessary resources to implement the service standard (e.g., automated reminder appointment system that sends a reminder message via phone, e-mail, and/or text message to the patient and allows them to respond). ? What corrective action should be taken when the standard is not met (non-responses are followed up with personal phone calls).

Manage Expectations 31

2. If a response is promised, it must happen according to the specifications directly or indirectly communicated to the customer The service must be performed right the first time. While mistakes do occur, the reputation of the service organization hinges on minimizing and responding quickly and appropriately to service failures and providing consistent service regardless of the time of day or service professional. Studies have shown that when customer problems were satisfactorily handled and resolved, their loyalty was within a few percentage points of those customers who had not experienced a service failure (Goodman, 1988). It is important to remember that there are no third chances.

3. The service guarantee should be specific and void of puffery Vague service guarantees result in customers defining expectations based on their own experiences and the competition. Promising the delivery of a pizza "within 30 minutes," for example, more clearly defines the service expectation than promising the "quick delivery" of pizza.

Advertisements and promotions should be carefully worded to ensure that the expectations can be reasonably fulfilled. Also, advertisements and promotions should be carefully targeted. Promoting the delivery of pizza within 30 minutes in a neighborhood that is 20 minutes away would be counterproductive.

4. Service professionals must be properly trained The delivery of reliable service requires well-prepared employees. Well-prepared employees know the service standards. Well-prepared employees are confident because they have received training in areas needed to satisfy customers. According to Zeithaml, Parasuraman, and Berry (1990), training in communication skills, especially in listening to customers and understanding what customers expect, gives employees a sense of mastery over the inevitable problems that arise in service encounters.

There are few greater liberating forces than the sharing of information. There is no such thing as "delegation" or "motivation" without extensive information. Knowledge is power - it always has been, and it always will be. Power - at the front line - is one more "must do," not a "nice-to-do." Tom Peters, Management Guru and Co-author of "In Search of Excellence"

RESPONSIVENESS

Responsiveness is the willingness to help customers and to provide prompt service. This involves being attentive to and promptly dealing with customer requests, questions, complaints, and problems. To align customer expectations with service responsiveness, the following things must occur.

1. Empower service professionals to perform tasks and make decisions For this to happen, service professionals must have easy access to the necessary tools and resources. For example, they often cannot complete a transaction or deliver the necessary level of customer service because of insufficient information at their disposal. One mail order firm realized that their sales volume could not surpass $10,000,000 per year because each salesperson specialized in one product line. Consequently, potential sales were lost because salespersons with the necessary product

32 Chapter Three

knowledge were frequently unavailable. Management decided to implement a knowledge-based system. The impact was dramatic.

Two years later, the firm's sales reached $100,000,000. With access to an online database containing detailed descriptions of every product, one salesperson could understand and sell all products. Furthermore, if a potential customer requested a price for a product not carried or out-of-stock, the computer would list alternative products.

Knowledge-based systems are like on-the-job training tools. Employees immediately become more productive and as they continue to interact with the system, they become more knowledgeable. Also, as user suggestions are continuously incorporated into these systems, the machine becomes smarter and more productive, resulting in a truly symbiotic relationship.

Pitney Bowes, a provider of mail- and document-management solutions, has more than 4,000 customer service agents. Customers reaching a Pitney Bowes call center often had to go into multiple calling queues to get questions answered. If a customer's question did not fall into the agent's area of expertise, the customer was transferred to yet another queue for resolution. According to Fred Perdue, Vice President and General Manager of Reegineering at Pitney Bowes: "We wanted to create a common source of information so our customer-facing employees would be empowered to deliver better service" (). As a result, Pitney Bowes implemented a centralized information system solution designed by Siebel Systems, a provider of electronic business application software. The Siebel centralized information system provides the call center service agent with a complete record of the customer's transaction history and service requests, a centralized knowledge base of answers to potential customer questions, and up-to-the-minute product information. This information allows the call center employee to better anticipate the customer's questions and concerns and to answer inquiries on the spot rather than having to transfer the customer to another queue.

Rance (2008) maintains that empowerment is a key enabler of customer-centric businesses because service professionals are the best ones to understand customer needs and to resolve issues at the first point of contact. Ideally, empowered service professionals interpret policies and business rules and even flex processes, if required, to ensure customer satisfaction. According to Rance (2008): "Many managers reluctantly accept empowerment for their people but secretly wait for things to go off the rails, so they can reassert themselves and justify their role as controllers. The sad fact is that command-and-control organizations are easier to manage than empowered ones."

Statements from various companies regarding the time frame for responding to customer messages. Which statements clearly define the service standard?

? All messages are answered as soon as possible. ? Messages are answered 24 hours a day, and 7 days a week. ? Messages are answered 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM Monday through Friday. ? Messages are answered in a timely fashion. ? Messages are answered at the convenience of correspondents. ? All messages are answered within 48 hours of receipt. ? Messages are answered during business hours so weekend or evening requests may not

be answered until the next available business day. ? Messages are answered based on priority. ? Messages are answered by the right people as quickly as possible. ? Messages are answered as promptly as possible.

Manage Expectations 33

? Messages are answered within an acceptable time frame. ? Messages are answered personally as soon as possible. ? Messages are answered in the order in which they are received. ? All messages are answered; please allow 20 working days for a response. ? Messages are answered each morning. ? Most messages are answered within 1 to 6 hours. Some are answered within 5 minutes

of receipt. ? Messages are answered as soon as Jane Doe returns.

2. Provide customer with specific times for service accomplishments

Whenever possible, let customers know of progress in handling their situation or service request. The following paragraphs identify tools that can assist with this process.

Automated attendant systems, which are used for answering and transferring telephone calls, provide call queuing. Callers who reach a busy extension are told of their progress in the queue and are provided with the opportunity to return to a list of options. Also, informational or marketing messages can be played while callers wait.

The Cost of Impatience?

Customers are more demanding. We want good service, quickly. We don't wait at gas pumps, we're antsy in ATM lines, and we pay to FedEx things to avoid standing in line at the post office. Companies have created, nursed, and benefited from this impatience. We are victims of it in our own lives. They are victims of it too. It makes providing customer service brutally unforgiving (Fishman, 2001, p. 110).

At peak periods, customers spend a lot of time in restaurants waiting to be to seated. They become agitated when the wait is longer than expected. A table management system can keep track of call-in and walk-in reservations and accurately project the waiting time based on the desired seating time and current table status information. A computer monitor located at the host station can graphically display which tables are occupied, reserved or vacant as well as if the tables have been bussed or if the checks are open, printed, or paid. Some customers are willing to wait longer for a table if the waiting area is not cramped, if the wait process is fair, and they can see progress being made. Houston's Restaurants, for example, provide customers with pagers enabling them to explore the surrounding area and to visit nearby stores. Pagers equipped with LCD displays can also provide automatic updated wait times (e.g., your table will be ready in 10 minutes). Because most customers have cell phones, they are being used as restaurant pagers. Restaurant cell phone pagers enable customers to freely move about at a much greater range than restaurant pagers and can notify them by text/voice message when their tables are ready. Customers also have the ability to respond to pages when using their cell phones.

Because long lines were common, Walt Disney World introduced the FASTPASS, which assigns customers designated times to visit popular attractions to avoid waiting in lines. To help customers make a decision, a clock notes the time during which they can return with no further wait if they choose the FASTPASS option and another clock shows the current wait time for the stand-by line. The insertion of the customer entrance ticket into the FASTPASS turnstile generates a ticket with a designated return

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download