Service Encounter Journal Form

Service Encounters Journal

BSAD 431

Prepared for Dr. Tom Mahaffey

Service Encounter Journal Form

Your name:Journal Entry Number: 1

Name of Firm: East Coast DynamicsType of Service: Event Planning

Date of Encounter: Dec.31/Jan.1Time of Encounter:10pm-5am

What specific circumstances led to this encounter (be brief)?

My friends and I were in need of a place to go for New Year’s Eve. We chose to buy tickets for the Cunard Centre New Year’s Eve celebration, which was put on by East Coast Dynamics because we had heard of other friends who would be attending. We compared the search qualities for all New Year’s Events that we were considering. Our evaluation of alternatives involved factors such as location, price, and entertainment offerings. In the end, our information search led us to make our decision based on the input of our friends and word of mouth about the event in question.

What did the firm/employee do or say (be brief)?

The firm’s communications with potential attendees to the event promised a formal event, with a red carpet entrance, door prizes, give aways. Our expectations for such an event were not only based on the communication that the firm had about the service, but was also based on past experiences that members of the group had in similar service settings (bars, concerts, etc.).

How would you rate your level of satisfaction with this encounter? (Scale of 1-7 where 1 is extremely dissatisfied and 7 is extremely satisfied)

I would rate this encounter as a 3

What exactly made you feel this way?

I think that from the beginning of the evening there was an obvious deficiency in interactive marketing between the service staff and the customers. There appeared to be a lack of concern for the quality of the service that attendants received. I felt that the service quality that I perceived did not live up to my expectations. The event itself fell below m level of adequate service. Also, situational factors, such as the weather leading to the fact that I could not get a drive home, and none of the event staff seemed to be helping anyone just amplified my frustration with the whole evening.

Assess the underlying service concepts that are at play in this encounter: You might include issues such as your expectations, their sources, how you evaluated the service quality, etc. If appropriate, use the GAPS Model in your analysis, the Services Marketing Triangle, the expanded services marketing mix, etc.

In this encounter, I assumed that there would be adequate staff to serve the needs of the attendants of the party, such as bar staff, coat check staff and security. I also expected that there would not be an extremely long wait to get into the Cunard Centre as they would be aware of how many people would be attending. As for experience qualities, I anticipated that I would be able to get a drink of my choice without much difficulty, that there would be music that I enjoyed and that I would probably be home around 2-3am. I had to lower my expectations for the evening because of unforeseen events such as the weather. Getting to and from the Cunard Centre proved to be much more difficult then I thought, which was not the fault of the firm, but it was a situational factor that impacted my expectations of the event. We could not get home until 5:00am, and were one of the fortunate few that the police were willing to drive home. The cab companies were no longer running because of the weather. So at 5:00, as many as 200 attendants were still at the event without a way home.

East Coast Dynamics, as an event planning agency should not have had such difficulty with Gap 1, not knowing what the customers expect. My expectations were not unreasonable, and any failures to meet those expectations could have been remedied with the availability of additional staff. The main issue was that many of my friends lost their coats, because the coat check area did not have sufficient staff to meet the needs of 3000 people. In attending this event, I felt that there was more focus on the transaction, rather than relationship building. There was no attempt by the organizers to make amends when it was clear that many people were without a way home, and that many attendees had lost their coats. Gap 2, resulting from poor service design and lack of service standards was also an issue. Since the event was severely understaffed, very few customers received the service that would be expected at any similar establishment. Establishing a ratio, of how many security staff, bar staff, and coat check staff should have been needed per 100 people would have been a sufficient way to ensure customer needs were met. Gap 3 could also be seen as a problem here as there was a failure to match supply and demand, and customers who negatively impacted each other resulted in bad situations. The compatibility of service customers played a large role in the difficulties that arose at this event. People were impatient with understaffed services, and became more agitated as the night continued. The coat check, which was eventually over run by the customers at the end of the night, was a result of a combination of too few staff, and too many intolerant people. As for Gap 4, what the customers were promised was not exactly performed. But for the most part, they did offer the services that they had outlined in communications, just not to the desired level that customers were expecting.

The firm did a poor job of internal marketing, as employees were not enabled to do their job efficiently and effectively. Bartenders were not trained well, and were not given adequate support staff, or stocks of liquor. The right people were not hired. In one instance, I had to open the beer, and poor it myself. Something that was not in my schema of expected customer roles that would have to be fulfilled. This poor internal marketing in turn led to poor interactive marketing between employees and customers. East Coast Dynamics was seen as sloppy, unprepared, and unprofessional.

What could the employee/firm have done to make you more satisfied with the encounter? With the issue in general?

Making sure that there were more staff in place, or selling a smaller number of tickets could have simply fixed most of the issues that were encountered at the Cunard Centre. There was a disconnect between the demand and supply. The experience qualities of the event were far below my personal expectations, and the feeling of most people I talked to was that this event failed their expectations as well.

There was also little to no attempt at service recovery. Messages that I have sent have gone unanswered, and the only available reimbursement is tickets to another East Coast Dynamics event that many people, including myself, have no interest in.

How likely is it that you will go back to this firm? (Scale of 1-7 where 1 if very unlikely and 7 is very likely).

On a scale of 1 to 7, I would rate the chances of me returning to an East Coast Dynamics event as a 2.

Service Encounter Journal Form

Your nameJournal Entry Number 2

Name of Firm: AldoType of Service: Service Recovery

Date of Encounter: January 9-16Time of Encounter: Various

What specific circumstances led to this encounter?

I ordered a pair of boots from Aldo, and when they arrived I realized I had ordered the wrong size. To return the boots, I went to their online service, and requested the return slip be sent to my email. When I entered my order number and my postal code, they said they would send all the documentation needed to return my boots to my email. Three days later, I had received no email and was no longer able to use the return feature online as it had already been used for my particular order number. I then proceeded to call for assistance.

Exactly what did the firm/employee do or say?

The firm initially communicated that the return could be done easily through online responses. This was one of my first experiences with Aldo’s online store front, and based on my previous experiences with Aldo sales staff and associates, I had formed reasonable expectations that my request would be dealt with quickly and efficiently. When these expectations were not met in the initial online service encounter, I was surprised, but even so, this encounter did not alter my zone of tolerance. The first call I made was met with a 15 minute wait on hold. The recording said that there was higher than normal call volume. This was still above the level of adequate service as it was after the holidays and Boxing Day sales, and the only perceived service alternatives were to go in person to the Aldo store in Halifax to obtain a refund, and that was not an option. I finally spoke to a gentleman who took my order number and email and said that I would receive an email shortly with the return documentation needed. I still did not receive an email. I called again, a couple of days later, and explained the difficulties I was having. She then said she would immediately send the email, and to wait on the line to ensure I had received it. I received the email, and hung up the phone. When I tried to open the return documents, they would not work. I then had to call back again, with another 10 minute wait, and spoke to someone who referred to my previous operator, and said he would send me an email later that night. I never received an email that night, and when I called again two days later, I never even had the chance to speak to a real operator. I was requested to leave a message with my problem and my call would be returned. I left my message, and finally two days later I received an email with working documentation. I then printed off the return slip and called UPS to arrange the pick up. My purchase was refunded two weeks later.

How would you rate your level of satisfaction with this encounter? (scale of 1-7 where 1 is extremely dissatisfied and 7 is extremely satisfied)

I would rate the overall encounter as a 3.

What exactly made you feel this way?

I felt that this was a simple request that should have been fulfilled by the company much sooner than it was. After I was able to return the boots, I was not happy with the amount of time it had taken to go through the process, but I was even more unhappy when the same thing happened to my roommate. She had to contact the company no less than three times to get a return. It seems like they didn’t want us to return the product. But by making it so difficult, it impacts my decision to use their online purchasing feature in the future.

I felt that the self perceived service role in this return request was high, which made my zone of tolerance wider. I knew that I had to initiate the return, and package up the product as well as call the UPS driver, so I believed Aldo could do what little had to be done to accept my return. I also had no other options for return as I would not be going to an Aldo outlet within the exchange time. My desired service was determined by previous online returns I had made with other firms, because I knew what was generally possible, and in what time period. I hoped that I would receive the return documentation the day I requested it first, and I had also hoped that they could arrange the pickup time with UPS. I expected that I would have to call UPS myself however, so that did not fall below adequate service.

Provider Gap 1 was seen, as there was no effort to make amends when the return system failed. I never once received an apology for the slow response time that the email was taking, or the fact that I had to wait at least 10 minutes on the phone each time I called. I did however receive a promotional code for free shipping on my next order. This did little to improve the situation because two days later, the mailing list for Aldo also received a code for free shipping and most online shoe stores offer free shipping anyway. Provider Gap 4 could also be a problem here as there was obviously a lack of communication between the external communications to the customer, and the service delivery. Because of what I was told by the website, and service representatives, I had no reason to think that I would not receive the emails promised.

My experience with external marketing with Aldo, has typically been positive. I enjoy their seasonal sales, and their product styles. My in store experience with the service attendant has been friendly and courteous. This interactive marketing experience however with the service recovery employees has been negative, and left me with the impression that Aldo is inefficient and lazy. It appears that customer service at Aldo does not have a service culture at heart, and perhaps needs improved internal marketing to better enable employees, and make them understand the importance of service.

What could the employee/firm have done to make you more satisfied with the encounter? With the issue in general?

If I could have received the documents needed to return the package when I put my order information in the website that would have made me satisfied. Wasting all that time on the phone just to get an email sent was what really led to my dissatisfaction with the service.

How likely is it that you will go back to this firm? (scale of 1-7 where 1 if very unlikely and 7 is very likely).

3 for the online store, and 5 for the actual outlet.

Service Encounter Journal Form

Your nameJournal Entry Number 3

Name of Firm: Henry’s Esso ServiceType of Service Car Repair

Date of Encounter: February 20, 2009Time of Encounter 3pm

What specific circumstances led to this encounter (be brief)?

On my way home from Antigonish to CapeBreton, my car’s radiator overheated and smoke started pouring from my engine. I pulled off to the side of the road and called home. On the recommendation of my mechanic from home in CapeBreton, I was told to call Henry’s Esso. My roommate picked us up, and we called the tow truck to pick up the car.

What did the firm/employee do or say (be brief)?

The employee, Mike, was the mechanic that looked at my car. When I went in to talk to him, he was extremely helpful and took down my information. He asked all the necessary questions, and had his tow truck driver pick up the car. He said that he would call on Monday to tell me what was wrong with the car, which he did. He then waited until I gave him the go ahead to perform the work, but had the parts already ordered so that he would be prepared. He said they should have the work complete by Wednesday, which they did, and they called me to let me know I could pick up the car. I called to ask if there was any way I could get out there to pick up my car, and the lady that answered the phone told me she could pick me up. She was the wife of Henry, the owner, and she was pleasant and more than happy to accommodate me. They allowed me to pay for the work with a cheque, and my car works better than ever now.

How would you rate your level of satisfaction with this encounter? (scale of 1-7 where 1 is extremely dissatisfied and 7 is extremely satisfied)

I would rate this encounter as a 6, being satisfied because they were very accommodating, the only thing that I can’t really be 100% satisfied with is the price, and I am in no position to judge that accurately.

What exactly made you feel this way?

Temporary service intensifiers and situational factors obviously lowered my adequate service expectations. I was distraught, and concerned about the state of my car. The employee, Mike, did a good job of reassuring me that it was likely something that would be easily fixed, and he followed through, contacting me when he said he would. Regardless of my level of adequate service, they exceeded those expectations and were well within my zone of tolerance.