© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Part 5

DELIVERING AND PERFORMING SERVICE

DELIVERING AND PERFORMING SERVICE

© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.McGraw-Hill/Irwin

CUSTOMER

COMPANYService Delivery

Service Performance

Gap

Customer-Driven Service Designs and

Standards

Provider Gap 3Provider Gap 3

Part 5 Opener

12ChapterChapter

Employees’ Roles in Service DeliveryEmployees’ Roles in Service Delivery

Service Culture The Critical Importance of Service

Employees Boundary-Spanning Roles Strategies for Delivering Service Quality

Through People Customer-Oriented Service Delivery

© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Service CultureService Culture

“A culture where an appreciation for good service exists, and where giving good service to internal as well as ultimate, external customers, is considered a natural way of life and one of the most important norms by everyone in the organization.”

- Christian Gronroos (1990)

Integrity, joy, respect In front of the public – behind the scenes Hundreds of details

© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.McGraw-Hill/Irwin

The Critical Importance of Service EmployeesThe Critical Importance of Service Employees

They are the service.

They are the organization in the customer’s eyes.

They are the brand.

They are marketers.

Their importance is evident in: the services marketing mix (people) the service-profit chain the services triangle

© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.McGraw-Hill/Irwin

The Critical Importance of Service EmployeesThe Critical Importance of Service Employees

The critical importance of service employees in creating customer satisfaction and service quality

Demonstrating the challenges inherent in boundary-spanning roles

Examples of strategies for creating customer-oriented service delivery

How the strategies can support a service culture where providing excellent service is a way of life

© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Figure 12.2

The Services Marketing TriangleFigure 12.2

The Services Marketing Triangle

Internal Marketing

Interactive Marketing

External Marketing

Company(Management)

CustomersEmployees

“Enabling the promise”

“Delivering the promise”

“Making the promise”

Source: Adapted from Mary Jo Bitner, Christian Gronroos, and Philip Kotler

© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Services Marketing TriangleApplications Exercise

Services Marketing TriangleApplications Exercise

Focus on a service organization. In the context you are focusing on, who occupies each of the three points of the triangle?

How is each type of marketing being carried out currently?

Are the three sides of the triangle well aligned?

Are there specific challenges or barriers in any of the three areas?

© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Ways to Use the Services Marketing Triangle

Ways to Use the Services Marketing Triangle

Overall Strategic Assessment How is the service

organization doing on all three sides of the triangle?

Where are the weaknesses? What are the strengths?

Specific Service Implementation What is being promoted and

by whom? How will it be delivered and

by whom? Are the supporting systems in

place to deliver the promised service?

© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Figure 12.3

The Service Profit ChainFigure 12.3

The Service Profit Chain

Source: An exhibit from J. L. Heskett, T. O. Jones, W. E. Sasser, Jr., and L. A. Schlesinger, “Putting the Service-Profit Chain to Work,” Harvard Business Review, March-April 1994, p. 166.

© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Service Quality DimensionsService Quality Dimensions

Reliability Responsiveness Assurance Empathy Tangibles

© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Service EmployeesService Employees

They are the service. They are the organization in the customer’s eyes. They are the brand. They are marketers. Their importance is evident in:

The Services Marketing Mix (People) The Service-Profit Chain The Services Triangle

© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Service EmployeesService Employees

Who are they? “boundary spanners”

What are these jobs like? emotional labor many sources of potential conflict

person/role organization/client interclient

quality/productivity tradeoffs

© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Figure 12.4

Boundary Spanners Interact with Both Internal and External Constituents

Figure 12.4

Boundary Spanners Interact with Both Internal and External Constituents

Internal Environment

External Environment

© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Figure 12.5

Source Of Conflict For Boundary-Spanning Workers

Figure 12.5

Source Of Conflict For Boundary-Spanning Workers

Person versus role

Organization versus client

Client versus client

Quality vs. Productivity

© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Figure 12.6

Human Resource Strategies for Delivering Service Quality through People

Figure 12.6

Human Resource Strategies for Delivering Service Quality through People

Provideneeded support

systems

Hire theright people

Retain thebest

people

Developpeople to

deliverservicequality

Hire for servicecompetencies and

serviceinclinationCompete for

the bestpeople

Measure andreward strong

serviceperformers

Treatemployees

ascustomers

Includeemployees in

the company’s

visionDevelop

service-orientedinternal

processes

Providesupportivetechnology

andequipment

Measureinternal service

quality

Promoteteamwork

Empower employees

Train fortechnical and

interactiveskills

Be the preferredemployer

Customer-OrientedServiceDelivery

© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.McGraw-Hill/Irwin

EmpowermentEmpowerment

Benefits: quicker responses to customer

needs during service delivery quicker responses to

dissatisfied customers during service recovery

employees feel better about their jobs and themselves

employees tend to interact with warmth/enthusiasm

empowered employees are a great source of ideas

great word-of-mouth advertising from customers

Drawbacks: potentially greater dollar

investment in selection and training

higher labor costs potentially slower or

inconsistent service delivery may violate customers’

perceptions of fair play employees may “give away the

store” or make bad decisions

© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Figure 12.7

Traditional Organizational ChartFigure 12.7

Traditional Organizational Chart

Manager

Supervisor

Front-lineEmployee

Customers

Front-lineEmployee

Front-lineEmployee

Front-lineEmployee

Supervisor

Front-lineEmployee

Front-lineEmployee

Front-lineEmployee

Front-lineEmployee

© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Figure 12.8

Customer-Focused Organizational ChartFigure 12.8

Customer-Focused Organizational Chart

Manager

Supervisor

Front-lineEmployee

Customers

Front-lineEmployee

Front-lineEmployee

Front-lineEmployee

Supervisor

Front-lineEmployee

Front-lineEmployee

Front-lineEmployee

Front-lineEmployee