Improving Service Quality Using Marketing and Operations Management Frameworks Case Study

Strategies for Enhancing Service Recovery and Customer Experience

Introduction

The report highlighted two service encounters through the help of 5 journal entries provided at the last in appendices provided by the company Cam Myers and Partners - A Digital Marketing Co., London. In Service Encounter 1, the challenges faced by Cromwell International Hotel were discussed using the 7P/4Ps marketing mix framework. The intangible and heterogeneous natures of services were found to be the reasons for poor service quality, speed, and reliability. Service Recovery and Customer Relationship Management were suggested as solutions. In Service Encounter 2, the 4 Vs structure and service recovery were implemented in a hotel setting through on-site observation and data collection (Klöckner, 2017). Queuing theory was recommended to improve the delayed service at the restaurant, and service blueprinting was proposed to address unclear hotel policies. To attract and retain a diverse workforce, the guidelines recommend developing strategies to enhance communication, job satisfaction, employee perks, creativity, mentorship programmes, and diversity and inclusion training.

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Service encounter 1

Discussion Regarding Module Concepts Chosen

Several concepts from the fields of operations management and services marketing have been chosen by me as applicable to my research on service consumption (Ullal and Hawaldar, 2018).

My chosen area of focus is services marketing:

The features of services, ly intangibility, perishability, inseparability, and heterogeneity, present distinct challenges for operations and marketing managers in Chipotle. The consumption model is comprised of three distinct stages, ly the pre-purchase, service encounter, and post-encounter phases.

• Market strategies implementation: The implementation of market segmentation strategies can enhance the efficacy of marketing endeavours by enabling a better understanding of the target market (Calleja, et.al 2018).
• Positioning maps: Perceptual maps are useful tools for comprehending how businesses can establish their position in the market and differentiate themselves from competitors.
• The AIDA Model: The AIDA model is a useful tool for understanding the various stages that consumers undergo when making a purchasing decision.
• CRM: The study of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is valuable in understanding how businesses can establish and maintain relationships with their customers (Pryce, 2020).

My area of focus is operations management:

• The comprehension of the five primary objectives of operations management, ly quality, speed, dependability, flexibility, and cost - can be enhanced through awareness.
• The "4 Vs" are the primary components of operations management, ly volume, variety, variance, and visibility (Bals and Tate, 2018.)
• The comprehension of how operations managers can devise a layout that optimises productivity and efficiency is advantageous. This involves the utilisation of a process layout.
• Service recovery is a strategy that allows businesses to effectively address service failures and transform dissatisfied customers into loyal advocates.
• The comprehension of how businesses can establish a supply network that optimises efficiency and reduces expenses is advantageous in the field of supply network design.
• The frameworks presented offer a comprehensive understanding of the key concepts in services marketing and operations management, enabling a deeper comprehension of the challenges and prospects in these domains (de Groot, 2020).
• Opportunities associated with service consumption and identify potential solutions for improving the overall customer experience.

Methodology

The first service encounter was assessed by collecting data through a survey that utilised a 5-point rating scale to evaluate various factors related to the service encounter. These factors included service quality, speed, dependability, flexibility, and cost. In addition, the participants were solicited to provide unrestricted feedback regarding their positive and negative perceptions of the service encounter. The data was promptly collected subsequent to the service encounter. The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a shift towards online service interactions, resulting in a number of challenges (Khalid and Yousaf, 2021).

Standing with these challenges, I managed to collect sufficient data for analysis and drawing conclusions.

Analysis of Data and Application of Frameworks

The survey data can be evaluated utilising the 7P/4Ps marketing mix framework. Enterprises utilise a collection of tactics and tools referred to as the marketing mix to promote their products and services (Buhalis, et.al 2019). The 4Ps of marketing, ly product, price, promotion, and location, are expanded to include three additional elements in the 7Ps marketing mix, which are people, process, and physical evidence.

• Product: Based on the survey findings, the service level received a rating of 2.5 out of 5. This could imply that the service did not meet the quality expectations of a significant proportion of the participants. The service's unreliability was attributed to its sluggish response times and technological difficulties, which were identified as the primary issues (Zhang, et.al 2020).
• Cost of service: the factor pertaining to the cost of service received the highest rating of 3.5 out of 5, indicating that the participants perceived the cost of the service to be reasonable. This finding indicates that the primary point of disagreement among participants did not revolve around the cost of the service, and that they did not perceive it to be excessively expensive.
• Promotion: The evaluation of the effectiveness of promotional activities cannot be determined due to the lack of data collected on the promotion of the service in the study. Nonetheless, the service could have garnered unfavourable evaluations regarding its quality and reliability in the event that it was extensively advertised but did not meet the anticipated standards (McLean and Osei-Frimpong, 2017).
• Location: The survey did not collect any data pertaining to the geographical location where the service was provided. The assessments pertaining to the swiftness and adaptability of the service could have been curtailed in case the usability of the service was arduous or inconvenient for the participants.
• Individuals: The survey did not collect any data regarding the personnel responsible for providing the service. It is possible that the quality and dependability scores could have been negatively impacted in the event that the service was administered by workers who lacked the necessary skills or experience.
• Process: Based on the findings of the survey, the speed of service was rated the lowest with a score of 2.0 out of 5. The primary grievances were extended response times and technical difficulties. The lack of immediate feedback was cited as an additional issue that exemplified the inefficacy of the service process.
• Physical evidence: the survey did not collect any data pertaining to the physical evidence of the service, including the appearance of the service facility or the tools utilised during the service. If the physical evidence failed to meet the expectations of the participants, it is possible that the evaluations of quality and reliability may have been affected (Larivière, et.al 2017).

Evaluation and Conclusion

The issues I experienced in service consumption:

Customer Relationship Management

• Service Recovery

The challenges encountered in my experience were attributed to the intangible and heterogeneous nature of the service, as defined by the four characteristics of services: heterogeneity, intangibility, perishability, and inseparability. As an individual engaged in online learning, I encountered difficulties in assessing the calibre of courses prior to enrolment due to the intangible nature of course materials.

The 3 Stage Model of Consumption

Insufficient pre-enrolment information, technical difficulties and ambiguous course materials, and limited feedback and follow-up opportunities had a negative impact on my educational experience. Service providers may endeavour to improve every stage of the consumption process as a means of addressing these challenges (Kautish and Sharma, 2019).

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

In my particular case, the strength of my connection with the online educational platform that I was employing was insufficient, resulting in an unfavourable experience.

In order to enhance customer relationships, service providers may focus on cultivating trust, providing tailored and relevant content, and maintaining open channels of communication with their clientele (Seyitoğlu and Ivanov, 2020)

• Service Recovery

In the present scenario, service providers have the option to employ service recovery strategies to address service failures (Beltagui, et.al 2016). These strategies may include expressing remorse and providing compensation, suggesting alternative options, and proactively soliciting feedback from consumers. Furthermore, organisations can leverage service recovery as an opportunity to improve their service practises and policies, thereby preventing similar service failures from occurring in the future.

To conclude, my encounter with online learning services has revealed several concerns regarding service characteristics, the three-stage consumption model, customer relationship management, and service recovery. The proposed solution entails service providers focusing on enhancing their performance.

Recommendations

Based on the issues identified in the service encounters and the relevant theories, the following are practical recommendations for the businesses to improve their service quality:

• It is recommended to initiate a training programme for all service personnel within the upcoming three months to equip them with short-term skills.
• A viable recommendation is to establish a comprehensive training regimen for the entire workforce that prioritises the continual enhancement of service quality. Periodic evaluation and adjustment of this programme should be conducted every six months as deemed necessary.
• It is recommended to implement a training and development programme that provides employees with opportunities for career progression. The primary focus of this programme ought to be centred on augmenting the competencies of personnel and affording them opportunities to flourish in their professional pursuits.
• In order to evaluate the efficacy of the training program, it is recommended that periodic evaluations of employee performance and collection of customer feedback be conducted (Soderlund, et.al 2021).
• In the upcoming period, it is proposed to conduct an analysis of the service delivery process with the aim of identifying any hindrances and potential areas for improvement within a timeframe of three months.
• It is recommended that companies utilise technology as a means to enhance the overall customer experience.

In general, the afore mentioned recommendations require a significant investment of both time and financial resources. However, they have the potential to yield substantial improvements in service quality and customer satisfaction.

Service encounter: 2

Discussion Regarding Module Concepts Chosen

I have chosen the subsequent operations management concepts for evaluation and implementation in Service Encounter 2:

The identification and understanding of the four fundamental characteristics of a service operation, commonly referred to as the 4 Vs, can facilitate the identification of potential issues and areas for improvement for hospitality industry business Cromwell International Hotel (Saura, 2021).

Service recovery is a systematic approach to managing service disruptions, which is crucial for maintaining customer satisfaction and loyalty.

The 4 Vs framework is instrumental in understanding the four essential components of a service operation, ly Volume, Variety, Variation, and Visibility. The service encounter under consideration pertains to a hotel stay, which falls under the purview of service operations. The hotel accommodated a significant quantity of patrons and provided a variety of facilities, such as in-room dining, a wellness center, and a dining establishment.

Nonetheless, issues pertaining to the variability of service quality and the lack of service visibility were identified. Utilizing the aforementioned framework, an analysis was conducted which revealed that the hotel could potentially increase profitability by prioritising efforts to reduce variability in service quality and augmenting customer awareness of their available amenities (Kannan, 2017).

The concept of service recovery offers a systematic approach to address service failures. During my stay at the hotel, I encountered several issues such as prolonged service at the restaurant and a malfunctioning air conditioning unit in my accommodation. The hotel personnel successfully resolved the aforementioned issues to my contentment. However, there was an absence of a structured protocol for managing such service deficiencies. The Service Recovery framework is employed.

Methodology

The researcher conducted a firsthand observation and direct engagement with the hotel's personnel and amenities during the entire duration of their stay to document the second Service Encounter. Data was collected over a period of three days in August 2022, during a stay at a four-star hotel situated in a prominent urban centre (Lindgreen, et.al 2021).

The author observed inconsistencies in the level of service provided, encompassing tardy service at the dining venue and a malfunctioning air conditioning unit in their accommodation.

The data collection procedure was restricted by specific limitations, such as the subjective character of personal observations and the potential for individual biases to impact the data. Additionally, it is important to acknowledge that the data collected was limited to the author's individual experience and may not be representative of the experiences of other customers or the overall effectiveness of the establishment.

Evaluation and Conclusion

During my service encounter at the hotel, I experienced several issues with the service, which I have identified through the data I collected.

• To tackle the issue of sluggish service at the restaurant, I conducted an investigation into the duration of time taken to receive my food order. During a particular instance, the duration of time that elapsed before my food was served exceeded 45 minutes, a time frame that notably exceeded the initial estimate provided by the server. The utilisation of queuing theory, a fundamental principle in the field of operations management that pertains to the management of waiting lines, can effectively address the issue at hand.

• Data was collected pertaining to the ambient temperature within the confines of my lodging quarters, as well as the duration of time required for the hotel staff to rectify the malfunctioning air conditioning apparatus. The collected data indicated that the temperature within my room consistently exceeded the optimal range, and the hotel staff required a considerable amount of time to rectify the issue. The utilisation of the service recovery theory, a services marketing concept that pertains to the management of service failures, may aid in the resolution of this issue.

• The problem of unclear hotel policies was addressed by collecting data from the information provided at check-in and the hotel website. As per the data, there was a lack of consistency in the information presented, specifically regarding the check-out time and the cancellation policy of the hotel. The theory of service blueprinting, which pertains to the management of service processes through their creation and control, may offer a viable solution to the issue at hand.

Recommendations

Recommendations for the short term (up to one year):

• Develop a strategy to mitigate the fundamental factors that contribute to communication failures. Utilize technological resources to enhance and accelerate communication (Chamberlin and Boks, 2018).
• It is advisable to monitor the level of job satisfaction among employees. In order to enhance employee morale and productivity, it is recommended to create and execute employee engagement initiatives. Possible academic rewrite: The range of interventions may encompass various strategies aimed at fostering collaboration and skill development, such as experiential exercises, educational seminars, and instructional programmes.

3-to-5-year recommendations for the medium term:

• Enhance employee benefits by formulating and implementing a comprehensive scheme that offers remunerated leave, wellness initiatives, and medical coverage. Consequently, there is a possibility of attracting and retaining highly skilled individuals.
• It is recommended to acknowledge the significance of technology and allocate resources towards digital technologies in order to enhance productivity, mechanise procedures, and optimise operations. Artificial intelligence and enterprise resource planning system are two potential methods for achieving this objective.
• The topic of interest pertains to monitoring systems. It is advisable to arrange regular progress evaluations with significant stakeholders. To evaluate the efficacy of these measures, it is advisable to track employee retention rates and administer surveys to measure employee contentment.

Long-term suggestions (five years or more):

• Encourage a conducive environment for innovation by motivating personnel to engage in experimentation, exploration of novel concepts, and undertaking calculated risks. Regular brainstorming sessions, hackathons, and other innovation-focused events could potentially provide benefits in this context.
• One potential area of focus for organisations is the development of strategies aimed at both attracting and retaining a diverse workforce. This entails the establishment of mentorship initiatives, implementation of diversity and inclusion training, and collaboration with entities that promote diversity and inclusion.

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