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Service Quality Report
The difference between a business that provides various forms of services and those that sell physical goods is largely in the form of the transaction as well as the form of delivery of the goods or services to the customer (Dabholkar, 2015; Baker, 2016). However, a larger difference comes in when assessing the various marketing approaches and concepts used in both the sale of tangible goods and the provision of services.
From such an assessment, there is a view of the more complex nature of marketing for service delivery compared to the sale of goods. This paper focuses on the assessment of service experience in lieu of a personal experience and in relation to the marketing approaches in a service based industry.
Service experience
The service experience case used in this analysis is the use of an Uber taxi service that I used a few years back. During that time, I had been used to driving myself around Melbourne and using various public amenities such as the tram or the metropolitan bus service every once in a while. When the family car is not working or available for a few hours or days, I usually have to sacrifice mine to serve other purposes at home. As such, I need alternative means of transport to help me move around, hence my knowledge and awareness of the various public transport systems in the city.
On one of the occasions when I had sacrificed my car, I had a few errands to run one afternoon and a meeting thereafter that went on later than expected. After the meeting, I was left back to review the discussion late night meeting. The absence of my vehicle had skipped my mind as I was engrossed in the details of the meeting.
On concluding the review, I realized that my colleagues had left and I had few options to get home safely. I had reservations about walking all the way to the bus terminus and wait for the bus. After analyzing my options, I concluded that the best alternative was the use of an Uber taxi service, although I had reservations regarding the service since I was not sure if the driver would come all the way to where I was.
Service Quality Report
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I immediately installed the application on my phone and launched it. The interface was easy enough to grasp and work within a matter of minutes. I then requested for a taxi by inputting the destination I needed to go to. Meanwhile, the phone automatically identified my location and I requested to be picked up. In a few minutes, a foreign number called me and identified themselves as the Uber driver, and that he was on his way to pick me up for a ride to my destination. I was elated at the convenience and waited for the cab.
In a few minutes of his call, the driver arrived and I got in. I loved the speedy nature of the arrival of the cab service. In addition, the ride back home was efficient and the driver was courteous. He kept a light conversation and drove carefully all through. A key aspect of the service that I particularly liked is the professionalism of the driver, both in terms of his driving and handling of customers. That first experience with Uber taxi services made me a loyal customer to the company to date. If I am ever in need of alternative transport when my vehicle is not available, Uber is always my first option.
Accurate and comprehensive application of various types of service marketing concepts to a personal service experience
Perceived risk
Perceived risks refers to the supposed insecurity concerning probable negative consequences of utilizing a product or service (Lovelock & Patterson, 2015; Pappas, 2016). It has been ceremoniously well defined as a blend of uncertainty plus solemnity of outcome involved. A key type of perceived risk is a functional risk, which is the fear that a certain product or service will not meet the promised functions and benefits.
Other associated fears within the parameters of perceived risk include psychological risk, physical risk, financial risk, and time risk among others (Lovelock & Patterson, 2015). These variants of perceived risk are evident in services marketing and the experience of a customer who uses any type of service as explained below.
Service Quality Report
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Using my first time Uber experience as a case sample, I had the perceived risk towards the service. My main reservation was whether the service was to be as beneficial as advertised, as well as what I had heard through the experiences of other users. This functional risk represented the fear that the Uber service would either not come to pick me from my location, or would end up leaving me a far distance from my house.
The fact that the Uber taxi service was to be conducted by a total stranger, there was perceived physical risk since it was a possibility that the driver could assault me and cause bodily harm. While other forms of perceived risks such as the financial, time, and psychological risks were present (Featherman and Pavlov, 2003), they were not at the focus of my concerns as the perceived physical and functional risks.
Factors influencing expectations/zone of tolerance
Customer expectations refer to the beliefs regarding delivery of services as that act as standards or reference points against which the performance of the service is decided (Wilson, 2008). Since clients compare their perceptions of performance with such reference points when examining service standards or quality, detailed knowledge regarding customer expectations is vital to marketers who deal with services.
Acknowledging that a client anticipates something can be said to be the initial and virtually the most critical step in delivering quality services (Wilson, 2008). There are various possible levels of customer expectations. The diagram below will be an illustration of these standards.
Service Quality Report
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Zone of tolerance
The tolerance region is one that can expand or contract depending on the customer. Various factors influence customer expectations especially when it comes to services. The first aspect is that of personal needs. Such may include physical, social, psychological and functional requirements. In the example of my case as a first time Uber user, my need to get home safely was an expectation I had as a consumer of the Uber services.
Another key influencing factor to the delivery of service expectations is when other people drive the hope and expectations of a potential customer. In my case, the friends that had used the service before, as well as online reviews of the company influenced my decision to try out the service.
An additional concept within the realm of customer expectation and their zone of tolerance is the personal service philosophy held by the client (Wilson, 2008). This refers to the generic attitude about the meaning of service and the right conduct of service providers in conducting their business. In my case of using the Uber taxi service, I had generic expectations that the driver would take me to my destination promptly and without unnecessary stops or inconveniences. Gladly, the driver conducted himself in a professional manner and met my existing expectation of personal service philosophy.
Service Quality Report
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Conclusion
In assessing the optimal marketing channel to use for a service based business, it is essential to realize the inseparability of the provision of services and their consumption. As such, in regards to service businesses, it is imperative to learn about and manage customer expectations, their zone of tolerance, and perceived risks. Uber is a company that has adequately addressed these concerns as evidenced by my personal experience with them, a factor that has led to their continued growth and maintenance of customers over the years.
References
Baker, M. J. (2016). What is marketing? In M. J. Baker, The Marketing Book (pp. 25 – 42). Boston, MA: Routledge.
Dabholkar, P. A. (2015). How to Improve Perceived Service Quality by Increasing Customer Participation. In B. J. Dunlap (Ed.), Proceedings of the 1990 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference (pp. 483 – 494). San Diego: Springer, Cham. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-13254-9_97
Featherman, M & Pavlov, P., (2003) Predicting e-services Adoption: A Perceived Risk Facets Perspective, 59(2003), pp.451-474.
Lovelock, C., & Patterson, P. (2015). Services marketing. Sydney: Pearson Publishing.
Pappas, N. (2016). Marketing strategies, perceived risks, and consumer trust in online buying behaviour. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 29(1), 92 – 103. doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2015.11.007
Wilson, A. (2008). Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus across the Firm. 1st Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Education, p.623.
Service Quality Report
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