Discussion of service vs product failures based on personal experiences

Instructions:

• Think about an example of your own customer experience with service failure.
  • Explain the context.
  • Did you complain? To whom? Did you switch brands for future purchases?
• Read the attached article about services recovery.
  • Did the company/brand do anything in response to your service failure?
    • If so, classify their actions based on the article’s main categories.
  • Explain the Service Recovery Paradox in the context of your example and report (based on your experience) whether or not it would have worked for you in this situation? Justify why/why not.
• Go back to the textbook notes on Managing Service Quality (attached) and classify your service failure.
  • What type of gap existed for you?
• Respond to 1 classmate post by identifying a way for the company to have responded to your classmate’s service failure using the article suggestions. Be detailed. (have to post mine first before responding to classmates post)

Here is the classmates post to reply to.

An example of a customer experience with service failure: Holiday Inn Express & Suites – Fayetteville

I had a business trip planned near the coast and decided to make an extended experience of the trip by staying at a mid-point in Fayetteville for a couple of nights. I planned to visit FSU where I attend the MBA program. I did not want to graduate from a school I had never visited. I booked a 2-night stay in the Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Fayetteville. The first night, I was left unable to sleep because the AC had not been properly maintained and made an inconsistent banging noise. After requesting a room change in the middle of the night, I was rudely awoken again in my new room by a cockroach crawling across my face. The second night as I was entering the bed to sleep, I found a nest of large spiders in the room. After 2 days of virtually non-existent sleep, I was an unhappy customer.

Did you complain? To whom? Did you switch brands for future purchases?

I spoke with several of the front desk employees throughout the stay and emailed the experience to their supervisor as requested. As I have had excellent stays with other Holiday Inn hotels, I would visit the brand again but never that particular hotel in Fayetteville.

Did the company/brand do anything in response to your service failure?

The hotel comped my stay and refunded my credit card. It was enough to keep me from leaving a bad review online but not enough to maintain my loyalty to that particular hotel. It would be nice to know they addressed the lack of upkeep and maintenance through repairs and pest control.

If so, classify their actions based on the article’s main categories.

The Road to Service Recovery – Ambivalent. I would say they did not reinforce the negative feelings but the hotel staff did ebb some of the discomforts from the poor experience.

Measure the Costs – Yes, but the level of measurement is questionable. They recorded the loss of income but it is unknown if the hotel has a system for measuring the long-term impact, the negative reviews, or the internal impact of employees handling unhappy customers. An article by MHC shared a linkage between poor customer service and high employee turnover. I anticipate that if other customers continued to have the problems I experienced, the staff would accumulate emotional fatigue having to address the unhappy customers without relief.

Break the Silence – Yes. When I first walked to the desk to bring my complaint, the service lady asked if my stay was going well. Even before I could complain she awarded me the chance to bring the issue to the table.

Anticipate needs for recovery – Unknown. I do not know if they have a process in place to monitor these types of complaints and problems.

Act Fast – Yes & No. They worked to help me but I don’t believe they fixed the root problem of deferred maintenance.

Train Employees – Yes. All employees provided a consistent response. They offered to change my room, refund my card and provided their supervisor’s email to submit my complaint.

Empower the Front Line – Yes. The front desk worker was the one who refunded my stay.

Close the Loop – No. They never indicated they made corrective actions to fix the problem moving forward.

Explain the Service Recovery Paradox in the context of your example and report (based on your experience) whether or not it would have worked for you in this situation? Justify why/why not.

We know the Service Recovery Paradox that customers who experience a service failure that is then satisfactorily resolved can be more likely to make future purchases than customers without a problem is not always 100%. I would find that in my situation the paradox is not true. The brand was able to maintain a willingness to earn my repeat business but the individual location was not.

Go back to the textbook on Managing Service Quality (pgs 166-168) and classify your service failure. What type of gap existed for you?

The gap was between consumer expectation and management perception. I wanted to know the management would take immediate corrective action to fix their deferred maintenance on equipment and pest control procedures. In hindsight, I believe management perceived that I only wanted my room comped. I still wonder if other guests at the Hilton in Fayetteville are waking up at night wearing cockroaches on their face.

References:

MHC Marketing. The Shocking Link Between Bad Customer Service and High Employee Turnover. Retrieved from: https://www.mhcautomation.com/blog/the-shocking-li…