People--An essential ingredient to any service provision is the use of appropriate staff and people.

Recruiting
the right staff and training them appropriately in the delivery of their service is essential if the organization wants to
obtain a form of competitive advantage. Consumers make judgments and deliver perceptions of the service based on
the employees they interact with. Staff should have the appropriate interpersonal skills, attitude, and service
knowledge to provide the service that consumers are paying for. Many British organizations aim to apply for the
Investors In People accreditation, which tells consumers that staff are taken care off by the company and they are
trained to certain standards.
Process--Refers to the systems used to assist the organization in delivering the service. Imagine you walk into
Burger King and you order a Whopper Meal and you get it delivered within 2 minutes. What was the process that
allowed you to obtain an efficient service delivery? Banks that send out Credit Cards automatically when their
customer’s old one has expired again require an efficient process to identify expiry dates and renewal. An efficient
service that replaces old credit cards will foster consumer loyalty and confidence in the company.
Physical Evidence---Where is the service being delivered? Physical Evidence is the element of the service mix
which allows the consumer again to make judgments on the organization. If you walk into a restaurant your
expectations are of a clean, friendly environment. On an aircraft if you travel first class you expect enough room to be
able to lay down!
Physical evidence is an essential ingredient of the service mix, consumers will make perceptions based on their sight
of the service provision which will have an impact on the organizations perceptual plan of the service.

Characteristics of SM
Intangibility
Services are said to be intangible - they cannot be seen or tasted, for example. This can cause lack of confidence
on the part of the consumer As was apparent earlier, in considering pricing and services marketing, it is often difficult
for the consumer to measure service value and quality. To overcome this, consumers tend to look for evidence of
quality and other attributes, for example in the decor and surroundings of the beauty salon, or from the qualifications
and professional standing of the consultant.
Inseparability
Services are produced and consumed at the same time, unlike goods which may be manufactured, then stored
for later distribution. This means that the service provider becomes an integral part of the service itself. The waitress in
the restaurant, or the cashier in the bank, is an inseparable part of the service offering. The client also participates to
some extent in the service, and can affect the outcome of the service. People can be part of the service itself, and this
can be an advantage for services marketers.
Heterogeneity Invariability
Because a service is produced and consumed simultaneously, and because individual people make up part of the
service offering, it can be argued that a service is always unique; it only exists once, and is never exactly repeated. This
can give rise to concern about service quality and uniformity issues. Personnel training and careful monitoring of
customer satisfaction and feedback can help to maintain high standards.
Perishability
Services are perishable; they cannot be stored. Therefore an empty seat on a plane, for example, is a lost
opportunity forever. Restaurants are now charging for reservations which are not kept, charges may be made for missed
appointments at the dental clinic. Perish ability does not pose too much of a problem when demand for a service is
steady, but in times of unusually high or low demand service organizations can have severe difficulties.

In these moments the following seven rules should be applied by employees that are actually interacting
with your customers:
 1. Acknowledgement---Acknowledge that there is a problem. It doesn’t matter whether the customer didn’t
understand certain aspects that are obvious from an organization’s perspective. He is the one that has a problem and if
you want to keep this customer he needs to be taken serious. If one tries to convince customers that there is no problem,
you are actually telling them they are stupid. This applies also to situations when the customer is following the wrong
steps to perform a task – never blame the customer.
2. Empathy---Understand the problem from a customer’s point of view and also understand that he might be
upset after a problem has occurred. While it is not necessary to listen to a customer when he starts cursing at
employees, front-line employees should try to create an atmosphere that supports and enables a positive solution of a
problem. Confronting the customer with his anger and frustration will not lead to an escalation of the problem,
communicating that one can understand his situation will.
3. Apology---Saying sorry in the name of the company occurred is essential. Whether the employee should
apologize in his name or in the name of his company depends on the context of the service recovery. If the employee
(or a direct colleague) was involved when the problem occurred, he should apologize for himself. If the employee is in
a call-center and a problem happened at a completely different location in the organization, he should apologize in the
name of the organization – everything else is not authentic.
4. Own the problem----Taking ownership of the problem by the employee that is confronted with the problem
(no matter in what position he is in) ensures that customers feel that they are taken care of. And even if your job is not
to resolve the problem ultimately, telling customers to go somewhere else (and not "bringing" them there) sends the
message that they don’t care.
5. Fix The Problem---Obviously fixing or at leasing trying to fix the problem for the customer should be the
top priority. This might be easy in some situations (maybe just replacing the defect product) it becomes a challenge
when the problem is not a real problem. Let’s say the customer was simply using the product in a wrong way, fixing the
problem in such a situation means re-educating the customer so that he uses the product or service in the supposed way.
6. Provide assurance---When Customers get in touch with you to report a problem and to demand a fix their
most important need is to be taken serious. Giving them a feeling of assurance that the problem will be sorted out and
should (hopefully) not occur again will leave a professional impression and help rebuild the customer’s confidence a
company’s products and services.
7. Provide compensation---If you want to make angry customers happy, give them money. Providing a refund,
token or other compensation depending on the severity of the problem remains to be a powerful method for service
recovery. Increasing the amount of money that a company pays to company to fix problems requires a rigorous control
but it can indeed ensure that your customers are satisfied. It is important to note that just "handing out money" is not
enough – if money is handed out unfriendly or even worse, in a tedious discussion with the customers, satisfaction will
not be restored

Emotional labor------ that goes beyond physical and mental skills needed to deliver quality service N Often
means suppressing true feelings and putting on the “face of the organization” when dealing with customers
Sources of Conflict
 Person vs. Role---Conflict between what an employee is asked to do and their own personality, orientation or
values.
 Organization vs. Client----Conflict between the policies/procedures of the firm and the expectations/demands of
individual customers
 Client vs. Client----Occurs when service employees are delivering services in turn or simultaneously

E-Service or 'electronic service' constitutes the online services available on the Internet, whereby a valid
transaction of buying and selling (procurement) is possible, as opposed to the traditional websites whereby only
descriptive information are available, and no online transaction is made possible
Levels of Service----Depending on the maturity of a government's electronic service delivery capability, the
following levels of service may be provided, in order of increasing sophistication:
Informational----The government IT infrastructure and service delivery capability is fairly rudimentary, and
provides only static information via electronic means, in the form of government instructions and such things as
application forms, newsletters, etc.
 Interactive-----With slightly more sophisticated and reliable infrastructure, some interactive service content can
be made available electronically. For instance, a website may allow a form to be filled out online, printed out, and
carried to a government office in person.
Transactional----The government information technology infrastructure is mature enough but not widely available
throughout the country and the government has reasonably stable and reliable electronic service delivery
capability. Online submission of corporate tax returns fall into this category, as most corporate head offices are
located in cities where Internet and other IT infrastructure is available. The government departments would have
their internal IT divisions to construct and look after their own ESD applications.
Integrated---The government information technology infrastructure is mature, stable and pervasive; the
government has been able develop its electronic service delivery capability sufficiently that government
departments can interact with one another electronically. The electronic service that is delivered to the consumer
is not from just one department but is an integrated product from more than one department. As an example, the
UK Government has many services which are at this level.

SERVQUAL
Using SERVQUAL, service quality is determined by the overall gap between what was expected and what was
delivered. This means that service quality is relative not absolute, different customers may perceive the level of service
quality differently, quality is determined by the customer who has “ all the votes”, not by the service provider; service
quality can be achieved by either meeting or exceeding expectations, or by changing expectations
 Tangibles - the appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel and information material
o Modern equipment
o Visually appealing facilities
o Employees who have a neat, professional appearance
o Visually appealing materials associated with the service
o Convenient business hours
 Reliability
o Providing services as promised
o Dependability in handling customers' service problems
o Performing services right the first time
o Providing services at the promised time
o Keeping customers informed about when services will be performed
 Responsiveness -
o Prompt service to customers
o Willingness to help customers
o Readiness to respond to customers' requests
 Assurance - a combination of the following
o Employees who instill confidence in customers
o Making customers feel safe in their transactions
o Employees who have the knowledge to answer customer questions
o Competence - having the requisite skills and knowledge
o Courtesy - politeness, respect, consideration and friendliness of contact staff
o Credibility - trustworthiness, believability and honesty of staff
o Security - freedom from danger, risk or doubt
 Empathy - a combination of the following:
o Access (physical and social) - approachability and ease of contact
o Communication - keeping customers informed in a language they understand and really listening to them
o Understanding the customer - making the effort to get to know customers and their specific need
o Giving customers individual attention
o Employees who deal with customers in a caring fashion
o Having the customer's best interest at hear
You can't please everyone, though as a business your main purpose is to please as many customers as possible so that
they keep returning. When customers are dissatisfied with the service you are providing they will be one of three kinds
of complainers: aggressive, passive or constructive.

Aggressive complainers are most difficult to please and are often more concerned with displaying their emotion than
actually achieving a solution. Aggressive customers will often shout, jump to conclusions, and can make unreasonable
demands or make threats. Aggressive complainers can be intimidating but should be handled in a calm manner unless
the employee feels threatened in which case calling for help may be necessary.

Passive complainers are the most lethal to a businesses success, as they will complain to everyone but the actual
business. Since the business is left unaware of their error they cannot correct it and the only thing a passive complainer
succeeds in doing is depriving the company of potential business.

Constructive complainers are most beneficial to a business since they address their problem to the business in a calm
rational manner. Constructive complainers allow a company to see and understand a problem, which allows them to
then repair it. Constructive complainers tend to receive beneficial solutions to their problems and the business also
benefits from knowing the error of their ways.

Whatever type of complainer they may be, it is important to deal with all complaints with the utmost care after all, the
customer is essential to a businesses livelihood. Being an empathetic listener is a key part of understanding and helping
you customer achieve the results they desire. If dealt with effectively both parties should part feeling satisfied with the
solution

The Meek Customer

This type of customer prefers to avoid confrontation and may not complain directly. However, they will tell friends and
relatives, may comment on a blog or web forum or may post the complaint on Facebook or other social networking site.

To deal with these quiet customers, a company must be proactive and positive. An internet presence may be required to
catch these complaints; follow up must be delicate ("We noted your concern about our product on your blog. Is there
any way we can help with this?").

The Aggressive Customer

"Opposite of the Meek Customer. Readily complains, often loudly and at length." These folks enjoy confrontation, and
will often seek a large audience as a manipulative behavior. Many aggressive customers also engage in a sort of
business blackmail (see The Rip-Off Customer, below)

The best response, suggests Wysocki et al., is to:

Read on 

 Customer Management Software for Complaints

 Handling Customer Complaints
 How to Complain Effectively: Consumer Complaint Strategies

 Listen completely
 Repeatedly ask: "what else?"
 Agree that a problem exists (no excuses)
 Indicate what will be done to resolve the issue and when.
Avoid being aggressive in return. In other words, be calm, practical, and professional.

The High-Roller Customer

This customer "Expects the absolute best and is willing to pay for it." Complaints are likely to be offered in a
reasonable,even logical manner.

The High Roller is not interested in excuses but only "in results and what you are going to do to recover from the
customer service breakdown. Always listen respectfully and actively and question carefully to fully determine cause."
Being given a run-around will upset any customer, but the High Roller especially.

The Rip-Off Customer

Some businesses call this type "The Extortionist." The goal of the Rip-Off, Wysocki points out, "is not to get the
complaint satisfied but rather to win by getting something the customer is not entitled to receive." In other words, it's a
form of blackmail or extortion. "A constant and repetitive "not good enough" response to efforts to satisfy this
customer is a sure indicator of a rip-off artist." Many aggressive complainers are also accomplished at the rip-off.

Customer service reps often find aggressive and rip-off customers the most difficult to deal with (and those customers
know that and use the fact). Wysocki, Kepner and Glasser advise CSRs to

 Remain unfailingly objective.

 Use accurate quantified data to backup your response.
 Be sure the adjustment is in keeping with what the organization would normally do under the circumstances.
 Consider asking "What can I do to make things right?" after the first "not good enough."

Documentation is important as the extortionist customer will often threaten legal action.

The Chronic Complainer Customer.

This type of customer "is never satisfied; there is always something wrong." No matter how often the service
department fixes it, it's never done properly, or something else has gone wrong." This customer's mission is to whine.
Yet, he is your customer, and as frustrating as this customer can be, he cannot be dismissed.

Dealing with a chronic complainer requires

 A sympathetic ear
 A sincere apology
 An honest effort to correct the situation
 Enormous patience is a big help.

"Most Chronic Complainer Customers will accept and appreciate your efforts to make things right. This customer
wants an apology and appreciates it when you listen," because it is a way to get positive attention. "Tends to be a good
customer (in spite of his constant complaining) and will tell others about your positive response to his complaints."

Read more at Suite101: Types of Complaining Customers: Improve Customer Relations by Knowing Complainer Types
http://www.suite101.com/content/types-of-complaining-customers-a157017#ixzz0zxDjCwVq