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Journal of Customer Service in

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The Components of Customer

Service
a
J. Richard Shannon PhD
a
Western Kentucky , Grise Hall #510, Bowling
Green, KY, 42101, USA
Published online: 17 Oct 2008.

To cite this article: J. Richard Shannon PhD (1996) The Components of Customer
Service, Journal of Customer Service in Marketing & Management, 2:1, 5-17, DOI:
10.1300/J127v02n01_02

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APPLICATIONS TO TOTAL QUALITY

MANAGEMENT (TOM)

The Components of Customer Service:

A New Taxonomy
J. Richard Shannon, PhD

ABSTRACT. This paper attempts to identify and establish n taxono-

my of generalizable components of customer service. It discusses
and incorporates the works of previous authors studying customer
service.
While the intent is to establish a generalizable set of customer
service components, it should be recognized that this will not be
all-inclusive for all industries, firms, or situations. Rather, this basic
set of components should be used as a starting point for establishing
the specific components in a given situation. [Article copies available
Jmm The Haworth Document Delivery Service; 1-800-342-9678.]

I know from hard experience that superior customer service

pays a handsome return o n investment. It is easy. It costs little
or nothing. It pulls in more business than advertising.

J. Richard Shannon is Assistant Professor of Marketing, Western Kentucky

University, Grise Hall #510, Bowling Green, KY 42101.
Journal of Customer Service in Marketing & Management, Vol. 2(1) 1996
O 1996 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved. 5
 6 Journal of Customer Service in Marketing & Management

INTRODUCTION
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Not only has the interest in customer service among academi-

cians increased in recent years, but so too have the demands of the
consumer for a higher level of customer service. As the U.S. con-
sumer becomes better educated, older, and more sophisticated, their
expectations and insistence levels for customer service will contin-
ue to rise. As this occurs, even if the level of customer service
provided by businesses remains constant, these rising expectations
will lower the perception of this service among consumers. This
makes improving the quality of customer service a necessity.

LITERATURE RE VIEW

According to a study by the Technical Assistance Research Pro-

gram (TARP), approximately one in every four purchases results in
some form of consumer problem experience. However, roughly
seventy percent of those experiencing the problems never complain.
Three reasons are given for consumers' failure to complain: (1) they
do not believe it is worth the time andlor effort to complain; (2) they
don't know how or where to complain; or (3) they believe com-
plaining will not do any good (Abend 1988).
For decades, American businesses have stood by as Japanese
competitors stole some of their best customers. "It wasn't that the
Americans were doing a poor job. Rather, the foreigners, in their
quest for new orders, were doing a better jotmot only in terms of
price and quality, but overall service" (Flint and Heuslein 1989,
p. 172).
Not only do the Japanese surpass the Americans in product quali-
ty, they excel in customer service quality as well. This is because of
their listening skills and their extreme dedication to continual quali-
ty improvements, according to Newton Hardie, Vice President of
Quality at Milliken & Company. He points out that American busi-
ness takes the attitude "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Japanese
businesses, on the other hand, take the philosophy "It works fine,
but how can we make it work better?" (Schlossberg 1990, p. 1).
They make it work better, at least partially, by keeping in closer
contact with, and by being more responsive to, their customers.
 J. Richard Shannon 7

John Tighe, customer research manager for Ford's North Amer-

ican Automotive Operations, agrees with Hardie. In discussing
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customer satisfaction and quality, he states "The Japanese under-

stand it better than we do." He goes on to say "It just says when
you listen to the customer you come out ahead" (Schlossberg
1990, p. 2). Since the Japanese have captured significant market
shares in many U.S. industries using this customer-oriented ap-
proach while U.S. firms continue to use a cost-oriented approach, it
appears that many U.S. f m s are out of touch with the wants and
needs of their customers.
Providing superior customer service is a long-term strategy. The
costs are paid on the front end, but the payoff is down the road
(Flint and Heuslein 1989). Japanese firms view customer service as
an investment in the future and attempt to determine and meet the
expectations and needs of the customer. American firms, converse-
ly, take a profit-oriented, short-term approach. They view customer
service as an expense (Pelham and Clayson 1989). This attitude
keeps American firms from spending the higher up-front costs
needed to provide more effective and efficient customer service
(Higgins 1989 citing Christian Gronroos). This leads to additional
conflicts with customers and widens the size of the gap between the
level of service customers expect and the level of customer service
management is willing to provide.

THE COMPONENTS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE

Two key issues in establishing policies for providing a higher

level of customer service, and key elements of the measurement
process, are (1) the determination of the components of quality
customer service, and (2) the determination of the level of impor-
tance of each of these components. Christopher (1983) identified
these as the first two steps in his framework for developing policies
for customer service.
Bowen, Siehl, and Schneider (1989) recognize that the relation-
ship between products and customer service in a product manufac-
turing setting remains largely undeveloped, although they acknowl-
edge that the types of customer service activities which can
accompany goods has received "limited attention." One of the
 8 Journal of Customer Service in Marketing & Management

primary difficulties in establishing measures of the quality of the

components of customer service is the fact that these components,
as well as their importance, vary from industry to industry, compa-
ny to company, and even customer to customer (Bender 1976;
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Christopher 1983; Gilmour 1982; LaLonde and Zinszer 1976; Para-

suraman, Zeithaml, and Berry 1986, 1988). Christopher (1983)
makes this point. "It is essential to understand customer service in
terms of the differing requirements of different market segments
and that no universally appropriate list of elements exists; each
market that the company serves will attach different importance to
different elements" @. 4). Bender (1976), however, states that "In
determining customer requirements, customers should be classified
into relatively homogeneous segments. Service standards can then
be established for each of these segments" (p. 25).
Despite the variation in services required by different organiza-
tions and the opinions of some authors that a "universal"-list of
customer service components cannot be established, it is a worth-
while undertaking to attempt to identify the key components of
quality customer service and their importance on a generic level. In
fact, such efiorts have been undertaken by some authors (Heskett
1971; Wagner 1977; LaLonde and Zinszer 1976; LaLonde and
Levy 1977; Zinszer 1976; Cunningham and Roberts 1974; Stem
and El-Ansary 1977; and Vaile, Grether, and Cox 1952), although
these are frequently restricted to the physical distribution sector of
the distribution channel framework. In fact, most of the early work
in the study of customer service has focused on the distribution
sector (Rakowski 1982).
One problem in identifying a generic set of key service quality
components is the difference in what various authors consider to be
"components of customer service." While some authors use broad-
based and generalized factors (Bender 1976; Gromoos and Gum-
messon 1985; Lele 1986; Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry 1985,
1986) others identify specific characteristics which influence the
perception of the q;ali& of customer service (Christopher 1983;
Christopher, Schary, Skjott-Larsen 1979; Schary 1979; Peters 1987;
Peters and Austin 1985; Peters and Waterman 1982). A smaller
group has attempted to combine the two schools of thought into
 J. Richard Shannon 9

various taxonomies of customer service (LaLonde and Zinszer

1976; Levy 1981a; Rakowski 1982).
Generalized Factors
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Bender (1976) identified five major contributing factors which

he concluded must be taken into consideration in determining cus-
tomer service requirements: ( I ) the customer; (2) the competition;
(3) external support (facilitating services); (4) internal operations;
and (5) the environments impacting the business. He also identified
various sub-categories for each of these components.
Gronroos and Gummesson (1985) examine the role of customer
service (interactive marketing function) by comparing it to services
marketing. They identify both functional and technical quality in
industrial marketing. The technical quality is identified as the ac-
ceptability and appropriateness of the problem solution. In indus-
trial marketing, this would be the ability of the product or service
being marketed to solve the problem of the customer. The hnction-
al elements, on the other hand, include deliveries and distribution
and warehousing systems, claims handling procedures, customer
training, R&D systems, invoicing routines, quality control proce-
dures, telephone receptionist behavior, etc. @. 23). These would be
the elements of customer service.
Lele (1986) divides what he terms "service support needs" into
three groups: (1) those that are product or design related; (2) those
that concentrate on the service support system; and (3) those that
focus on reducing uncertainty. Although he does identify a limited
number of sub-categories, his focus is on these broad generaliza-
tions rather than identification of specific service components.
Parasurarnan, Zeithaml, and Beny (1985) identified ten compo-
nent factors influencing quality customer service. These included
reliability, responsiveness, competence, courtesy, access, commu-
nication, credibility, security, knowinglunderstanding the customer,
and tangibles. Through further reseaich and refinement. these ten
factors were reduced to the following five: tangibles, reliability,
assurance, responsiveness, and empathy (Parasuraman, Zeithaml,
and Berry 1986).
Gronroos (1988) identified six criteria for good service quality.
These include professionalism and skills, attitudes and behavior,
 I0 journal of Cusfomer Service in Marketing & Management

accesiLility and flexibility, reliability and trustworthiness, recovery

(corrective action when problems arise), and reputation and credi-
bility.
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Specie Characteristics

Christopher (1983) and Christopher, Schary, and Skjott-Larsen

(1979) identified a list of eleven specific elements of customer
service which are most frequently mentioned and measured in de-
termining the level of customer service provided. These include
order cycle time, consistency and reliability of delivery, inventory
availability, ordering convenience, delivery times and flexibility,
invoicing procedures and accuracy, order size constraints, claims
procedures, condition of goods, salesperson's visits, and order sta-
tus information.
Schary (1979) identified six components which service firms
measure in an attempt to improve customer service. These are order
cycle time, order cycle time components, percentage of orders de-
livered by promised delivery date, product availability, order accu-
racy, and order deletions and returns. He identified two of these
dimensions which are most frequently considered to be the control-
ling dimensions: product availability and order cycle time.
Peters (1987) identified five key components of quality customer
service. These include product quality, customer satisfaction, order
lead time, factory flexibility, and new product launch time. This
work is based on a number of years of research into the decline in
quality in American products and a comparison of American prod-
ucts and companies to their competitors worldwide (Peters 1987;
Peters and Austin 1985; Peters and Waterman 1982).

Combinations

LaLonde and Zinszer (1976) suggest that the study of customer

service can be examined under three primary headings: (a) pre-
transaction elements; (b) transaction elements; and (c) post-transac-
tion elements. They go on to identify the pre-transaction elements
as being related to corporate policies and programs, such as written
statements of service policies, adequacy of organizational structure,
 J. Richard Shannon II

and system flexibility. They identify transaction elements as those

involved in performing the physical distribution function, such as
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product availability, order cycle time, order status information, and

delivery reliability. Finally, the post-transaction elements of cus-
tomer service are identified as those which are generally supportive
of the product in use, such as product warranty, parts and repair
service, procedures for handling customer complaints, and product
replacement.
By far the most comprehensive identification of customer service
components undertaken in the marketing literature is that by Levy
(1 98 la). He identifies a detailed list of seventy-one (7 1) elements of
customer service and analyzes these by calculating the mean and
standard deviations for manufacturers and wholesalers and the co-
eficient of variation for these two groups combined. These were
then ranked based on the coefficient of variation. However, at this
stage only the top thirty (30) items were retained, with the remain-
der being eliminated from hrther analysis. Factor analysis was then
used to group these thirty components. Seven factors were uncov-
ered.
Levy identified these seven factors as representing a "function-
oriented" view of the customer service interface between manufac-
turers and wholesalers in the O.T.C. pharmaceutical industry"
(1981a, p. 45). He identifies these factors as representing: (I) gener-
al financial aspects of physical distribution management; (2) sales
person's responsibilities; (3) promotion; (4) general information;
(5) package identification; (6) inventory management; and (7) gen-
eral physical distribution management.
In 1982, Rakowski identified three potential taxonomies for cus-
tomer service activities. The first, much like LaLonde and Zin-
szer's, was based on a temporal sequence, or phasing, of activities.
He identified the categories as pre-contact, personal contact, pre-de-
livery, delivery, and post delivery.
His second typology was based on operational attributes, and is
identified as the most common treatment of customer service in the
literature up to that time. Under this typology, he identifies perfor-
mance measures to include speed, availability, accuracy, and consis-
tency of performance. Customer performance expectations and per-
ceptions include convenience, flexibility, personalized attention,
 12 Journal ojCuslomer Service in Marketing & Management

and information. Product performance is identified as a component

which straddles the performance categories and the customers' per-
ceptual activities. Additional sub-components are identified in each
of the major categories.
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Rakowski's third typology is based on functional areas. He iden-

tifies four functional areas under this typology. These are sales,
communications, physical distribution, and product support. Again,
sub-components are identified for each of these areas.
Despite these many attempts over the years to identify and cate-
gorize customer service, no generalized set of customer service
variables exist. While this paper does not propose a list of variables
which is all-inclusive for all companies in all industries in all set-
tings, it does attempt to establish a set of common customer service
attributes which can serve as a starting point in developing mea-
sures of the level of service provided by any organization. Addi-
tions (and perhaps deletions) will be needed to make this set of
attributes appropriate for individual organizations. However, this
taxonomy does identify the basic, generalized components of cus-
tomer service.

THE TAXONOMY
Looking at these lists of components of customer service, it is
easy to see the difficulties involved in identifying a generic set of
components for a good customer service system. Obviously, the
service package offered by a fm must be responsive to the custom-
e r ( ~ being
) served. Despite the differences in the customer service
component lists and the need for customization of the service pro-
gram to fit the needs of the individual consumer, there are numerous
commonalities and consistencies in these lists.
An effort can be made to synthesize these lists into a single,
generic taxonomy of customer service components. First, the com-
ponents have been separated into six generic categorizations based
on when and where in the service interaction they occur. These six
categories are:
1. Reputational components-these components influence deci-
sion-making before the interaction begins and are based on
past interactions and company reputation.
 J. Richard Shannon 13

2. RelationaVattitudinal components-these components are based

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on the interactions of the personnel of the companies involved

and the attitude of the service provider toward the customer.
3. Technical components-these are product related components
based on the quality of the product and whether services were
performed properly.
4. Systems components-these include the order processing pm-
cedures, the time involved in processing the order, and the ac-
curacy and efficiency with which the order is processed. Tech-
nological advancements and capabilities are also included in
this category.
5. Delivery componentsthis group includes the physical move-
ment of the product/service from the producer to the consum-
er. In product channels this includes the speed and efficiency
of the transportation function.
6. Post-transactional components-these components include the
follow-up of the purchase and service, including warranties,
installations, training, post-sale servicing, breakdown re-
sponselrepairs, etc..

These six generalized categories of customer service components

are then augmented with specific components/activities within each
of the categories. A total of fifty-five (55) customer service activi-
ties are incorporated into this taxonomy. These activities have been
identified from the works of authors cited previously in this paper
and also from a study of the quality of customer service in a con-
sumer products distribution system (Shannon 1992). Figure 1 con-
tains a listing of the specific component characteristics included in
each of these categories.
Not surprisingly, the existing literature tends to fall into patterns
within this taxonomy. A few who use generic components in their
work (Gilmour 1982; G r o ~ o o ands Gummesson 1985; Lele 1986)
touch upon each category, identifying components relating to rela-
tionship, product quality, and systems related factors. Others tend to
concentrate on one or two of the suggested categories. Parasura-
man, Zeithaml, and Beny (1985, 1986, 1988) concentrate heavily
on what is identified here as reputational and relational compo-
nents. Of their initial ten components, only one (tangibles) related
 14 Journal of Cuslomer Service in Marketing & Management

FIGURE 1. Synthesis and Consolidation of Current Literature on Compo-

nents of Service Quality

1. Reputational Components (6)

Reliability Reputation
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Credibility Risk reduction

Security Professionalism
2. RelationallAtIitudinal Components (12)
Salespeople Access
Employee attitudes Courtesy
Responsiveness Employee behavior
Flexibility Trustworthiness
Knowing the customer Empathy
Promotional support Credit policies
3. Technical (Product Related) Components (9)
Product quality Installation
Factory flexibility Competence
Product design Tangibles
Product assortment Skills
New product launch time
4. System (Order Processing) Components (9)
Order cycle time Ordering convenience
Invoicing accuracy Order accuracy
Order size constraints Order status information
Invoicing procedures Communication
Inventory availability (fill rate)
5. Delivery Components (10)
Consistency of service l7me in transit
Routing and scheduling Equipment availability
Reliability of delivery Demurrage
Condition of goods
Consolidationhreak-bulk services
On-time pickup and delivery
Flexibility in meeting special needs
6. Post Transactional (Follow-up) Components (9)
Claims procedures Assurance/reinforcement
Corrective action Inquiry response
Back-order procedures Installation
Training
Risk reduction/guarantees/warranties
After-sale repairs and service
 J . Richard Shannon 15

to the product and none huly related to the systems. Conversely,

Peters (1987) tends to concentrate on the physical aspects of the
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service interaction, placing an emphasis on product quality, factory

flexibility, and new product launch time. Christopher (1983), Chris-
topher, Schary, and Skjott-Larsen (1979), LaLonde and Zinszer
(1976), and Schary (1979) each place their major emphasis on the
service delivery system, which is natural since their studies are all
focused in the transportation industry.
This is not intended to imply that these other authors ignored the
other aspects of the service quality spectrum. Virtually all of the
authors recognized the multidimensionality of service quality, not-
ing especially the product quality (expertise) factor, the systems
orientation, and the relational aspects of customer interactions.
However, despite recognizing the existence of these other compo-
nents, they did not attempt to incorporate these components into
their customer service structures.
This paper, on the other hand, attempts to identify customer
service components in all of these areas. This is one of the major
distinctions between this and previous studies of the components of
customer service, and this thoroughness is an extension of the pre-
vious studies. This makes this taxonomy a substantial and important
advancement to the study of customer service.

CONCLUSION
This paper attempts to identify a generic set of components for
customer service. While a very limited number of authors have
attempted this same effort, to some degree, previously, none has
met with success. However, two factors make this effort different.
First, this work incorporates the work of the previous authors,
providing a stronger basis for identification of the critical compo-
nents of customer service. Second, the recognition of the impor-
tance of customer service has grown tremendously in the past
decade, making both practitioners and academicians more recep-
tive to classification attempts. Because we now recognize that
customer service can, in many situations, create competitive ad-
vantages, the interest in studying and measuring customer service
has increased.
 16 Journal of Customer Service in Marketing & Management

As a final commen&ry to this effort, it must be reiterated that this

is not an attempt to identify and classify the components of custom-
er service for all firms, in all industries, in all situations. Rather, it
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provides a solid foundation and starting point for any organization

interested in studying their customer service program and their
customers' perceptions of the program. Adjustments, both additions
and deletions, will, in all probability, be required to make this tax-
onomy company, industry, and situation specific.

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