奧蘇菲亞

Sofia Rizki Aulia

RA6117284

Course Note 3: Customer Expectations of Service

1. Service Expectations
Service expectations are reference points against which service delivery is
compared is only a beginning. This reference point affects the variety of level
of expectations the customer holds. Hereby are the possible levels of customer
expectations from high to low:
a. Ideal expectations or desires
b. Normative “Should Expectations”
c. Experience-Based Norms
d. Acceptable Expectations
e. Minimum Tolerable Expectations

2. Factors that Influence Customer Expectations of Service

a. Personal needs
b. Personal service philosophy
c. Derived service expectations
d. Perceived service alternatives
e. Situational factors
f. Predicted service
g. Explicit service promises
h. Implicit service promises
i. Word of mouth communication
j. Past experience

3. Issues Involving Customers’ Service Expectations

a. What does a service marketer do if customer expectations are “unrealistic”?
b. Should a company try to delight the customer?
c. How does a company exceed customers’ service expectations?
d. Do customers’ service expectations continually escalate?
e. How does a service company stay ahead of competition in meeting
customer expectations?

CRITICAL THINKING AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What is a consumer's "wished for" level of performance?

Consumer’s “wished for” level of performance is the level of service the customer hopes
to receive. It is the highest expectation where it can also be called as desired service. This
service is a blend of what the customer believes “can be” and “should be”. As an
example, when consumers sign up for five stars hotel, they expect to find luxury, comfort,
beautiful view, and complete facilities during their stay. This expectation reflects the
hopes and wishes of the customers.
2. Which characteristic of services best explains the existence of zones of tolerance?
The zone of tolerance is the extent to which customers recognize and are willing to accept
the variation of services. It represents the difference of two characteristic of services,
which are desired service and adequate service. Desired service is the highest
expectations from customer. It is defined as the level of service the customer hope to
receive (the “wished for” level of performance). Meanwhile, adequate service is the
threshold level of acceptable service. It is defined as the minimum level of service the
customer will accept.

3. Drew had his house professionally sprayed for cockroaches last week. Yesterday he
found a roach in his kitchen sink. He has requested the company that did the initial
spraying to return to his house and spray again. Briefly describe Drew's zone of tolerance
and his expectations for this second spraying.
In this case, Drew is dissatisfied with the company’s first service proven by the fact that
Drew still found another roach in his kitchen sink on the next week and requested the
company to return to his house and spray again. Calling the company to spray again
might be a form of asking accountability from the company due to the dissatisfied feeling
from the first service. We can see that Drew’s zone of tolerance is narrow, and his
expectations for this second spraying his higher. Customers are likely to be less tolerant
about unreliable service such as broken promises or service errors than other service
deficiencies, which means that they have higher expectations for this factor.

4. List the three major determinants of desired service levels.

a. Personal needs
Personal needs are those states or conditions essential to the physical or
psychological well-being of the customer and are pivotal factors that shape what
customers desire in service. It can fall into many categories, including physical,
social, psychological, and functional. As an example, a customer with high social
and dependency needs may have relatively high expectations for a hotel’s
ancillary services.
b. Personal service philosophy
Personal service philosophy is the customer’s underlying generic attitude about
the meaning of service highest expectations and the proper conduct of service
providers. As an example, if you ever work in a restaurant, you are likely to have
standards when ordering food. Customers who are themselves in service
businesses or have worked for them in the past generally have strong service
philosophies.
c. Derived service expectations
Derived service expectations occur when customer expectations are driven by
another person or group of people. For example, when a parent choosing a
vacation for the family. In the context of business-to-business service, customer
expectations are driven by the expectations of their own customers. As an
example, the head of information technology in an insurance company make sure
the computer equipment is not down, so that customer will not complain.