Case Study

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assessment brief

Module Title:	Marketing Services
Submission Deadline:	Tuesday 12th July 2019
Assessment Component	Coursework (RESIT)
Assessment Weighting:	50 per cent of total module mark
Marking and feedback deadline (20 working days)	13th August 2019

Assessment Instructions

This is an individual case-based assignment that requires you to answer a question in relation to the case study below: ‘Best Car Hire’.

Question: Using services marketing theory, analyse and explain Best’s loss of customers and recommend how it might improve the customer experience. (100 marks)

General Guidance

· The coursework requires you to select and apply theories, frameworks, and concepts from the first six study units of the module.

· It is your decision as to what theories/frameworks/concepts to use to inform your answer. There is no recommended minimum or maximum number, but generally, quality of application is more important than the quantity of frameworks applied.

· Remember that the requirement is to apply rather than describe theory.

· You may use subheadings in your answer, but avoid excessive use of bullet points.

· Do not reiterate passages from the case study. Obviously, you will need to refer to the case, but do this as succinctly as you can.

· Evidence of relevant reading beyond the lecture slides, with appropriate application of this reading, will be rewarded. Besides textbooks, you may want to explore relevant articles from Journal of Services Marketing, Journal of Service Research, or Service Industries Journal. Other journals will have relevant articles, but, as implied by their titles, these three focus on services.

· Include a title page, contents, and references. There is no need for an abstract or executive summary. Please number your pages.

Marking Criteria

Please see the grid below:

Criteria Grading	Analysis (35%)	Recommendations (35%)	Structure (20%)	Literacy, presentation, referencing (10%)
80-100 PASS Exceptional	Insightful analysis with originality of thought. Identifies underlying issue(s). Excellent application of theory. Demonstrates excellent integration of relevant literature from outside the module reading list.	Highly appropriate, with originality of thought. Consistent with issues raised in the analysis. Exceptional clarity and detail. Supported wherever possible by theory / literature.	Exceptional organization and flow of material with excellent connections between ideas. Introduction is specific and signposts. Conclusion synthesises and may highlight implications of recommendations.	Exceptional standard of literacy and presentation. Near faultless referencing.
70-79 PASS Excellent	Insightful analysis. Identifies underlying issue(s). Excellent application of theory. Demonstrates excellent integration of relevant literature from outside the module reading list.	Excellent and appropriate, with some originality of thought. Consistent with issues raised in the analysis. Excellent clarity and detail. Supported wherever possible by theory / literature.	Excellent organization and flow of material. Ideas are well connected. Introduction is specific and signposts. Conclusion synthesises and may highlight implications of recommendations.	Excellent standard of literacy and presentation. Referencing is excellent but there may be one or two slips.
60-69 PASS Very good / good	Good analysis. Identifies underlying issue(s) though may not discuss in depth. Good application of theory. Demonstrates good integration of relevant literature, with some from outside the module reading list.	Good and generally appropriate. Largely consistent with issues raised in the analysis. Good clarity and detail. Some recommendations supported by theory / literature.	Good organization and flow of material with ideas that are mostly well connected. Introduction is largely contextualised and signposts. Conclusion provides a good summary.	Good standard of literacy and presentation. Just a few errors. Referencing is good, though there may be a few errors or omissions.
50-59 PASS Competent	Competent analysis. May miss underlying issue(s). Reasonable application of theory though not always systematic or accurate. Evidence of reading beyond the lecture slides.	Competent and generally appropriate. There may be inconsistencies with issues raised in the analysis. Some recommendations lack clarity and detail. Limited theoretical support.	Competent organization of material but flow may not always be logical. Ideas not always connected. Introduction is general with limited signposting. Conclusion provides an incomplete summary.	Competent standard of literacy and presentation. Referencing is competent but there may be several errors or omissions.
40-49 PASS Adequate	Adequate analysis. Misses underlying issue(s). Adequate application of theory but not systematic and with evidence of a lack of understanding in places. No evidence of reading beyond lecture slides.	Adequate though not all appropriate. A lack of consistency with the analysis. A substantial lack of clarity and detail. Limited or no theoretical support.	Some attempt to structure the report but not always effective. Ideas often unconnected. Introduction is superficial with limited/no signposting. Conclusion is weak or absent.	Adequate literacy and presentation but with several areas of weakness. Many instances of incorrect or missing references.
35-39 FAIL Inadequate	Superficial analysis. Misses underlying issue(s). Limited and unsystematic application of theory, demonstrating a lack of understanding. No evidence of reading beyond the lecture slides.	Inadequate and with limited appropriateness. A lack of consistency with the analysis. A substantial lack of clarity and detail. No theoretical support.	Vague structure with little or no logic to the flow of material. Ideas unconnected. Introduction and conclusion are superficial or absent.	Inadequate literacy and presentation, with substantial areas of weakness. Many instances of incorrect or missing references. Significantly under or over word count.
0-34 FAIL Poor	Poor analysis. Misses underlying issue(s). Very limited and unsystematic application of theory, demonstrating a lack of understanding. No evidence of reading beyond the lecture slides.	Very few, and largely inappropriate, recommendations. A lack of consistency with the analysis. A substantial lack of clarity and no detail. No theoretical support.	Very disorganized with no logic to the flow of material. Poor connections between ideas. Introduction and conclusion are superficial or absent.	Poor literacy and presentation. Many instances of incorrect or missing references. Significantly under or over word count.

Formative feedback and Support

Formative feedback

Formative feedback provides opportunities to reflect on your ongoing work and preparation for your assignment. Time will be set aside in every lecture prior to the submission date for you to ask questions and receive feedback about the assignment. If you prefer not to ask your question aloud in the lecture, you can email it in advance to the module leader. Weekly tutorial tasks are designed to give you the opportunity to apply theory that you may choose to use in your coursework, thus giving you the opportunity to receive formative feedback in class. In addition, a ‘frequently asked questions’ document will be made available on Blackboard and updated regularly.

Formatting

Please use the following file format: Microsoft Word file with a .doc or .docx file extension. We cannot ensure that other formats are compatible with markers’ software.

All work should be word processed in 12-point font Times New Roman or Arial and single spaced. Please number your pages.

The first page of your coursework must include:

· Your student number

· The module name and number

· Your word count

Word Limit

The maximum word limit for this coursework is 2,500.

· This word count includes everything in the main body of the text (including headings, tables, citations, quotes, lists, etc.).

· References, title page, contents page, and appendices are NOT included in the word count.

· There is no direct penalty for exceeding the word count, but the marker WILL stop reading once the maximum word limit has been reached and nothing further will be taken into account in the allocation of marks.

Referencing:

Please adhere to the principles of good academic practice and ensure you reference all sources used when developing your assessment, using the HARVARD system. Failure to properly reference your work to original source material can be grounds for the assessment offence of plagiarism and may result in failure of the assessment or have more serious implications.

Instructions for submission

You must submit your assignment before the stated deadline by electronic submission through Blackboard. Notification that the electronic submission portal is open for your assignment is displayed (usually two weeks before the submission date) in the Coursework tab in myUWE, the Coursework tab in Blackboard and via an announcement in the Blackboard course.

Please allow sufficient time to upload your assignment, noting that the system becomes busier and slower as the deadline approaches. Only your final upload will be counted. Ensure all your information is submitted at one attempt to avoid ‘overwriting’ your intended submission. Always check and retain your receipts.

Late submission in the 24 hours following the deadline will be accepted but the assignment mark will be capped at 40%. Submissions after 24 hours will not be accepted.

Submissions of coursework by any other method (including a paper copy, on disk or by email) are NOT permissible for this module unless specifically agreed in advance of the submission date.

· You have proof read you work thoroughly to ensure your work is presented appropriately

· You have addressed all the required elements of the assessment

· You have referenced in accordance with the guidance provided

· You have addressed each of the marking criterion

· The submission is in the correct format

Final feedback and marks release

Students will normally receive marks and feedback on their submission within 20 working days of the submission deadline (not including any public holidays or university closure days). Any delay in returning students’ work will be communicated by the module leader via Blackboard. Feedback on this module is not limited to the written comments you will receive on individual written assessment submissions.

Feedback and marks for this module will be available by 13th August 2019.

For further guidance on feedback, please refer to the module handbook.

Best Car Hire: Service with a smile

Best Car Hire is a car rental firm operating in the UK. Although the firm was successful in its early years, revenue has recently declined. Given the increasingly competitive environment in which it operates — new and aggressive car rental firms, as well as substitute products such as car sharing and peer-to-peer car lending — the firm decided to explore the reasons for the drop in sales revenue.

In the first instance, the company conducted a large-scale survey. The results of the survey suggested that customers were dissatisfied with Best and considered the quality of service to be low. The firm’s management could not understand why, because they were convinced they offered a wider range of cars (including electric cars) and competitive prices. They decided that the answer was to run a marketing communications campaign to remind customers that Best would not be beaten on price and that it offered ‘service with a smile’ (its advertising tagline). Yet 12 months later, the problem persisted – sales revenue continued to fall.

In an effort to ‘dig deeper’, the firm decided to conduct interviews with 50 of their customers who had not hired a car for some time. The interviews were unstructured and the principal question was “how do you find the experience of hiring from us?” Below are the words of one respondent whose experience was typical.

I realize that you offer the most competitive prices on the marketplace and that you supply cars that generally get me to my destination. However, my most recent experience of hiring from you has left me thinking I will go elsewhere next time.

Your website was very slow so I decided to call to make a booking. I was ‘on hold’ for several minutes before a service representative answered my call. I am a regular customer and yet I had to go through the process of providing all my personal details.

When I asked to hire a small car from your Bristol office, I was told that you only had mid- or large-sized cars available for the dates I requested. I have always been able to hire a small car from you, even at a few hours’ notice, so I was surprised you could not accommodate my needs. When I queried this, the representative put me on hold for what seemed like five minutes, only to tell me that he did after all have a small car he could give me. When I asked him the make of car, he was unable to provide me with the information. When I said I wanted to collect the car from your Bristol office but return it to your Edinburgh office, I was told there would be an extra charge. Is this a new charge? Furthermore, I was also told your Bristol office closes at 18.00. This is problematic for me given that I finish work at 17.30.

When I arrived the next day to collect the car, and after queuing for some time to speak to the only representative in the office, I was informed that you no longer had a small car available. I was told it is standard practice to overbook but, because there had been no ‘no-shows’, I would have to hire a mid-sized car at an extra cost of £15 per day. Given that the time was 17.55 and there was insufficient time to explore alternatives, I reluctantly agreed. When it came to quoting for the car hire, your representative was unable to tell me whether it was cheaper to hire the car on a daily basis or for the weekend. I then spent several minutes repeating all the personal information I had given to the representative on the telephone. I found this annoying. I was handed several pages of terms and conditions to sign, without being given time to read them (in any case, it would have taken me at least five minutes to read them).

The car itself seemed fine until, that is, it broke down on the motorway. I appreciate this can happen and, to be fair, it was the first time one of your cars had broken down on me. However, I could not find any information about who to call in the event of a breakdown. I rang the Bristol office but it was closed. An automated message gave an out-of-hours number which I rang, but no one answered. Using my mobile phone, I managed to find the number for your London office and rang them. They were rather surprised that no one in Bristol had spoken to me about what to do in the event of a breakdown. Having checked my location, I was told that one of the breakdown services would be with me within 45 minutes. I do not remember the representative apologising to me for the inconvenience I was experiencing.

I waited two hours. When they (a transit van with no identification) finally arrived, I was told the car could not be repaired at the roadside and that I would have to wait another hour for a tow truck to take me to my destination in London. I finally arrived in London at about midnight. I spent a long time on the phone the next morning trying to organise a replacement car for the remainder of the hire period. Neither your Bristol, London, nor Edinburgh office wanted to take responsibility. I was passed from one to the other. Eventually, I managed to secure a replacement car and complete my journey.

When the charge for the car hire appeared on my credit card, I was very surprised and angry to see that the cost was £70 more than expected, even after allowing for the hire of a mid-, rather than small-sized, car. I called your Bristol office for an explanation but was told to contact your central administration team. Despite several calls, and even after lodging a complaint about the whole disastrous rental episode, I have still not received an explanation for the extra charge, nor an apology.

I have been a customer of yours for several years but I do not feel this is reflected in the way I am treated.

N.B. Best Car Hire is a fictitious company.