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Final Project

HM 442 Service Marketing

In service marketing we have learned some of the reasons people experience problems in our industry. We have also learned the solutions, or at least ways in which service providers can reduce the problems experienced. Primarily, service marketing is about the customer gap which includes four provider gaps that contribute to the widening or narrowing of the customer gap. We have learned specific solutions for each provider gap and it has opened our eyes as both customers and service employees. We have all agreed that in learning the problems and solutions to these gaps, we will be better managers in the future.

Red Lobster:

Upon arrival, we decided we wanted to sit outside as it was as nice day. A young lady came out and gave us menus and she left, soon thereafter another server, Stephen, came to the table and took our order for beverages. It took about ten to fifteen minutes to receive beverages alone. Here is where we experienced gap one, the listening gap. We decided as a team how long would be a good “wait time” for the food to arrive, however we did not think we would have to wait for drinks. It was extremely humid outside so we expected to receive our drinks in a timely manner. The zone of tolerance was narrow for us during that time as there were other circumstances that contributed to our expectations. Although it was our choice to sit outside, we thought that there would have been umbrellas to cover guests from the sun. This can be seen as gap two because with most places that have outside seating there are umbrellas to help protect the guests. When the beverages did arrive, there was yet another server who brought them out, however she did not take our orders. At this moment, we all realized we experienced gap three, the server knew that we ordered drinks but because she was not the person who took the orders, she did not know who ordered what. We see this as gap three because we felt like they were not performing to service standards, normally the servers knows who ordered what even if they did not take the order. Another ten minutes went by, Stephen showed up and took our order. We did receive our orders in a timely fashion and the food was excellent, however we did experience gap four in waiting to receive our checks, as the physical evidence cues suggested that the restaurant was not busy. We expected prompt delivery of the check, but receiving the check took the longest. We were all exhausted and ready to go. In most restaurants, your server delivers the check before the food is even finished and we expected that to be done or at least within ten minutes of finishing our food. Djon-Paul experienced gap four when he ordered a shrimp cocktail based on the picture he saw on the menu. When the shrimp cocktail came out, the ice had already melted and his expectations were that the ice would still be intact. In order to close the customer gap, Red Lobster must work on all four gaps, as they are the reasons behind the widening of the customer gap. Red Lobster can close gap one by understanding that beverages after being ordered is one of their first impressions with the customers and should train their employees to try and deliver the beverages in a timely manner, understanding this for future reference. Closing gap two can be done by changing or making additions to the servicescape outside. For gap three, enhancing the development of teamwork, because customers expect the servers to know what was ordered. Observing how customers are doing with their meal to determine the best time to deliver the check can help close gap three. Matching advertisement or included a disclaimer that the products delivered may be different than the advertisement can help to close gap four. Making sure the service matches the physical evidence can close the gap four, because service is a type of communication as well.

The Nittany Lion Inn:

We arrived at the Nittany Lion Inn and were greeted by a smiling young man who opened the door for all of us. We then sat in the lobby to observe the employee/guest reactions. In watching the guests, we noticed that the front desk agents were not greeting the guests as they walked by. We also noticed that there was a guest who was in a wheelchair but was not placed in handicap accessible room. The guest had to come back and ask for a different room, he insisted that he requested to be either on the first floor or in a handicap accessible room with a roll in shower. This problem can be seen as both the customer gap, gap one and gap two because the guest had the expectation that he would be in his requested room type, however he was not. This particular situation also falls under gap three, with regard to deficiency in human resource policies. Any employee who witnesses a guest in a wheelchair should think the guests wants a handicap accessible room, or they should ask just to avoid the guest having to come back to the front desk. After this guest was taken care of, we observed a young woman checking in. She received her room keys and proceeded to her room, not realizing that she was placed on the first floor. She came back to the front desk furious and explained that she requested and was promised a quiet room in a higher level rather than that on the first and that she does not feel safe on the first floor. The front desk agent could not find any special requests on the reservation, however she did explain that floor preference is not a guarantee as it is based on availability. Gap four can be seen through this observation. The guest was not educated on this information when she made her reservation and she also explained that whoever she spoke with promised her that she would have a high floor room.

The customer gap, gap one and gap two in this situation can be closed with educating new staff members. As I (Katherine) work at the front desk of the inn, I know that we have new people all the time who may have not received enough training yet. Gap three can be closed with offering the guests an option to pick their floor preference and introducing them to the whole facility. Gap four happened in a situation where all of the third floor King Room were occupied but the reservation center employee promised that the guest would still get that room type. Employees should receive more training so they know what can and cannot be done, communicate with the front desk and find out if they will be able to do what is promised. The management team should also make sure the employees do not over-promise anything to guests.

Herwig’s Austrian Bistro:

Herwig’s Austrian Bistro, in downtown was an overall good experience for us as a group, though there were some minor issues we experienced, but nothing too drastic to change or persuade our expectations from the service received. Gap one was fulfilled upon entering the store by the son of the owner, greeting us with a very cheerful and hearty hello and told us we may sit anywhere besides the largest table in the place which was for large groups that want to dine in the facility. Once we had sat down he gave us about five minutes to look at the menu before asking us what we would like to order, the beverages were a self-served basis which he stated after we had ordered our food. He had also offered us each a sample of his fresh bacon cinnamon rolls as it was all of our first time going to this place. He understood that we were hungry and didn’t know what to expect so offering these bacon cinnamon rolls was a way of understanding what we expected as customers and a way to get us to order more goods and come back again. Gap two the service design and standards was both a hit and miss for this restaurant. The design itself was appropriate for the Austrian based restaurant, containing pictures and traditional dishes portrayed throughout the facility on the wall, etc. The issues regarding the service design pertains to the menu design which was posted on a chalkboard next to the cash register, it was difficult to understand and read with numbers being everywhere and we could not really tell as to what the price was for each item listed. For example, the ordering of a wiener schnitzel that came with a salad and potatoes, was listed as 15/25 which was not very clear as to what that meant, did it mean $15 or 25$ and when the bill arrived it ended up being 28$ after tip, not expecting to spend that much as it was supposed to be a quick and relatively cheap lunch. On top of the menu design Herwig’s had a lot of flies casually flying around, not sure as if it was a result of all the food being fresh and homegrown as the employee stated or if it was because the front windows were open to let a breeze in. Nonetheless the flies made it seem like the restaurant we were dining in was unsanitary, which enhanced the gap in service design and standards. Herwig’s service performance which relates to gap three was an overall satisfying experience for us, from be able to sit down where we wanted and beverages being self-served the restaurant understood what we as customers might want. Orders were taken promptly, we were treated respectfully, and the food was brought out within 10-15 minutes not requiring us to wait too long and with very large portions that exceeded our expectations in the food category, these were all contributions as to how the service performance did well. Gap four, “the communication gap,” where employers of an organization struggle to communicate the standards of service required at their facility that should be portrayed by all staff towards customers and other employees. Herwig’s fell into this gap when we observed one of the employees being rude to another customer, stating that they should go in the back and clean the dish for not finishing the portion of food provided to them. From our point of view of, it could be considered gap 3 as well, because we did not understand that this was a way to experience the Austrian culture. After witnessing this interaction though it did not directly affect us, we decided to ask a few people passing by the restaurant after our meal whether or not they have experienced this type of incident before. A couple of the by passers, two people out of the 5 we asked admitted that they have received similar treatment and that Herwig’s purposely has a “rude humor” theme that is supposed to be accustomed with the fact you’re dining in an Austrian bistro.

These four service provider gaps all relate to the customer gap which is the difference between customer expectations and perceptions. In order for the service provider to close the customer gap it has to tackle the provider gaps of the facility. Herwig’s in this case only has to focus on two out of the four gaps, being gap two, and gap four. Gap one was fulfilled and already closed out. Gap two, the service design and standards gap can be closed by focusing on a way to make the menu that is written on the chalkboard clearer, neater way for the customers that enter to make sure that they know how much each meal actually is and understand that the meals itself aren’t that cheap due to ingredients being locally sourced, etc. Also to eliminate gap two they should get rid of the flies that seem to be flying around inside the restaurant so that it doesn't portray a dirty restaurant, a way to do this could be maybe by placing fly traps in locations where a customer might not see them, blending them in with the service design and checking on them occasionally to remove and replace them with new ones. Regarding gap four, the communications gap, Herwig’s should put up a disclaimer near the entrance of the restaurant saying that “rude humor by staff in order to get authentic Austrian experience” would be a good start on resolving the problem of people misunderstanding what is going on when one of the employees decides to yell at another customer about not finishing their portion and having to clean the dishes. This disclaimer would eliminate or reduce customer satisfaction, increasing customer retention and spread of word-by-mouth. By doing this, portion of gap three can be closed as well, because customers will be informed with the Austrian experience. The customers who saw the yelling employees will have a better understanding of why there was yelling going on.

The Center Hotel:

We also went to the Center to observe their services last weekend, and since it was Happy Volley weekend and Monday was Memorial Day, the hotel was fully booked. When we entered the hotel our first observation really coincided well with gap one. One customer used an app called Hotel Tonight to book this hotel a week in advance. After they booked it they did not receive any confirmation of whether the booking was confirmed or not so they were anxious because they did not know if their reservations went through or not, and they were scared that there was a chance that they might have to sleep in their car for that night. Then, the front desk agent explained that the app should have sent them an email and that it was not the hotel’s responsibility to send the email since the customer used a third party to book. She also mentioned that any reservations booked through a third-party is not guaranteed. Gap two occurred when we saw a poster of the breakfast buffet at the hotel dining area, when we asked the front desk what the buffet had to offer they told us that they really don't know and said that if we were curious, we could head to the dining room and ask the servers there. We also observed gap three when a guest came down from his room on the 4th floor and found out that one of the two keys did not work so he requested to get another key. To our surprise moments later he returned and said that the new key still did not work, he became very frustrated at the situation because he had to wait in line twice to get this problem fixed. Gap four occurred in a dramatic way. One of the guests told the front desk agents that the website showed photos that were exuded a warm and welcoming atmosphere. However, in reality, it couldn't be further than the truth. She claimed that when she entered the hallways to her room the walls were painted dark blue and grey which continued into her rooms. The lights in the bathroom was extremely dim which seemed like a set for a horror film. The feeling that it gave was terror and unease, exactly the opposite of what was advertised which was cozy and comforting.

For gap one, the listening gap, making sure the reservation department, front desk department and third parties communicate well. After the communication, training the front desk agents on how to explain situations like the third party issues. The relationship between the third parties and the hotel must be improved by making sure that responsibilities of each side are clear and delivered to guests so that the guests would get a confirmation email, letting them know that they are all set and ready to go rather than have them being clueless. Hiring the right person is important to resolve gap two. The front desk agents should have presented a welcoming feeling to the guests, because they are the first impression to guests’ whole stay .Making sure the dining room communicates with the front desk as well is important. For example, they can leave some menus at the front desk so that the front desk agents can go over the menu and know what the dining room servers. As for gap three the staff should be more careful and be sure that a problem is fixed because making the same mistake twice is unacceptable from the customer's standpoint. For instance, the front desk agents can call the maintenance department to meet the guest by his room and fix the issue there instead of him coming back down for new keys. Front desk agents should also apologize the guest experiencing the issue, because good attitude can help with the guest’s frustration. To resolve gap four, the painting on the wall definitely lead to a misunderstanding to guests. The hotel needs to be repainted and redesigned in order to make sure the design communicates the information correctly and provides a more pleasant experience for new and revisiting guests. Thus, delivering what was advertised, or not over-promising anything from the advertisement.

Through the whole project, we observed the customer gap and provider gaps in different business segments. As doing this project, we understand the materials on the gap model better. We understand how to apply the knowledge in real life as well. In this project, we gave suggestions to the businesses that we visited, so that the businesses can develop and close the provider gaps. When the provider gaps are closed, the businesses can offer better service to their customers/guests.