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Chapter 02 - Contributing to the Service Culture
2-13
o Professionalism
o Enthusiastic service
o Empathy
▪ As a service provider, one should make every effort to be
understanding, and to provide appropriate service.
▪ A common strategy for showing empathy is the feel, felt, found
technique—a process for expressing empathy and concern for
someone and for helping that person understand that you can relate to
the situation.
o Patience
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Class Activities and Sample Assignments
1. Read chapter two. (LO 2-1 through 2-6)
2. The service culture of an organization is often defined in its mission statement. Ask
students to find mission statements that define the service culture. (LO 2-1)
3. Give examples (or have students role play the situations) using the feel, felt, found
technique in the following situations: (LO 2-3 through 2-6)
a. A customer is angry because the service department is not able to get to his
home and fix his problem for another three days, but he wants it done
tomorrow.
b. A customer is disappointed that the price for a particular item has gone up
since the last time she bought it.
c. A customer is acting irritated and mentions the fact that he had to wait five
minutes in line since no one opened another cashier lane.
d. A customer has emailed because the clothing item she ordered on the website
is much larger than standard sizes.
e. A customer emailed because he keeps getting promotional emails even
though he has requested his name be taken off the mailing list.
4. Identify specific types of training that might be needed to provide excellent customer
service when performing the following jobs: (LO 2-3 and 2-4)
a. A call center representative for a cable company
b. A shoe store salesperson
c. A plumber
d. A teacher
e. A department of licensing agent
5. Compare and contrast the differences between a mentor and a boss in a short
paper or group discussion. (LO 2-1 through 2-6)
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Discussion Opportunities
1. Discuss a situation where you were not allowed, due to policies and procedures, to
grant excellent customer service. If this has never happened, think of an example
and discuss. (LO 2-3)
2. What would motivate you to provide good service to customers? Discuss how your
motivation is related to the factors discussed in the chapter. (LO 2-1 through 2-4)
3. Of the items listed in the chapter on customer expectations, how would you rank
them in terms of importance? Which are the top five most important expectations
to meet? (LO 2-6)
4. This chapter discusses some of the ways customers gain information to evaluate
products. How do you evaluate products? How important is customer service to
your choice of products? (LO 2-3 through 2-6)
5. Using RUMBA, evaluate your personal goals in regards to career. Do they meet
the criteria of a RUMBA goal? If not, how might you change the goals so they do
meet the criteria? (LO 2-1 through 2-5)
Chapter 02 - Contributing to the Service Culture
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In the Real World Notes
Retail—Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream
This opening discussed some of the service components offered by Ben and Jerry’s.
Founded in the 1960s, this organization embodied the “for the people” philosophy. Their
success is largely due to the fact that the owners had loyal customers. These customers
were a result of non-traditional marketing methods, such as a RV that drives around the
country giving away free ice cream. The company was purchased by a multinational
corporation in 2000, but the founders are still involved in some of the promotional
aspects of the organization although they do not hold board or management positions.
1. Do you have personal experience with this company? If so, describe your
2. How does this organization differ from other similar successful companies of which
you are aware?
3. How is this organization similar to other successful companies of which you are
aware?
4. What does Ben and Jerry’s do that encourages customer support and loyalty?
Chapter 02 - Contributing to the Service Culture
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Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill
Education.
feeling that they are “one of us” can create customer loyalty. Good training of
employees and employee empowerment are other ways this company, and many
others, can gain loyalty.
5. Does the organization do anything that might cause a negative impression in the
mind of customers? Explain.
6. Would you want to work for this company? Why or why not?
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Work It Out Notes
Work It Out 2.1—Organizational Culture
This first Work It Out box focuses on the components of organizational culture. The box
asks students to think about their own organizations or ones they are familiar with and
asks what the service philosophy of the organization is and what things make the
aspects or things that do not contribute to a service culture. One example would be lack
of training or lack of empowerment. Finally, the last question asks students what they
would do differently. Here, the instructor can make the point that the best employees
are those who not only complain but offer solutions as to what can be done differently to
make things better.
Work It Out 2.2
discussion on stores in an area close by that has generous return policies and not-so-
generous ones. What are the advantages from a customer service perspective? Are
there disadvantages?
Work It Out 2.3—Managing Customer Encounters
This box asks students to think about a situation where they experienced a customer
For follow-up questions, instructors can ask students what role training has in a
manager’s ability to handle situations well.
Work It Out 2.4
This box asks students to discuss, in groups, the skills training needed to be in
customer service. It also asks the types of training that students have had or need to
Chapter 02 - Contributing to the Service Culture
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have in this area to qualify for a position in customer service. Consider asking students
to brainstorm a list of traits in groups and then write on the board or flip charts.
sometimes personality is equally important in getting a job.
Work It Out 2.5—Your Customer Expectations
The decision a company makes affects the customer service environment. The box
these components would be the most important?
Chapter 02 - Contributing to the Service Culture
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End-of-Chapter Material Notes
Key Terms
• Attitudes (p. 45)
• Customer-centric (p. 46)
• Customer-friendly systems (p. 65)
• Employee expectations (p. 49)
• Employee roles (p. 49)
• Empowerment (p. 62)
• Ethical behavior (p. 72)
• Ethics (p. 72)
• Feel, felt, found technique (p. 77)
• Mentors (p. 61)
• Mission (p. 47)
• Mission statement (p. 48)
• Protégé (p. 61)
• Rumba (p. 49)
• Service culture (p. 45)
• Service delivery systems (p. 66)
• Service measurement (p. 51)
• Service philosophy (p. 47)
• Vision statement (p. 48)
• What customers want (p. 76)
Review Questions
1. What are some of the key elements that make up a service culture?
2. How does management’s service philosophy affect the culture of an organization?
Chapter 02 - Contributing to the Service Culture
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Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill
Education.
stands for. If all employees are aware of what their organization stands for, how it
accomplishes its mission, and where it is headed in the future, they can play a
crucial role in creating a service culture that strives to identify and meet customer
needs, wants, and expectations.
3. How does RUMBA help clearly define employee roles and expectations? Why is
each component important?
4. How can policies and procedures affect the customer’s impression of customer
service?
5. What questions should you ask yourself about your role as a service provider?
6. What are some indicators that a company has customer-friendly systems in place?
7. What are some of the tools used by organizations to measure their service culture?
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Following are some of the tools that organizations can use to determine how well
they are providing customer service:
• Customer focus groups
• Mystery shoppers
• Customer satisfaction surveys
• Customer comment cards
• Profit and loss statements or management reports
• Management inspections
8. What are some strategies for helping promote a positive customer culture?
9. What separates average organizations from excellent ones?
10. What are some typical things that customers want?
Chapter 02 - Contributing to the Service Culture
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Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill
Education.
Following are some of the typical things that customers want:
• Personal recognition
• Courtesy
• Timely service
• Professionalism
• Enthusiastic service
• Empathy
• Patience
Collaborative Learning Activity
In this day and age when many of the students work, it can be hard to arrange a field
trip. What instructors can do, however, is ask students to note service in their daily
customer service providers to determine if the proper training and empowerment is
taking place within the organization.
Face to Face—You and Your New Job in Customer Service
This situation asks students to assume the new role in customer service at United
Booksellers. The organization has been heralded for its high quality service and a
employees are notable. Each store has its own coffee shop where patrons can relax
and read. The organization employs 3,000 people and provides extensive customer
service training before being allowed to interact with customers.
The questions following this case include:
1. Are there indicators of United Booksellers’ service culture? If so, what are they?
2. If you were an employee, in what ways would you feel that you could contribute to
the organizational culture?
3. If you were a customer, what kind of service would you expect to receive at United
Booksellers? Why?
Answers will vary, but the point is to ask students to think about what personality traits
they have that can contribute to a high quality organization.
