978-0073545462 Chapter 2 Part 2

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Chapter 02 – Contributing to the Service Culture

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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)

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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?

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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

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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?

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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?

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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?

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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.