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CHAPTER 9:
CUSTOMER-DEFINED SERVICE STANDARDS
CHAPTER TOPICS
Factors Necessary for Appropriate Service Standards
Types of Customer-Defined Service Standards
Development of Customer-Defined Service Standards
Technology Spotlight: The Power of Good Responsiveness Standards
Global Feature: Adjusting Service Standards around the Globe
Strategy Insight: Using Big Data to Define Service Standards and Improve Customer Experience
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
1. Distinguish between company-defined and customer-defined service standards.
2. Differentiate among “hard” and “soft” customer-defined service standards and one-time fixes.
3. Explain the critical role of the service encounter sequence in developing customer-defined standards.
4. Illustrate how to translate customer expectations into behaviors and actions that are definable,
repeatable, and actionable.
5. Explain the process of developing customer-defined service standards.
LECTURE TIPS & AIDS
1. This chapter is about taking customer information and turning it into standards usually handled in
other functional parts of the organization such as operations or human resources. It is not a typical
chapter for a marketing text, yet it is where the rubber hits the road in terms of making good service
happen.
2. Following the process for setting customer-defined service designs and standards is a good way to
structure the lecture and discussion. The instructor can often effectively use guest speakers from the
local community to talk about the way the process works in their organizations. Giving the guest
speaker the process figure prior to speaking to the class is an excellent way to reinforce the concepts.
QUESTIONS FOR USE WITH CHAPTER OPENING VIGNETTE
Chapter 9: FedEx
1. How is the FedEx service quality indicator (SQI) different from service performance indices of other
companies?
2. Why does the management at FedEx believe so strongly in reporting performance measures in the
particular way it does?
3. In addition to the “hard” standards of the FedEx SQI, what “soft” customer-defined service standards
should FedEx use to measure its performance? Consider this question from your perspective as a
customer or potential customer of FedEx’s shipping services.
ACTIVE LEARNING ACTIVITIES
1. Working in a small group (3-4 people), choose a service company that group members are fairly
familiar with. (Your group won’t know everything it would like to know to do this exercise. When
you do not know the information, make some reasonable assumptions or use your best logic to
develop the answer.) After you have chosen a company, complete the following activities:
Define the service encounter sequence for a typical customer.
Describe expected behaviors/actions for each encounter.
Choose three particularly important encounters and define hard and soft measures that you
could establish for these encounters.
2. Interview both an employee and a customer of a local service business. Create a service encounter
sequence for each person. How are the two sequences similar? How do they differ? What are the
implications of any differences for the company? Would you recommend any changes based on what
you found out?
POTENTIAL VIDEO CLIPS TO USE IN ILLUSTRATING CHAPTER 9 CONCEPTS
“Vegas Vacation” – In this scene the Griswold f1amily is checking into a Las Vegas hotel.
The front-desk employee provides very confusing directions on how to get to their hotel room. This
clip could be used to begin a discussion of what type of standards might be appropriate in this
context.
“Taxi” – In this movie there is a scene where a customer asks a cab driver (Queen Latifah) to
get him to the airport (so he will not miss his plane) in less than 15 minutes. She proceeds to get him
there in less than 10 minutes, speeding and driving recklessly along the way. This clip could be used
to illustrate how hard-standards (getting the customer to the airport in 15 minutes or less) have been
accomplished at the expense of soft-standards (being delivered to the airport in a safe and comfortable
manner).
POSSIBLE WEB SITES FOR CHAPTER 9
Company Location
Amazon www.amazon.com
FedEx Corporation www.fedex.com
Ford Motor Company www.ford.com
Four Seasons Hotel www.fourseasons.com
Granite Rock www.graniterock.com
Hampton Inn www.hamptoninn.com
John Robert’s Spa www.johnrobertsspa.com
Office Depot www.officedepot.com
Puget Sound Energy www.pse.com
Ritz-Carlton www.ritzcarlton.com
The Walt Disney Company www.disney.com
Zappos.com www.zappos.com
APPROPRIATE CASES FOR CHAPTER 9
From previous Zeithaml, Bitner, and Gremler Services Marketing texts:
Merrill Lynch: Supernova [included in the sixth edition of this text: Zeithaml, Bitner, and
Gremler (2013) Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus Across the Firm, New York,
NY: McGraw-Hill Companies]
Using Services Marketing to Develop and Deliver Integrated Solutions at Caterpillar in Latin
America [included in the sixth edition of this text: Zeithaml, Bitner, and Gremler (2013) Services
Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus Across the Firm, New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
Companies]
The Quality Improvement Customers Didn’t Want [included in the fourth edition of this text:
Zeithaml, Bitner, and Gremler (2006) Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus Across
the Firm, New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies]
Starbucks: Delivering Customer Service [included in the fourth edition of this text: Zeithaml,
Bitner, and Gremler (2006) Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus Across the Firm,
New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies]
Virgin Atlantic Airways [included in the third edition of this text: Zeithaml and Bitner (2003)
Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus Across the Firm, New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
Companies]
Northwest Airlines and the Detroit Snowstorm [included in the third edition of this text: Zeithaml
and Bitner (2003) Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus Across the Firm, New York,
NY: McGraw-Hill Companies]
EuroDisney: The First 100 Days [included in the second edition of this text: Zeithaml and Bitner
(2000) Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus Across the Firm, New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill Companies]
From other sources:
Four Seasons Goes to Paris: “53 Properties, 24 Countries, 1 Philosophy” [Harvard Business
School Case 9-803-069, 2002]
