Ch9.pptx

ALIGNING SERVICE STANDARDS Chapter 9 Provider Gap 2 CUSTOMER COMPANY Customer-Driven Service Designs and Standards Service Design & Standards Company Gap Perceptions of Consumer Expectations Objectives  Company-defined vs. customer-defined service standards  Types of customer-defined service stand...

ALIGNING SERVICE STANDARDS Chapter 9 Provider Gap 2 CUSTOMER COMPANY Customer-Driven Service Designs and Standards Service Design & Standards Company Gap Perceptions of Consumer Expectations Objectives  Company-defined vs. customer-defined service standards  Types of customer-defined service standards  Process of developing customer-defined service standards Sample Core Standards at Four Seasons Hotel  Hotel Arrival  Mission: to make all guests feel welcome as they approach, and assured that details are well tended; to provide a speedy, discreet, and hassle-free arrival for business travelers, to provide a comforting and luxurious arrival for leisure travelers.  The doorman (or first-contact employee) will actively greet guests, smile, make eye contact, and speak clearly in a friendly manner.  The staff will be aware of arriving vehicles and will move toward them, opening doors within 30 seconds.  Guests will be welcomed at the curbside with the words “welcome” and “Four Seasons” (or hotel name), and given directions to the reception desk.  No guest will wait longer than 60 seconds in line at the reception desk. Factors Necessary for Appropriate Service Standards  Standardization of service behaviors & actions  Technology  Procedure  Formal service goals  Customer – not company – defined standards Types of Customer-Defined Service Standards  Hard customer-defined standards    Things that can be counted, timed, or observed through audits e.g., eye glasses ready in one hour Soft Customer-Defined Standards   Opinion-based e.g., be patient Process for Setting Customer-Defined Standards 1. Identify existing or desired service encounter sequence 2. 2. Translate Translate customer customer expectations expectations into into behaviors/actions behaviors/actions 3. 3. Determine Determine appropriate appropriate standards standards Measure by audits or operating data 4. Develop measurements for standards Hard Soft 5. 5. Establish Establish target target levels levels for for standards standards 6. 6. Track Track measures measures against against standards standards 7. 7. Provide Provide feedback feedback about about performance performance to to employees employees 8. 8. Update Update target target levels levels and and measures measures Measure by transactionbased surveys What Customers Expect: Getting to Actionable Steps Dig deepe r Satisfactio Value n Solution Relationsh Provider ip Reliability Empathy Assurance Tangibles Responsiveness Price Dig deepe r Dig deeper Requirement Diagnosticit s: y: Abstract General Low concepts Dimensio ns Delivers on time Attributes Returns calls quickly Knows my industry Delivers by Wednesday Behaviors Returns calls in two hours and Knows strengths of my actions competitors Concret e High Linkage between Soft Measures and Hard Measures for Speed of Complaint Handling 10 SATISFACTION 9 8 7 Large Customers 6 5 Small Customers 4 3 2 1 0 2 20 4 24 6 8 12 WORKING HOURS 16 Development of Customer-Defined Service Standards    Measuring behaviors and actions  Hard measures: information system  Soft measures: SERVQUAL surveys, trailer calls, employee monitoring Developing service performance indexes  How customers weigh different service requirement  Measures  Use the index to identify & solve problems Adapting standards globally or locally  Four Seasons Hotel: 53 properties, 24 countries, 1 philosophy  1998, 800 globally uniform standards  270 standards & exceptions are permitted if they make local sense  Europe Disney: not adapting to local culture Importance/Performance Matrix