Chapter 19

Customer Service

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Levy/Weitz: Retailing Management, 4/e

Copyright 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

PPT19-1

Services Offered by Retailers

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Levy/Weitz: Retailing Management, 4/e

Copyright 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

PPT19-2

Services Offered by Garden.Com

SEE PHOTO ON PAGE 587 OF THE TEXTBOOK

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Levy/Weitz: Retailing Management, 4/e

Copyright 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

PPT19-3

Problems in Providing Quality Service

Intangibility of benefits - Difficult for customers to evaluate service quality

- Difficult for firms to evaluate quality of service delivered by employees

Inconsistencies of service provided - Employees are not machines

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Levy/Weitz: Retailing Management, 4/e

Copyright 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

PPT19-4

Customer Service Strategies

Customized - Greater potential benefits to customers - Greater inconsistency - Higher cost Standardized - Lower cost - High consistency - Meets but does not exceed expectations

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Copyright 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

PPT19-5

Role of Expectations in Evaluating Retail Service

Service quality Perception of service delivered Satisfaction with service quality Past experiences Customer expectations Dissatisfaction with service quality Perception of service delivered Competitive offerings

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PPT19-6

Example of Unexpected Service

SEE PHOTO ON PAGE 590 OF THE TEXTBOOK

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Levy/Weitz: Retailing Management, 4/e

Copyright 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

PPT19-7

Cues Customers Use to Evaluate Retail Service Quality

TANGIBLES
Appearance of store Display of merchandise Appearance of salespeople

CREDIBILITY
Reputation for honoring commitments Trustworthiness of salespeople Guarantees & warranties provided Return policy

UNDERSTANDING & KNOWING CUSTOMER

Providing individual attention Recognizing regular customers

INFORMATION PROVIDED TO CUSTOMERS

Explanation of service & its cost Notes sent to customers informing them of sales Assurances that a problem will be resolved

SECURITY
Feeling safe in parking lot Communications & transactions treated confidentially

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Levy/Weitz: Retailing Management, 4/e

Copyright 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

PPT19-8

Cues Customers Use to Evaluate Retail Service Quality

COMPETENCE
Knowledgeable & skillful employees Customer questions answered Friendliness of employees Respect shown to customers Interest shown in customers

COURTESY

RESPONSIVENESS
Returning a customers call Giving prompt service

ACCESS
Short waiting time to complete sales transaction Convenient operating hours Convenient location Manager available to discuss problems

RELIABILITY
Accuracy in billing Performing service at designated time Accuracy in completing sales transaction

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Levy/Weitz: Retailing Management, 4/e

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PPT19-9

Gaps Model for Improving Retail Customer Service

Knowledge gap -- knowing what the customer wants Standards gap -- setting service goals Delivery gaps -- meeting and exceeding service goals Communications gap -- communicating the service promise

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Levy/Weitz: Retailing Management, 4/e

Copyright 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

PPT19-10

Gaps Model for Improving Service Quality

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Levy/Weitz: Retailing Management, 4/e

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PPT19-11

Closing the Knowledge GAP

Customer research

More interactions between managers and customers Better communications between managers and service providers

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Levy/Weitz: Retailing Management, 4/e

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PPT19-12

Common Service Problems

Impersonal treatment, no eye contact Employees not responding Acting put out by customers Clueless Misplace priorities

Blatant dishonesty Thinking customer are stupid Broken promises Claims of powerlessness -I just work here Big wait
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Levy/Weitz: Retailing Management, 4/e

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PPT19-13

Closing the Standards GAP

High quality service commitment

Innovative solutions Define the role of service providers Set service goals Measure service performance

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Levy/Weitz: Retailing Management, 4/e

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PPT19-14

Service Provided by Other Customers in Chat Rooms

SEE PHOTO ON PAGE 601 OF THE TEXTBOOK

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Levy/Weitz: Retailing Management, 4/e

Copyright 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

PPT19-15

Closing the Delivery GAP

Information and training

Instrument and emotional Support Internal communications Reduce conflicts Empower employees Providing incentives

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Levy/Weitz: Retailing Management, 4/e

Copyright 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

PPT19-16

Closing the Communications GAP

Realistic commitments

Managing customer expectations

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Levy/Weitz: Retailing Management, 4/e

Copyright 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

PPT19-17

Service Recovery

Listen to the customer Provide a fair solution - Distributive fairness - Procedural fairness Resolve problem quickly - Reduce number of contacts - Give clear instructions - Avoid jargon
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Levy/Weitz: Retailing Management, 4/e