Service Provider Encounters

Question: Discuss about the Service Provider Encounters. Answer: Introduction A business cannot survive in today's market without providing excellent customer service and product differentiation. It is important for them to add value to their products. Service industries have to consider both tangible and intangible factors while offering services to the consumers (Prakash and Mohanty (2013)). They have to make sure that they understand the needs and preferences of the people. Many companies use service encounters to assess their performance in the market. Service encounters or moment of truth helps a customer to evaluate the service offerings provided by a company (The moment of truth in customer service, (2006)). It involves interaction between consumers and service providers. It has become an essential element for marketing of services. A negative review from the customer can affect the brand image and reputation of the company. The aim of the paper is to reflect the findings of service encounter with a restaurant where I had repeated meals. All the feature s of service delivery system such as brand name, interiors, quality of food, environment, interaction with the employees and price have been included in the evaluation. Satisfaction level has been measured using 5 point scale. Apart from this, the report also includes the main areas for improvement and recommendations for the restaurant. Grill'd restaurant has been used for the analysis of service delivery system. It is an Australian fast food chain which specializes in burgers (Grill'd Restaurant, (2017)). They have more than 125 restaurants in the country. They are famous for their excellent quality of food which is standardized across all the locations. They have also started home delivery services for their customers which has been beneficial for their business. Along with this, they are also involved in CSR activities. Grill'd restaurants donates $500 monthly from their revenue to 3 selected local communities. These communities are chosen by their customers by a voting system. I have used multiple service encounters to evaluate the service delivery system of the restaurant. Analysis of expectations and experiences Production and consumption are inseparable from each other (Dabholkar, (2015)). As such, it is important for a restaurant to provide excellent customer service. Grill'd is a well known brand and restaurant chain in Australia but the overall experience has not been very good. I have visited the restaurant multiples times but there are certain problems which have been discussed below: I was very excited to visit Grill'd restaurant as it was recommended to me by my relatives. The ambience of the restaurant was very attractive and atmosphere was good. They had good parking facilities, cleanliness and varieties of food items. There was also an outdoor seating area. I was not happy with the counter order system adopted by Grill'd. It was a negative service encounter for me during my first visit. I was not satisfied due to long queuing time and the time taken for the delivery of the order. When I entered the restaurant I saw people waiting at the counter for placing their orders. I found the processing very slow as it took more than 15 minutes for me to place my order. The employees of Grill'd restaurant were friendly because they were helping customers in placing their orders. They were knowledgeable and they also gave advises about food items to choose. It took another 15 minutes for them to deliver my order at the table. My burger had wrong toppings so I returned it back. Finally, I received my order and it was delicious. But I found that the prices of the food items were high as compared to other restaurants. In my next visit, I have to again wait in queue for my turn which took long time. I even complained to the staff about the wrong toppings that they delivered last time. The staff members were courteous and they apologized for their mistake. They gave me a discount in the order to rectify their previous mistake. I was happy and satisfied with the offer. But I had to wait for a long time for the delivery of my order. The food was excellent and it looked fresh. The quality and the presentation of food were very good. Price would have been a problem but they gave me a discount. Apart from long waiting time I had good experience in the restaurant. In my third visit, I was annoyed with the long queues and slow processing of the orders. Again they took long time to deliver my order. But I concern about the price of the products even though my food was excellent. I tried other restaurants which provide same quality of food at reasonable price. But Grill'd restaurant provides food which is free from preservatives and hormones. They use it as marketing technique which affected my decision. So, considering all the factors I will give 3 stars to Grilld restaurant. Five point scale has been used to evaluate the services of Grill'd restaurant (Wong, (2013)). It has five levels which includes excellent rating, very good, average, poor and terrible experience. It has been kept same for all the factors as it helps in evaluating the overall ratings of the restaurant. Table 1: Five point scale ratings (Multiple visits) Ratings 1st visit 2nd visit 3rd visit Excellent Excellent customer service Very good Very good experience Average Average ratings Poor Terrible experience Ambience: Grill'd restaurant has attractive ambience. It was elegant and customer friendly. It was well coordinated with furniture and fixtures. Good quality of decorative items was used in the restaurant. They used simple yet effective them which made the ambience unique (Sderlund, (2016)). Cleanliness: The entire restaurant was clean. The employees of Grill'd made sure that the tables were clean for the other customers. Table cloth, cutlery and dishes were clean. I was satisfied with the level of cleanliness. It has become an essential in many hotels and restaurants. No one wants to eat at a place where there is dirt and untidiness. It is used to review a restaurant and their processes. Restaurant products and Food items: Grill'd restaurant provides variety of products which includes burgers, chicken, salads, beef etc (Christensen and Lilja, (2015)). The best part about the food is that it is free from antibiotics, preservatives and hormones. The quality of the food was excellent in all the visits. But the fries were seasoned which was disappointing for me. Apart from this, I found the food fresh with nice presentation and taste. They have many items on the menu which gave me lot of choices to choose from. There is something for all ages and people with different tastes (How to evaluate a restaurant, (2017)). The prices of the food items were on the higher side. Price: Prices of the products were high. Even though the quality and taste of the food items was good but I will give it a low score on the basis of value for money. There are many restaurants in Australia which provides excellent food at reasonable price. In terms of price and value for money I was dissatisfied. I will suggest my friends and family members to visit Grill'd restaurant to. But I will recommend them to check the prices of the food items before placing the order. Service of the employees: Employees and waiting staff of Grill'd restaurant was friendly and they had good communication skills (Bitner, (1990)). They had knowledge as they were assisting in explaining the menu items and giving recommendations. They were well trained and technically proficient. But service timings and delays in meals could have been avoided. There was not any dress code or uniforms for the employees. It is important for the restaurant to have basic dress code for their workers. It shows professionalism and they should make changes on this aspect. Apart from this, the customer service of the waiting staff was pleasant throughout the meal. Other facilities: Grill'd restaurant had good food but the counter order system was disappointing. I had to wait in long queues to place my order and then wait for the food to arrive. This was not good for the price I paid. I saw children sitting at the tables playing with cutlery while their parents stood in line for placing the order. Other facilities such as menu presentation, parking areas, availability of coat storage, accessibility of restrooms etc. were satisfactory. Along with this, proper instructions should be placed so that the customers can understand where to start and end the buying process. They should involve consumers in the buying process and make them aware about all the processes. Table 2: Five point scale ratings (Services) Ratings Ambiance Cleanliness Food Price Service Other facilities Excellent Excellent Excellent Very good Very good Very good Average Average Poor Poor Terrible experience In terms of value for money I will give average ratings to Grill'd restaurant due to their high prices of products. I will recommend it to my friends and family because Grill'd have excellent food and customer service. But I will recommend them to check the prices of the products before placing their orders. In terms of recommendation to other I will rate the restaurant as very good in 5 point scale. It is essential for the company to take these issues into consideration as it can affect the experience of the customers. Restaurant should provide good service to their guests and they should not be limited to their primary products (Alshaibani and Bakir, (2016)). It will be beneficial for them in the long run of business. These issues affect the marketing and promotion of the business. In store communication is essential in many organisation as it simplifies the entire service delivery system. Analysis of overall satisfaction, quality and value judgments There is strong relation between customer satisfaction and service quality. Companies have to ensure that they provide excellent services to their customers (Hollensen, (2015)). They should adopt customer focus approach in their business. It will help them to understand the needs and preferences of the people. Service encounters can help them to understand the gap between expectation and perception of the customers. Grill'd restaurant has to make sure that they add value to their products. They provide excellent food in their store but they have compromised with other facilities. High customer satisfaction will help the company to grow their business (Achrol and Kotler, (2014)). It will provide them an edge over their competitors. The overall satisfaction, quality and value judgments have been analyzed by using relationship market theories and concepts: Service- Dominant (SD) logic theory Service Dominant theory was given by Vargo and Lusch (Adopting Service Dominant Logic in Marketing, (2007)). According to the theory, a business has to constantly learn from their mistakes. It will allow them to create value in their products. Customers can provide useful feedback which can be used to improve the performance of the business. Companies should adopt sense and respond strategy instead of make and sell. It will help them to built relations with the customers. Marketing and promotional strategies should use this perspective (Yagil and Medler-Liraz, (2013)). Many companies have shifted from the exchange of tangible goods to exchange of services. They focus on intangibles, processes, knowledge and skills. Service encounters can provide useful information to the companies (Keh, Ren, Hill and Li, (2013)). They can change their plans and processes according to it. It will provide a competitive advantage to the organisation. Grill'd restaurant has been providing excellent food and they have friendly employees. These two factors have been positive from them because it has been beyond the expectations of the customers. They have added value to their products. But there are certain issue which require immediate attention. I was not satisfied with the prices of the food items. There were high as compared to other restaurants. Apart from this, there was long queuing time and slow delivery. It was dissatisfied with the service in Grill'd restaurant. In terms of value for money and response time I am not satisfied. But the food was excellent and staff members were customer friendly. They should work on these issues as many customers have been dissatisfied with it (Stein and Ramaseshan, (2016)). Commitment trust theory Commitment-trust theory is a relationship marketing theory which takes into consideration two important factors of a relationship (Chen, (2015)). These factors are: trust and commitment. This theory promotes building bonds with customers and fulfilling their commitments. It helps an organisation to identify the needs and expectations of the consumers. Grill'd restaurant should adopt this theory in their business. They should not focus on short term benefits but long lasting bonds should be developed with the customers (Srensen and Jensen, (2015)). My overall experience of Grill'd restaurant was average because I had to wait for long time for my order which was overpriced. The company should reduce their queuing time and responsiveness. Customers fell annoyed due to long waiting and slow processing. If the company can deal with this issue then they will be able to satisfy their customers. It will make the entire experience value for money. But at present, meals in Grill'd restaurant i s expensive and not value for money. They should take feedback from the consumers and make changes according to it (Osborne, Radnor and Nasi, (2013)). One of the best things Grill'd offer is the food which is free from preservatives and hormones. It creates positive impact in the consumers and it will help them to build long term relations with them. But it is important for the company to improve their other facilities and services (Maunier and Camelis, (2013)). Servqual and Dineserv model This model is used to analyze the service quality of a restaurant. It includes five important factors such as assurance, reliability, responsiveness, tangibility and empathy. Tangibles include physical environment and appearance of the employees (Chandler and Lusch, (2015)). Reliability shows the ability to fulfill the promise. Assurance refers to knowledge and ability of the workers. Responsiveness shows the willingness of workers in providing services while empathy shows understanding of the employees (How to evaluate a restaurant, (2017)). These factors can help in exceeding the expectations of the customers. Marketing and promotional strategies should focus on all these factors. Furthermore, Grill'd restaurant has to make sure that they implement these dimensions effectively in their restaurant. It will improve the value judgment and perception of the customers (Osborne, Radnor and Nasi, (2013)). It will help the company to built strong relations with the consumers. Higher satisf action level will ensure repeated sales and business. Grill'd restaurant can provide questionnaire to their guests to identify the problems and the changes required. This will allow the management to make changes in their processes. At present, there are many problems in various areas which have to be resolved by the manager. Counter order system has been very problematic of the guests (Alshaibani and Bakir, (2016)). It takes long time and even the delivery of order is late. Apart from this, Grill'd restaurant should review the prices of their food items. Many customers find it very high with comparison to other restaurants. Areas of improvement and recommendation Grill'd restaurant had three major areas which increased my satisfaction level. It includes the excellent quality of food, customer friendly employees and attractive ambiance of the restaurant. On the other hand, the areas which need improvements include high prices of food, inconsistency, delays and long waiting time. Three recommendations for the improvement are as follows: Employees and customer service both play an important role in creating a satisfactory customer service encounter (Yagil and Medler-Liraz, (2013)). Instead of avoiding encounters, companies should focus on the planning and designing of positive service encounters. Appearance and listening to customers can solve the problem. Many organizations show consistency and value of visual appearance (Adopting Service Dominant Logic in Marketing, (2007)). They have uniforms or dress codes from their employees. This is considered as packaging of the employees. Grill'd restaurant should consider this and they should also design a corporate apparel or dress code for their workers. It will depict professionalism and this will induce positive feelings in the consumers. Customer perception depends on humanic clues. If they see that the employee is putting effort in delivering the service then they will give respect to that person. It has strong impact on customer service and loyalty. Grill'd restaurant should provide training to their workers so that they can satisfy their customers. It will help the company to get rid of their limitations and inefficiency. It will make the entire experience good for the consumer (The moment of truth in customer service, (2006)). Grill'd restaurant uses counter order system. Customers have to wait in long queues which creates anxiety in them. This can affect the overall satisfaction level of the services provided by the restaurant. To tackle this issue, they should promise their guest and tell them about the waiting time (Stein and Ramaseshan, (2016)). This waiting time should be more than the expected time. People will be pleased by this method. Grill'd restaurant should technology and social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, emails etc. to gather feedback from people. It will help in marketing, promotion and even in their Corporate Social Responsibility. It will allow them to change people's opinions and views. It will help them to attract new customers and improve relations with the existing ones. They should review their customer service plans and strategy so as to meet with the expectations of the people. Conclusion It can be concluded from the above report that service encounters play a crucial role in the marketing of a business. One negative review can affect the business and its market. Companies should make sure that they provide high level of customer service to their guests. They should not rely only on their core product. Additional services and facilities have to be provided to the customers. These facilities should add value to them. Grill'd restaurant should consider all these factors and make changes accordingly. Furthermore, they should focus on two main factors i.e. visual appearance and listening to customers. It will give them many benefits. Apart from this, they should not prevent service encounters. They should learn from it and understand the perception of the consumers. References Books and journal Achrol, R. S., Kotler, P. (2014). 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