Introduction
An old adage goes by stating that ‘the customer is always right. This statement literally means that any business whether a service provider or a goods vendor must endeavor to learn, understand, and appreciate the fact that the aim of its existence is to satisfy the needs of the customers, hence justifying the pricing of its products. The area of customer satisfaction can never be overemphasized. However, unfortunately, it happens to be the least articulated of all the areas in many businesses (Keaveney 78). This paper discusses the “Service Blueprint” of the corporation; a food retail chain that specializes in the sale of chicken.
Why
While it has widely been known for its flagship product; chicken, there has been an increasing concern due to the number of complaints on customer service delivery at various outlets. This paper discusses the “Service Blueprints” of the corporation in order to reveal the areas which need improvement and/or complete makeover to actualize the real claim of tasty chicken. It also discusses the areas of potential failure in the “Service Blueprints” and offers suggestions on how improvements can be made in these areas.
Physical evidence and customer experience
It is commonly said that it takes 30 seconds for an average human being to form an opinion on a certain matter. In light of this, the first impression on any client or a potential customer is critical (Verhoef 35). The concept of cognitive dissonance states that a dissatisfied customer will tell of his/her dissatisfaction with the product or service to at least fourteen people, while a satisfied customer will share his/her positive experience with only four persons. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to pay a lot of attention to the customers’ impression. After a visit to one of the outlets, the following report was made concerning the state of physical evidence and the customers’ experience.
Experiential aspects
These are factors that have a direct influence on the customers’ experience. They play a major role in creating the much needed first impression on the customer and also ensure that the customers’ expectations are at least met or even, better, surpassed. The experiential aspects include the personalized packaging, e.g., The Bid Daddy, Wicked Zinger, Fully Loaded, or the BBQ Rancher Box Meal. It also includes the staff uniforms, staff-customer interaction, etc.
Collecting these experiential aspects contributes to the ultimate customers’ satisfaction through the feeling of met expectation. Since there may not be one dominant aspect that results in the shots on customers’ satisfaction, it is necessary to use them collectively so as to meet the customers’ experience as a whole rather than a one aspect offering (Richard 22).
The store design
This is another important aspect of the physical nature of the business that helps in meeting customers’ satisfaction. The store design presents an outdoor internal decor aspect that provides the attraction and an atmosphere of ambiance to create a homely environment for the customers. This aspect also plays a major role in promoting customers’ loyalty and provides the outlet with a branding aspect for marketing in order to have an excellent store design that is distinct from all other industry peers and competitors. The outlet’s corporate color provides a trademark that no other competitor has.
Informational Aspects
Informational aspects have to do with the kind of information relayed to the customers either for promotional purposes or for mere routine messaging. The importance of the informational aspect of the service is that customers are able to be kept abreast of the latest offers and/or all the changes in the product/service delivery. Informational aspects also provide a platform on which customer feedback is relayed to the management. The company’s customer relations department should always provide in-house ways for customers to express their complaints while offering a public platform for them to air their compliments. It should, however, be noted that customers may not find it very useful to have too much information at their disposal since much information derail decision making.
3 potential fail-points
The study revealed three potential fail points, namely wait-time, customers’ exposure of the store and other customers, and the employee-customer interaction. These will be discussed below.
Wait-time
This is the time that elapses between customer’s entry into the outlet and the complete attendance and service delivery to the client. The research showed that many orders had taken over two hours to process though they comprise single products, such as chicken. This issue, if not addressed well, may cause a potential customer’s disloyalty due to inefficient order processing.
Customers’ exposure to the store and other customers
On several occasions, observations have been made where the employees at the backstage behaved in an unappealing manner. A case is that an employee was seen squeezing a pimple while handling food. This creates an impression of poor handling of food and may cost the company its reputation if such behaviors are persistent.
Customer-employee interaction
This is a potential fail point since many employees have been reported rudely to react to customer’s requests. This presents an attitude of lack of care and poor customer service. Claims were made about cashier having thrown debit cards to the customers and angrily reacted to customers’ raised concerns.
Possible solutions to these potential fail-points
Several alternatives have been proposed to address these potential fail point issues.
Solving the problem of wait time
A lot needs to be done in order to increase efficiency in customer service and order processing. With the advanced technology, the management should be able to offer online booking so as to begin order processing prior to customer arrival. This will significantly reduce the wait-time since the customer will only come only to submit the payment and collect the orders. It can also help in reducing the customer-employee conflicts that arise when the employee is handling several matters at a time. This will eventually increase the quality of service offered to the customers.
Customers’ exposure to the store
This problem will be solved by ensuring that the back and the front stage operations are distinct from each other. It will further reduce the conflicts that may arise due to the customers’ exposure to the activities happening at the store or in the kitchen which the customer may find unwelcomed.
Customer-employee interaction
This potential fail point comes into play whenever the customer fails to understand his/her role in ensuring self-satisfaction. In most cases, the customers who do not understand their role in ensuring satisfaction often find themselves in constant conflict and confrontations with the employees. It is important for customers to understand their role in service delivery as well. Customers who understand their importance are more likely to experience satisfaction since they play their role in ensuring that they will be satisfied.
Works Cited
Keaveney, Susan M. “Customer Switching Behavior in Service Industries: An Exploratory Study.” Journal of Marketing 50.1 (1995): 71-82. Print.
Richard, Loreto. “Applying Demographics to Business Strategy.” The Impacts of Demographic Trends on Your Business 12.1 (2010): 11-34. Print.
Verhoef, C. “Understanding the Effect of Customer Relationship Management Efforts on Customer Retention and Customer Share Development.” Journal of Marketing 17.2 (2003): 30-45. Print.