Case, Munro
CASE I SUSAN MUNRO, SERVICE CONSUMER Ray – Ann Julian MW 1:00 – 2:30 Sir Daniel Hebron Services Marketing In the course of a single day, a busy young woman makes use of a wide array of service… Susan Munro, a final-year business student, had worked late the night before on a big paper and overslept the following morning in the apartment she shared with three other students. Her roommates, who had early classes, had already left when she got up. After showering, she dressed hurriedly, then made a quick cup of coffee. But she skipped her usual bowl of cereal, figuring she could pick up a bagel at school.
Noticing that the weather outside looked ominous; she clicked onto the Internet to check the local weather-forecast. It predicted rain, so she grabbed an umbrella before leaving the apartment and walking to the bus stop for her daily ride to the university. On the way, she dropped a letter in a mailbox. The bus arrived on schedule. It was the usual driver, who recognized her and gave a cheerful greeting as she showed her monthly pass. The bus was quite full, carrying a mix of students and office workers, so she had to stand. Arriving at her destination, Susan left the bus and walked to the School of Business.
Feeling hungry, she entered the main lobby and headed to the small, cheerfully decorated food stand in the far corner. “Sorry,” said the attendant in answer to her question. “We just sold the last of the bagels and are waiting for more French Roast. Would you like decaf? ” Susan sighed. It wasn’t the first time this had happened. But the class was about to start and she couldn’t wait. Joining a crowd of other students, she took a seat in the large classroom where her finance class was held. The professor lectured in a near monotone for 75 minutes, occasionally projecting charts on a large screen to illustrate certain calculations.
It didn’t help that she was still feeling sleepy. Susan reflected that it would be just as effective—and far more convenient—if the course was transmitted over the Web or recorded on DVDs that students could watch at their leisure. She much preferred the marketing course that followed because this professor was a very dynamic individual who believed in having an active dialogue with the students. Susan made a several contributions to the discussion and felt that she learned a lot from listening to others’ analysis and options. She and three friends ate lunch at the recently modernized Student Union.
The old cafeteria, a gloomy place that served unappetizing food at high prices, had been replaced by a well-lit and colorfully painted new food court, featuring a variety of options. These included both local suppliers and brand-name fast-food chains, which offered choices of sandwiches, as well as ethnic foods, salads, and a variety of desserts. Although she had wanted a sandwich, the line of waiting customers at the sandwich shop was rather long, so Susan joined her friends at Burger King and then splurged on a caffe latte from the adjacent Hav-a-Java coffee stand.
The food court was an unusually crowded today, perhaps because of the rain now pouring down outside. When they finally found a table, they have to clear off the dirty trays. “Lazy slobs! ” commented her friend Mark, referring to the previous customers. After lunch Susan stopped at an ATM inserted her card, and withdraw some money. Remembering that she had a job interview at the end of the week, she telephoned her hairdresser and counted herself lucky to be able to make an appointment for later in the day because of a cancellation by another client.
Leaving the student union she ran across the rain-soaked plaza to the Language Department. In preparation for her next class, Business Spanish, she spent an hour in the language lab, watching an engaging video of customers making purchases at different types of stores, then repeating and listening to her own recorded voice. “My accent’s definitely getting better! ” she said to herself. With her last class over and Spanish phrases filling her head, Susan headed off to visit the hairdresser. She liked the store, which had a bright, trendy decor and well-groomed, friendly staff.
Unfortunately the cutter was 20 minutes, which she used to review a chapter for tomorrow’s human resources course. Some of the other waiting customers were reading magazines provided by the store. Eventually it was time for a shampoo, after which the stylist proposed a slightly different cut. Susan agreed, although she drew the line at the suggestion to lighten her hair color. She sat very still. Watching the process in the mirror and turning her head when requested. She was pleased with the result and complimented the cutter on her work.
Including the shampoo, the process lasted about 40 minutes. She tipped the cutter and paid at the reception desk. The rain had stopped and the sun was shining as Susan left the store, so she walked home, stopping to pick up clothes from the cleaners. This store was rather gloomy, smelled of cleaning solvents, and badly needed repainting. She was annoyed to find that although her silk blouse was ready as promised, the suit she would need for her interview was not. The assistant, who dirty fingernails, mumbled an apology in an insincere tone without making eye contact.
Although the store was convenient and the quality of work quite good, Susan considered the employees unfriendly and not very helpful. Back at her apartment building, she opened the mailbox in the lobby and collected the mail for herself and her roommates. Her own mail, which was rather dull, included a quarterly bill from her insurance company, which required no action since she had signed an agreement to deduct the funds automatically from her bank account. There was also a postcard from her optometrist, reminding her that it was time for her to schedule a new eye exam.
Susan made a mental note to call for an appointment, anticipating that she might need a prescribed prescription for her contact lenses. She was about to discard the junk mail when n she noticed a flyer promoting a new dry-cleaning store and including a coupon for a discount. She decided to try the new firm and pocketed the coupon. Since it was her turn to cook dinner, she wandered into the kitchen, turned on the light, and started looking in the refrigerator and then the cupboards to see what was available. Susan sighed – there wasn’t much in there.
Maybe she would make a salad and call for home delivery of a large pizza. STUDY QUESTIONS 1. Identify each of the services that Susan Munro has used or is planning to use. Categorize them according to the nature of the underlying process. 2. What needs is she attempting to satisfy in each instance? 3. What proportion of these services: (a) involve self-service, (b) some degree of customer involvement with the production process, and/or (c) dependence on the service provider? Where do you see more potential for self-service and what would be the implications for customer and supplier? . What similarities and differences are there between the dry-cleaning store and the hair salon? What could each learn from studying the other? ANSWERS & ANALYSIS: 1. Identify each of the services that Susan Munro has used or is planning to use. Categorize them according to the nature of the underlying process. This is the list of services Susan had used and is planning to use. The services were classified based on the nature of the underlying processes it takes to take effect, namely; People processing, Possession processing, Mental stimulus processing, and Information processing.
People processing o Apartment lodging o Bus trip o Food stand o Food court o Hair salon o Optometrist Possession processing o Water service (utilized when she took her shower) o Mail (when she sent the letter, and in another instance received a letter form the Insurance company) o Dry – Cleaning ( includes the present and future service provider) o Electricity service (when Susan turned the kitchen lights on) o Pizza delivery Mental stimulus processing o Weather forecast o Education o Telephone Information processing o Internet o ATM o Insurance o Bank account 2.
What needs is she attempting to satisfy in each instance? The needs Susan is attempting to satisfy in each instance are: o Apartment – lodging o Water services – to take her shower (hygienic purposes) o Internet – information about the weather o Weather forecast – to prepare precautionary actions for the update o Mail – communication o Bus trip – transportation o Food stand (bagels) – hunger o Education – to gain knowledge and job opportunities for the future o Food court (burger and a caffe latte) – negate hunger and thirst o ATM – to withdraw some money Telephone services – to set an appointment with her stylist o Hair salon – to improve her appearance o Banking – handy access to her financial assets o Dry cleaning – caring for her belongings for her own hygiene o Insurance – asset protection o Optometrist (eye exam) – eye health o Electricity service – provide light o Pizza delivery- easier way to solve hunger for herself and her roommates 3. What proportion of these services: (a) involve self-service, (b) some degree of customer involvement with the production process, and/or (c) dependence on the service provider?
Where do you see more potential for self-service and what would be the implications for customer and supplier. • Self-service: o Water o Internet o Weather forecast o Mail o Telephone o ATM o Electricity • Physical involvement with production process: o Apartment lodging o Education (trough her classes), o Hairdressing o Eye exam o Bus trip o Food services • Dependence on service provider: o Dry cleaning o Mail delivery o Pizza delivery o Insurance o Regulation of bank funds ? To summarize, the services fell to 38. 89% (7/18) for those involving self-service, 33. 3% (6/18) for those that requires physical involvement with the production process, and 27. 78% (5/18) * And talking about if where do I see more potential for self-service and the implications for the customer and supplier, I think that the video-on demand for certain classes, just like what Susan wished for her finance class should taken into consideration. The implication of this for the students is that they would enjoy the chance of watching the clip over an over again, and this would be very convenient for them.
On the supplier’s side, which is the school, the quality of their service would move up. And, they could support the policy through the provision of viewing facilities for the materials. 4. What similarities and differences are there between the dry-cleaning store and the hair salon? What could each learn from studying the other? The hair salon and the dry-cleaning services were similar due to both are yielding physical or tangible changes after the performance of the service. The only thing is that they are intended for different recipients.
The dry cleaning store is aimed to make a change on the dirty clothes; therefore, it is focused on possession processing service. While the hair salon involves people processing for it is intended to make a transformation on Susan. Difference wise, the two entities were poles apart when it comes to the involvement with the service process. Susan is obliged to be physically present and participate by cooperating with the stylist and by making decisions about her hair’s outcome. While, the only thing that she could in the dry cleaning shop is to bring the clothes to the shop and pick them up after.
Another common thing between the two service agencies with respect to the case situation is the failure of the both parties to observe timeliness in their service delivery, The hair salon for being late of the stylist, and the dry-cleaning shop for Susan’s suit that is not yet ready though it’s time now for pick-up The dry-cleaning shop could learn from the hair salon by taking into account the importance that the salon is putting in its physical representation of the establishment. It is not enough to offer only good service but the overall package should also be monitored.
The dry-clean shop should also do what the hair salon’s system with regards to its employees. The employee’s hygiene and attitude towards customer service should be a major factor. On the other hand, the salon could learn from the dry-cleaning shop through the latter’s miscues. The salon should maintain, or better is to improve its customer service and the well-being and appearance of the establishment. Because if they fall short on doing this things they might fail to attract new customers, and loyal customers might just slip out of their hands.
