Service Recovery: A Key to Customer Satisfaction and Goodwill - Essay Sample

Introduction

Service recovery refers to the systemic efforts adopted by firms in correcting a problem occurring from the failure of service. In this case, service recovery plays a role in the retention of the customers' satisfaction and goodwill. The efforts laid down in the implementation of service recovery need to be reasonably flexible to ensure timely recovery. Customer response to service failure is significant in maintaining the influence of the firm in the market. Therefore, service problem leads to the tarnishing of the firm's reputation based on the nature of the failure. Organizations tend to make several mistakes which turn out to hinder the process of service recovery.

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The mistakes in service recovery range from leadership, employees, to strategies deployed in the implementation of daily activities by the firm. Employees play a significant role in service recovery. Customers have the first-hand encounter with the employees deeming employees an essential component of the service recovery process. Employee attitudes are a substantial concern in customer satisfaction and retention. The first mistake common to service recovery is poor employee attitudes. The attitudes of the employees impact directly to the customers and therefore reduce the customer retention rate. Poor attitudes also affect the influence of other service recovery approaches. Employee attitudes can be linked to the training and education levels of each individual. Employees serve as the brand ambassadors of a firm and therefore, their actions affect the productivity of the organization directly. The service recovery process is effected by employees and showing poor attitudes towards the customers will affect the scale of sales and result in reduced productivity.

The second mistake is limited training and education programmes for the employees to improve their service recovery and attain a substantial financial return. Inadequate training is reflected in employee efficiency in meeting the demands service recovery requirements. Attitudes of the employees can also be derived from the training and education programmes. The restricting factor that limits training and education is the cost of the process. However, the efficiency of inadequately trained employees is in doubt as they fail to embrace the basic requirements in meeting customer demands and other service improvement thresholds. In the long run, the employees fail to implement service recoveries to the customer's satisfaction. Inadequate training of the frontline employees limits the productivity of the staffs as they struggle to anticipate the needs of the customer, customization of the service delivery process and building interpersonal skills. Rules are meant to guide the flow of work. However, the customer is prioritized in some instances. Therefore, focusing on the rules rather than service limits the effectiveness of service recovery. Boredom among employees also influences their attitude towards meeting customer needs. Customers can also be discouraged by the trend in poor service delivery.

On the other hand, the untrained employees struggle to define the boundaries between the organization and the client as well as handling dilemmas arising from individual beliefs and role expected to accomplish. Conflicts may arise between customers who call for the intervention of boundary spanners. Employees serve as immediate boundary spanners neutralizing role stress emanating between customers and the organization, employee and role description and tension between clients. Service improvement strategies such as training and counselling are significant in alleviating stress which improves productivity and customer satisfaction. Dissatisfaction with the employee performance, frequent shuffling or change of employees may result in a higher customer turn over. Some customers establish interpersonal skills which allow them to seek customized service recovery. However, high stress can lead to employee turnover leading to the hiring of new employees on shorter schedules. Inadequate training and proficiency among employees impact in narrow job design, limiting the effectiveness in dealing with the broad range of employee needs.

The third mistake common in service recovery involves the management disregarding the potential evidence that indicates service recovery. This is affected by the efforts to reduce the costs of operation and failing to put in mind the impact on customer retention. The role of circles of failures in driving the customer experience is influenced by the policies set aside to guide the operations of the organization. The bureaucracy experienced by customers in acquiring service recovery may frustrate clients and therefore lead to a higher turnover rate. Failure in adherence to the evidence of service recovery inadequacies limits the circles of success for the firm. The areas primarily affected include recruitment, training and compensation as well as a job description.

The fourth mistake in service recovery is poor feedback and complain system. Complains and feedback on the service delivery process are essential in ensuring the streamlined flow of the firms' operations. Based on the complains and feedback relied on the clients, the firm can readjust its policies to fit the market needs. Obstruction of complaints hinders clarification and corrections on customer needs and therefore influencing customer turnover. Unchecked and faulty systems limit the retention rate as the customers tend to seek as value for their money.

Utilization of Demand and Revenue Management in Enhancing Profitability

The process of revenue management requires diverse knowledge in the trends in demand and the associated increase in productivity. Price setting is determined by the predicted levels of need across different market segments. In this light, price determination can vary from one market segment. Market targeting can be used as a strategy to identify the current market needs and the approaches to meet customer needs. Different data sources are used in the prediction of the market shift by the airlines and the hospitality industry. Therefore, past data on market demands and changes are critical in evaluating the travel patterns and hotel occupancy schedules. In this case, based on the data on the travel patterns, higher prices are offered for flights and hotel services. Early booking allows for lower prices while travels along with the high demand schedule, which also goes hand in hand with the vacation season.

Vacations and holidays significantly impact on the demand level of travel and hotel services. The hospitality industry needs to make early predictions on the future market demands and plan on appropriate pricing to provide a proper transition through the seasons. The demand patterns provide viable information that allows for the development from the low season characterized by low demand through the mid demand season to high demand seasons. The standardization of the prices along the different periods across the year should concentrate on maximizing profits for the firm. In this case, it is vital to come up with value-adding strategies that minimize costs during low demand and increase profits across the year.

Meeting market demands by the deployment of adequate employees is imperative in reducing the costs of operation and maximizing on the profits. Hiring is essential as it meets the needs personnel needs of the firm based on the available needs. Therefore, a hiring strategy should focus on reducing expenses during low demand and maximizing profits during high demand. Some of the approaches that can boost the efficiency of staffs across the year. Cross-training of employees instils skills which are significant in deployment in various sectors of the firm. In this light, shortages in the staffs in particular segments of the firm can be met internally without outsourcing.

Additionally, the use of part-time employees is another strategy for managing the revenues of the organization. The hospitality industry is affected by fluctuations over the vacations and events which lead to increased demand. Part-time employees can be utilized during high seasons to meet market demands. A significant rise in the market demands needs adequate employees to offer the required services adequately. High vacation seasons increase the demand for hospitality services which on the hand call for improved service delivery to facilitate customer satisfaction and attract more visitor to hotels and resorts. The implementation of self-service practice among the customers is cited as a practical approach to meet the high employee demands for service, especially when there is an influx in customer turn out. Self-service increases customer participation in the service delivery process. However, it may not be convenient for some customers, which call for implantation of customer-focused services to particular clients. Such customers may have personalized needs which need to be addressed with particular emphasis and attention to detail. As highlighted above, demand for the services predicts the approaches to deploy to invest and tap the best out of the employees to maximize profits.

The quality improvement process can also improve profits. This takes into account the service delivery strategy and the efficiency of the delivery system. The bureaucracy involved in the booking of travels, hotels and resorts should meet the comfort and the schedule of the customer. The wide range of the services needs to be elaborated with the finer details explained to allow the customers to make informed decisions. The framework defining customer needs should, however, be reasonable. Marketing strategies used to reach out on various customers be friendly to the financial position of the organization and therefore limit overspending in advertisement and customer attraction. The bonus and other promotions aimed at attracting customers during the low demand seasons should also be withing the affordable ranks of the organization.

Conclusion

In conclusion, demand patterns ranging from daily, weekly, monthly and any other model that focuses on customer trends are vital in the evaluation of the costs of operation and maintaining market stability. However, the role of management is crucial in defining the patterns and the activities to be laid in practice to enhance the profitability of the organization. The management evaluates the market records on the business transaction in the sector. It comes up with relevant market structures and demand shift used in predicting the prices and the activities to be performed by the organization to meet higher profits. The connection of demand patterns and market transactions is the key to the definition of appropriate prices that attracts more customers and optimize the firm's profits.