Exam 8: Service Recovery

Many carwashes offer free replacement washes to car owners if it rains or snows within 24 hours of when they had their cars cleaned at the carwash. Because people who would take advantage of this service guarantee are the ones that are concerned about the appearance of their car, this service guarantee:

Studies of service guarantees indicate their existence has no impact on employee morale.

The carpenter came to install the new flooring in the Barry kitchen two weeks ago. Once he had removed the old flooring, he announced he needed to go get a sander to smooth out the subflooring. He has not been back. A person who is an irate type when it comes to complaining would react to this by:

For which of the following service providers would a guarantee be inappropriate?

Will and Thom NaJami are going to open a swimming pool service this summer. They will put in pools, repair damaged ones and provide a pool-cleaning service. They have decided to use a service guarantee as their primary service recovery tool. How can they make sure that their service guarantee is effective?

A consumer is more likely to complain when the:

Roger Pack is a breeder of Pomeranian dogs. He has used the same grooming salon for his dogs for the last 10 years. When a new groomer accidentally trimmed too much off of one of his show dog's hind quarters, he was upset. He decided not to make a big deal of the event because of his long-term dealings with the salon owner. Which service recovery strategy is being used in this example?

Which type of complainer has an above-average propensity to complain and will gladly complain to anyone or anything that will listen?

Bruce was driving to work yesterday when he was nearly run off the road by a speeding furniture delivery truck. On the back of the truck was a phone number to call if you believed the driver was not handling the truck safely. Rather than deciding to never buy furniture from this furniture company, Bruce called the company and complained about the truck driver. The person who took his call thanked Bruce for his concern, apologized for the driver and promised to reprimand him. Which service recovery strategy was the furniture store using?

An example of procedural inequity occurred when Logan was rudely told he could not golf at a particular course because his clubs were not sanctioned by the U.S. Golf Association.

When Tom had the satellite dish placed on the roof of his house, the installer dislodged and made no attempt to replace a half dozen roofing shingles. Tom has complained several times to his friends about the lousy service, but he would never complain to the Better Business Bureau, nor is he likely to recommend the installer to friends. What kind of complainer is Tom?

When Shealah hired the housecleaning service, she asked them to use her hypoallergenic cleaning supplies. Instead the workers used their own and Shealah had to lose a day from work because of her allergic reaction to the smell of the cleaners. When Shealah looked at the service guarantee that the workers had left, she found that she could get a reimbursement for all of her out-of-pocket expenses if she had a notarized letter from her doctor describing her condition and her reaction, an affidavit from the workers that they had used the wrong cleaners and another notarized statement that she would not have become ill if the workers had used the right cleaners. This service guarantee is ineffective because it is NOT:

_____ describes what the owner of the rehabilitation center did when he gave a customer who was complaining that his therapist was an hour late for their appointment a credit for one free hour of therapy.

A trucking company that has a toll free number to call if the driver of the truck does not follow the rules of the road is using a service recovery tool.

What is service recovery?

Kelso Massage Therapy promises its clients that there wait for a massage will be less than fifteen minutes or the massage is free. Which service recovery strategy does Kelso Massage Therapy use?

Once Mariko had carried her dry cleaning to the car, she took a minute to see if the cleaners had removed the stain from her wool skirt. The stain was still there, so Mariko took the skirt back inside to the cleaner. When Mariko showed the stained skirt to the cleaner employee, she shrugged and said, "I guess you want us to reclean the skirt"? Mariko responded, "Yes, please". The employee took the skirt, gave Mariko a dirty look and began sorting some items on the counter. Mariko experienced:

In addition to compensation, customers expect _____. In other words, they expect fairness in terms of policies, rules and timeliness of complaint process.

Guarantees that are written by the legal department are generally more meaningful to customers than any other type.

The first rule of service quality is to do it right the first time.