CHAPTER THREE
CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS OF SERVICE
3.1 Meaning and Types of Service Expectations
Customer expectations are pretrial beliefs a consumer has about the
performance of a service that are used as the standard or reference against
which service performance is judged.
3.1.1 Expected Service: Two Levels of Expectations
Desired service; is the level of service the customer hopes to receive - the
"wished for" level of performance.
Desired service is a blend of what the customer believes "can be" and "should
be".
Customers hope to achieve their service desires but recognize that this is not
always possible, For this reason they hold another, lower-level expectation for the
threshold of acceptable services.
This lower expectation has been termed adequate service- the level of service the
customer will accept.
Adequate service represents the "minimum tolerable expectation.“
the bottom level of performance acceptable to the customer,
Desired Service
Adequate Service
Figure 3-1 shows these two expectation standards as the upper and
lower boundaries for the expectations
3.1.2 The Zone of Tolerance
Services are heterogeneous in that performance may vary across
providers, across employees from the same provider, and even
within the same service employee.
The extent to which customers recognize and are willing to accept
this variation is called the Zone of tolerance.
Desired Service
Zone of Tolerance
Adequate Service
Figure 3-2 the zone of tolerance
If service drops below adequate service - the minimum level
considered acceptable-customers will be frustrated and their
satisfaction with the company undermined.
If a service performance is outside the zone of tolerance at the top
end where performance exceeds desired service-customers will be
very pleased and probably quite surprised.
When it falls outside the range (either very low or very high), the
service gets the customer's attention in either a positive or negative.
o Most customers hold a range of acceptable times for this service encounter-
probably some-where between 10 and 15 minutes.
You might consider the zone of tolerance as the range or window
in which customers do not particularly notice service
This tolerance zone, representing the difference between desired
service and the level of service considered
adequate, can expand and contract within a customer.
The most important issues for this conclusion are ;
Different Customers Possess Different Zones of Tolerance
Some customers have narrow zones of tolerance, while other
customers allow a greater range of service.
Zones of Tolerance Vary for Service Dimensions
The more important the factor, the narrower the zone of tolerance is
likely to be.
•customers are likely to be less tolerant about unreliable service
(broken promises, service error) than other service deficiencies
i.e. the zone of tolerance for the most important service dimension
is smaller and the desired and adequate service levels are higher.
Zones of Tolerance Vary for First-Time and Recovery Service
While customer’s expectations are higher for both
the result of the service (the service outcome) and the way the
service is delivered (the process) during recovery service,
the opportunity for recovery is greater with the process dimensions
because of lower expectation and a larger zone of tolerance.
• In summary, customers have two different levels of expectations:
desired service and adequate service.
The desired service level is less subject to change than the adequate
service level.
Zone of tolerance separates these two levels
3.2 Factors that Influence Customer Expectations of Service
Service expectations are formed by many uncontrollable factors, from the
experience of customers with other companies and their advertising to a
customer's psychological state at the time of service delivery.
1 Sources of Desired Service Expectations
The two largest influences on DS are personal needs and philosophies about service.
Personal needs - those states or conditions essential to the physical or
psychological well-being of the customer,
are pivotal factors that shape the level of desired service.
Personal needs can fall into many categories, including physical, social,
psychological, and functional.
Enduring service intensifiers - are individual, stable factors that lead the
customers to a heightened sensitivity to service.
One of the most important of these factors called derived service expectations,
which occur when customer expectations are driven by another person or group of people.
2 Sources of Adequate Service Expectations
Is the level of service the customer finds acceptable.
these influences are short term in a nature and tend to fluctuate more than the
somewhat stable factors that influence desired service.
the five factors that influence adequate service are;
(1) Transitory service intensifiers
(2) Perceived service alternatives
(3) Customer self-perceived service role
(4) Situational factors, and
(5) Predicted service.
Transitory service intensifiers: are temporary, usually short-term, individual
factors that make a customer more aware of the need for service.
Personal emergency situations in which service is urgently needed such as
an accident and the need for automobile insurance .
Perceived service alternative: are other providers from whom the customer can
obtain service.
o If customers have multiple service providers to choose from, or if they can provide
the service for themselves, their levels of adequate services are higher than those of
customers who believe it is not possible to get better service elsewhere.
The customer's self perceived service role: is the degree to which customers
exert an influence on the level of service they receive.
customers' expectations are partly shaped by how well they believe they are
performing their own roles in service delivery.
A final way the customer defines his or her role is in assuming the
responsibility for complaining when service is poor.
A dissatisfied customer who complains will be less tolerant than one who does
not voice his or her concerns.
Situational factors; service performance conditions that customers view as
beyond the control of the service provider.
Situational factors temporarily lower the level of adequate service, widening the
zone of tolerance. Eg, emergency situations.
predicted service; the level of service customers believe they are likely to get.
This type of service expectation can be viewed as predictions made by customers
about what is likely to happen during an impending transaction or exchange.
Predicted service is typically an estimate or calculation of the service a customer
will receive in an individual transaction rather than in the overall relationship
with a service proceed.
3 Sources of Both Desired and Predicted Service Expectations
factors that influence both desired and predicted service expectations are:
(1) Explicit service promises,
(2) Implicit service promises,
(3) Word-or-mouth communications and
(4) Past experience.
Explicit service promises are personal and non-personal statements about the
service made by the organization to customers.
The statements are personal when they are communicated by a salespeople or
service or repair personnel.
they are non-personal when they come from advertising, brochures, and other
written publications.
Explicit service promises are one of the few influences on expectations that are
completely in the control of the service provider.
Implicit service promises are service- related cues other than explicit promises
that lead to inferences about what the service should and will be like.
These quality cues are dominated by price and the more impressive the
tangibles, the more a customer will expect from the service.
Word-of-mouth communication carries particular weight as the source of the
information, is perceived as unbiased.
Word of mouth tends to be very important in services that are difficult to
evaluate before purchase and direct experience of them.
Past experience, the customer's previous exposure to service that is relevant to
the focal service.
The service relevant for prediction can be previous exposure to the service.
For example, compare each stay in a particular hotel with all previous stays in that hotel.
past experience may incorporate previous experience with
the focal brand, a favorite brand, experience with the brand last purchased or the
3 .4 A Model of Customer Service Expectations
ENDURING SERVICE
INTENSIFIERS EXPLICIT SERVICE
PROMISES
. Derived expectation · Advertising
· Personal selling
.Personal service · Contracts
·
philosophies Other communication
IMPLICT SERVICE
PERSONAL NEEDS PROMISES
· Tangibles
· Price
EXPECTED SERVICE
TRANSITORY SERVICE
WORD OF MOUTH
INTENSIFIERS · Personal
· Emergencies Desired · Expert ( Consumer Reports,
· Service Problems publicity, consultants,
Service surrogates)
PERCEIVED SERVICE Zone of
Tolerance
ALERNATIVES PAST EXPERIENCE
Adequate
CUSTOMER
- SELFPERCEIVED Service
SERVICE ROLE
Gaps
SITUATIONAL FACTORS
Bad weather PERCEIVED SERVICE
Catastrophe
Random over demand
PREDICTED SERVICE
Figure 3-3 Nature and determinants of customer expectations of service.
Controllable factors Possible influence strategies
Explicit service promises Make realistic and accurate promises
Ask contact people for feedback on the accuracy of
promises made in advertising and personal selling.
Avoid engaging in price or advertising wars with
competitors
Formalize service promises
Implicit service promises Ensure that service tangibles accurately reflect the
type and level of service provided.
Ensure that price premiums can be justified by higher
levels of performance by the company on important
customer attributes.
Less controllable Possible influence strategies
factors
Enduring-service Use market research to determine sources of
intensifiers derived service expectations and their
requirements.
Use market research to profile personal service
philosophies of customers and use this
information in designing and delivering services.
Personal needs Educate customers on ways the service
addresses their needs.
Transitory-service Increases service delivery during peak periods or
intensifiers in emergencies.
Perceived-service Be fully aware of competitive offerings and,
alternatives where possible and appropriate, match them.
Self-perceived service Educate customers to understand their roles and
role perform them better.
Word-of-mouth Stimulate word of mouth in advertising by using
communications testimonials and opinion leaders.
Identify influences and opinion leaders for the service and
concentrate marketing efforts on them.
Use incentives with existing customers to encourage them
to say positive things about the service.
Past experience Use marketing research to profile customer precious
(valuable) experience with similar services.
Situational factors Use service guarantees to assure customer about service
recovery regardless of the situational factors that occur.
Predicted service Tell customers when service provision is higher than what
can normally be expected.
5.5 Managing Consumer Expectations
Consumer buying decisions and patronage are based on consumer expectations.
The higher the expectations, the greater the probability of purchase. The lower the
expectations, the lower the probability of purchase.
Also, remember that the higher the expectations, the greater the chances that the service
firm will not be able to meet consumer expectations and that the customer will be dissatisfied.
The reverse is true for lower expectations.
Service firms face this strange dilemma.
Promoting high expectations will increase patronage but also increase the chances of
producing dissatisfied customers.
Promoting lower expectations will ensure satisfied customers, but the chances of getting
customers to buy the service are greatly reduced.
Therefore, the ideal goal is to promote the exact service customers will
receive and to provide the exact service customers expect.
If firms can match expectations and service, customers are satisfied.
Consumer expectations must be managed during the pre-purchase
phase, the service encounter, and the post-purchase phase.
3.5.1 During the Pre-Purchase Phase
Managing customer expectations during the pre-purchase phase
consists three steps.
First, learn what customers expect - requires communication.
Second, tell customers what they can expect – by Advertising, sales
personnel, tangible cues, point-of-purchase displays, and sales
promotions are some of the methods that can be used.
Third, consistently provide the service that customers expect.
Past experience and word-of- mouth are two critical variables used
by consumers in making purchase decisions.
3.5.2 During the Service Encounter
Three strategies can be used during the service encounter to
manage customer expectations.
First, service personnel must communicate with the customer
during the service encounter.
Second, if possible, service providers should modify the service to
meet the customer’s expectations.
Third, if the service cannot be modified, the service personnel
should explain why the customer’s expectations cannot be met
The goal during this phase is to ensure the service being provided
matches the consumer’s expectations.
3.5.3 During the Post-Purchase Phase
• Managing consumer expectations does not stop after the service is
performed.
Service firms have three strategies they can use after the service
has been completed.
First, companies should communicate with customers immediately
after the service is completed to see if expectations were met.
Second, forms can use a follow-up program, such as an evaluation
survey sent to the customer through the mail or a phone call.
Third, companies should have a procedure for dealing with
dissatisfied customers that will assist in managing future
expectations.
The goal during this phase is two fold.
The primary goal is to communicate with customer to see if
expectations were met.
The secondary goal is to modify future expectations to increase
the chances of repeat purchase.
Thank you!
