Page 194 - DMGT522_SERVICES MANAGEMENT

Unit 9: The Service Encounter

For example, if a person who visits an insurance company for settlement of his claim is not Notes
received properly by the employees of the company, he may not like to take any more insurance
coverage from the company. However, in a series of service encounters, any encounter can be a
critical encounter and will have an effect on the customer’s satisfaction or dissatisfaction.
Often, customers evaluate a service encounter on the basis of the amount of care and concern
shown by the employees of the service company during the transaction. The speed at which
employees respond to customer problems, has a direct impact on customer satisfaction. Further,
there is an increase in customer satisfaction if employees of the service company show flexibility
in service delivery.

Note Generally, researchers believe that the first encounter can be critical in a transaction.
If a customer is not satisfied in the first encounter, he may never return to do business with
that particular service provider.

9.1.1 Types of Service Encounters

There are three types of service encounters:
(i) Remote encounters

(ii) Phone encounters
(iii) Face-to-face encounters
These are explained below:

1. Remote Encounters: Remote encounters do not involve any direct human contact. Examples
include ATM machines, telephone answering machines, voice mail service, automated
mail order service, and obtaining billing information on an automated service/line.
Customers can estimate the quality of a remote encounter with the help of tangible clues
of the service (for example, the air-conditioning and piped music being played in the ATM
enclosure or the length of the queue outside it) and the quality of technical processes and
systems. Service providers should ensure that the quality of these systems is maintained
consistently to avoid the reputation of the company from being adversely affected. For
example, a lot of people book flight tickets on internet on websites like Cleartrip.com and
Makemytrip.com. These companies should ensure that the process is not complicated and
the process takes lesser time. As the customers have to make inputs individually, proper
instructions should be there to help them. The same goes for internet banking and E-
commerce websites.
2. Phone Encounters: Over the years, the use of telecommunications has increased
significantly. Companies have started offering telephonic services like customer inquiry,
registration of complaints, taking orders, and reserving tickets. Service companies like
utilities, insurance, telecommunications, and banking are using telecommunication
facilities to provide service to customers. The service quality in such encounters can be
estimated on the basis of variables like employee knowledge, tone of voice, and his
efficiency or effectiveness in providing the service.
3. Face-to-face Encounters: Face-to-face encounters involve direct human contact between a
service provider and a customer. These types of encounters occur in places like restaurants,
banks and grocery stores. It is quite difficult to evaluate the quality of service in these
encounters as it involves assessment of both verbal and non-verbal behaviour. Further, in
face-to-face encounters, customers play a role in the creation of quality service for

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