Gaps in the 24/7 Service Essay

The Service Complain Many companies offer 24/7 customer services. Knowing that customer service exists at any time of the day or any time of the week helps get the business in. Unfortunately, some 24/7 customer services fail to be serious about this. In more than one incident, I have experienced gaps in this kind of service. One time, I ordered a product online. What made me decide to buy that product over others brands was the 24/7-customer service being offered for free by the online company. I needed a 24/7-customer service because if and when the product needed repairs, I was only available during the weekends to have it serviced. The product was delivered on time. The site said that it took two days to deliver it and the product soon arrived my home after two days. I was using the electronic device for a week when it conked out. Problems came up when I called the customer service. First, the customer service lines were busy. It took me an hour to get a hold of someone who was able to take down my complete information and the complaint I had. Second, the company promised me that a service repairman was soon on his way that very same day. I decide to cancel my appointments to accommodate the repairman who never came that same afternoon but instead came in three afternoons after. Third, the repairman soon figured out that my unit needed to be replaced. He took the unit with him without leaving any replacements. Though he promised to bring one the next day, the replacement took a week to arrive while my own unit took two weeks to get repaired. In the end, as service consumer of the product I bought, I became miserable having realized that 24/7-customer service does not really mean quality service. The Cause of the Gap From the experience above, one would get into the core principles of services marketing and how conflicts arise when perceptions do not sum up equally with actual service performance. The client was expecting an immediate clear line with the first few dials he made towards the customer service phone but was frustrated when the call came through after an hour yet. The customer was expecting a service replacement when the repairman got the product that needed repairs. However, a replacement did not come in during the time it was expected to. Christopher Lovelock explains the integration of client expectations, perception of actual service rendered and the actual service performed by the company. These three elements have different characteristics critical to making customer service a marketable element. In this growing global village, a service consumer is most comfortable dealing with companies that are â€Å"24/7†. This kind customer service entices clients to decide on going for the particular company offering the services versus other companies who do not have 24/7 options. Other companies close during weekends and holidays. Other companies are open but only up till a certain number of hours. However, 24/7 companies means that the client can reach a customer care personnel at any time and day of the year. The gap in the experience explained above lies in the perceived service level of the client and the actual service performance. When the client considered 24/7 as the tipping point of his decision, he expected that customer service 24/7 means â€Å"now† kind of service, which includes a host of many other services. The client expects that the 24/7 does not only include taking in complaints, but it also included repairs, diagnoses and replacements. Here lies the problem because the company may have just meant that they were 24/7 in taking in complaints and that alone. Possible Solutions Solutions to customer service problems must be addressed by the company who is primary responsible in explaining to the client the scope of service. In 24/7 customer service, the stakes are higher. Lovelock expounds that the 24/7 kind of customer service is more than something that would entice the clients to buy the product or service. 24/7 means that the company is not only awake every minute. It’s not enough for companies to be stronger than other companies just because they stay awake compared to others. 24/7 may mean to clients that the company is not only awake and ready to take complaints but the whole corporate processes like sales, finance, repair, and delivery are awake and working as well. It is more usual that 24/7 companies have skeletal forces up during the night and weekends and holidays. However, the number of customer service staff during graveyard shifts must be proportionate to the number of possible clients that would be complaining. Another possible solution for this problem is to ensure that lines are open to take in complaints especially from irate clients. Other global companies have outsourced receiving client complaints to address managing the first burst of emotions from irate clients. An imperative in 24/7-customer care service is the clarity of what the 24/7 part is. For the experience above, the client was not cleared by the company that the only part that does not sleep is the taking of the complaint. Furthermore, this would mean that a service repairman is not promised to go to one’s house within the day, nor repair the product within 24 hours from the call. Companies around the globe are slowly addressing service marketing. With technology being more accessible, the difference between products is the kind of after sales service attached to the product being marketed. Companies must evolve into more service oriented rather than maintain old traditional marketing concepts that are product centered. As more and more companies offer 24/7, it is high time that companies and customer understand what 24/7 really means and how one prepares to do 24/7 customer service. References: Hogarth, Jeanne M. ,Marianne A. Hilgert, Jane M. Kolodinsky. 2004. Consumers’ resolution of credit card problems and exit behaviors. Journal of Services Marketing Jan 2004 Volume: 18 Issue: 1 Page: 19 – 34 Emerald Group Publishing Limited http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do?contentType=Article&contentId=856002 Lovelock, Christopher and Jochen Wirtz. 2003 Services Marketing (5th Edition) Prentice Hall; 5 edition Malhotra, Neeru and Avinandan Mukherjee. 2004. The relative influence of organisational commitment and job satisfaction on service quality of customer-contact employees in banking call centres. Journal of Services Marketing May 2004 Volume: 18 Issue: 3 Page: 162 – 174 http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do?contentType=Article&contentId=1509188 Zeithaml, Valarie and Mary Jo Bitner, 2002. Services Marketing. McGraw-Hill/Irwin 3rd ed.