Service Marketing Assignment
Introduction:
Service marketing is organizational function and a set of processes for identifying or
creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer
relationship in a way that benefit the organization and stakeholders (American Marketing
Association). They are actually intangible activity offered by one person to the other.
According to Philip Kotler “Services are products that consist of activities, benefits, or
satisfactions offered for the sale that are essentially tangible”
Service marketing is a specialized branch of marketing. It has emerged as a separate field
of marketing in the early 1980s, following the recognition that the unique characteristics of
services required different strategies compared with the marketing of physical goods. It includes
marketing of services such as telecommunication services, financial services, all types of
hospitality, tourism leisure and entertainment services, car rental services, health care,
professional services and trade services.
Service encounter is defined as the duration in which a customer interacts with a service.
The customer’s interactions with a service provider typically involve face-to-face contact with
service personnel, in addition to interactions with the physical elements of the service
environment including the facilities and equipment.
Various Service encounters:
There are lots of services we are knowingly or unknowingly using in our day to day life.
It may include various social medias, online search engines, canteen facilities etc. From all these
I have selected three good service encounters and three bad service encounters which I have
faced recently. The three good once are Royal Enfield service centre, PVR Cinemas, Swiggy.
The three worst service are Flipkart, SBI CDM and Indian Railways.
Worst experience
The first encounter, I experienced worst is from Flipkart. I ordered for a mobile phone
from Flipkart and opted for exchange offer. The delivery boy didn’t approve the exchange of old
mobile phone and behaved rudely. I reached the Flipkart customer care, they took 5 days and in
the end they have not taken any action against the delivery boy instead they cancelled my order
and notified me that my money will be refunded in 7 days. If they had to cancel my order then
why they kept my money for 5 days. This was one of the worst experience i experienced during
recent past.
Good experience
I went to service centre to service my bike. The service boy noted down the complaints and
required services. Then he asked about adding further additional services, and he gave me a
receipt. He told me they will make a call when bike is ready. The service offered from the
service centre is very much appealing and mind pleasing. They offered good quality services and
timely updates on work compared to local mechanics. This is why I prefer Royal Enfield Service
centre for servicing my bike. This is one of the best experience I had in the recent past.
Your Name: Vishnu Murali
Name of Firm: Royal Enfield
Type of Service (industry): Automobile Industry
Date and Time of Encounter: May 12, 2019 ; 11 am
How did the encounter take place (eg., in person, by phone, via a self-service technology)?
I went in person to the service centre.
Describe your encounter briefly, so that who was not there would know what happened.
I went to service centre to service my bike. The service boy noted down the complaints and
required services. Then he asked about adding further additional services, and he gave me a
receipt. He told me they will make a call when bike is ready.
How would you rate your level of satisfaction with this encounter? (Circle the most
appropriate number.)
Extremely Dissatisfied 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Extremely
How would you describe your reaction to this encounter? Include in your description your
feelings and emotions at that time (eg., angry, sad, happy, etc.). Why exactly did you feel
that way?
I was happy with the service because quality of service was good.
What could the employee/firm have done to increase your level of satisfaction with the
encounter? What improvements need to be made to this service system?
There should have been proper updates on status of the work from service centre.
How likely is it that you will go back to this service firm?
Extremely unlikely Unlikely Not sure Likely Extremely likely
Why would you return or not return to that firm? (provide details, especially when there is
a big discrepancy between your satisfaction and your repeat patronage intention)
I would return to this service centre because the quality of work done by this service centre is
pretty good compared to other service centres in my locality.
Your Name: Vishnu Murali
Name of Firm: PVR Cinemas
Type of Service (industry): Movie Theatre
Date and Time of Encounter: April 24,2019, 6.30 PM
How did the encounter take place (eg., in person, by phone, via a self-service technology)?
I have booked tickets for the movie with help of phone app. So that there were no discrepencies
standing in que.
Describe your encounter briefly, so that who was not there would know what happened.
I have watched the movie with my friends, the quality of theatre experience provided by PVR
cinemas is very good.
How would you rate your level of satisfaction with this encounter? (Circle the most
appropriate number.)
Extremely Dissatisfied 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Extremely
How would you describe your reaction to this encounter? Include in your description your
feelings and emotions at that time (eg., angry, sad, happy, etc.). Why exactly did you feel
that way?
I was actually with experience because it is one of the premium and high quality movie theatres
in the city.
What could the employee/firm have done to increase your level of satisfaction with the
encounter? What improvements need to be made to this service system?
Service provided by the theatre is pretty good. There were little delay in the showtime because of
the commercials before the movie. So t would be better if they reduce commercials played before
the movie.
How likely is it that you will go back to this service firm?
Extremely unlikely Unlikely Not sure Likely Extremely likely
Why would you return or not return to that firm? (provide details, especially when there is
a big discrepancy between your satisfaction and your repeat patronage intention)
I would most likely return to the theatre because of quality and cinematic experience provided by
them. Most of the time, during ticket booking seats fill fast there so which makes me think of
other theatres.
Your Name: Vishnu Murali
Name of Firm: Swiggy
Type of Service (industry): Online food delivery
Date and Time of Encounter: April 20, 8 pm
How did the encounter take place (eg., in person, by phone, via a self-service technology)?
I ordered for food by my phone. Swiggy android app was used for availing this service.
Describe your encounter briefly, so that who was not there would know what happened.
It was during 7.30 pm I decided to order food online, so i took the phone app and looked for
option. I ordered food by 7.40 pm. Then the food came by 8.00 pm and behavior of delivery boy
was also good.
How would you rate your level of satisfaction with this encounter? (Circle the most
appropriate number.)
Extremely Dissatisfied 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Extremely
How would you describe your reaction to this encounter? Include in your description your
feelings and emotions at that time (eg., angry, sad, happy, etc.). Why exactly did you feel
that way?
I was happy with the service because food came without much delay and the behavior of the
service boy was also good. There were also attractive offers.
What could the employee/firm have done to increase your level of satisfaction with the
encounter? What improvements need to be made to this service system?
It would be good if they provide more options of hotels which are actually located in town, but I
was not able to avail their service because of the distance.
How likely is it that you will go back to this service firm?
Extremely unlikely Unlikely Not sure Likely Extremely likely
Why would you return or not return to that firm? (provide details, especially when there is
a big discrepancy between your satisfaction and your repeat patronage intention)
I would return to their service they provide good offers and timely delivery. But I wish they
provide me with more number of hotels available within town.
Your Name: Vishnu Murali
Name of Firm: SBI
Type of Service (industry): Banking
Date and Time of Encounter: May 15, 2019 ,10.30 AM
How did the encounter take place (eg., in person, by phone, via a self-service technology)?
I visited to an SBI CDM at Aluva which is one of the very few CDM available in the town. The
method of transaction takes place with help of self-service technology.
Describe your encounter briefly, so that who was not there would know what happened.
I visited the SBI CDM to deposit some amount of money to my bank account. Since there are
very limited number of CDM in the locality, the dependence on this CDM is very high. I went to
deposit money and the CDM was not working.
How would you rate your level of satisfaction with this encounter? (Circle the most
appropriate number.)
Extremely Dissatisfied 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Extremely
How would you describe your reaction to this encounter? Include in your description your
feelings and emotions at that time (eg., angry, sad, happy, etc.). Why exactly did you feel
that way?
I was angry with service because there were no such CDM services nearby and I had to travel
more avail such services.
What could the employee/firm have done to increase your level of satisfaction with the
encounter? What improvements need to be made to this service system?
It would have been good if there were similar services nearby. The bank should have proper
maintanence and checks on availability of such services.
How likely is it that you will go back to this service firm?
Extremely unlikely Unlikely Not sure Likely Extremely likely
Why would you return or not return to that firm? (provide details, especially when there is
a big discrepancy between your satisfaction and your repeat patronage intention)
I would return to this CDM because its easier way to deposit cash and moreover it’s the few
CDM available in the locality.
Your Name: Vishnu Murali
Name of Firm: Flipkart
Type of Service (industry): Online Shopping
Date and Time of Encounter: Feb 20, 2019
How did the encounter take place (eg., in person, by phone, via a self-service technology)?
I ordered for a new smartphone from my phone.
Describe your encounter briefly, so that who was not there would know what happened.
I ordered for a mobile phone from Flipkart and opted for exchange offer. The delivery boy didn’t
approve the exchange of old mobile phone and behaved rudely. I reached the Flipkart customer
care, they took 5 days and in the end they have not taken any action against the delivery boy
instead they cancelled my order and notified me that my money will be refunded in 7 days. If
they had to cancel my order then why they kept my money for 5 days.
How would you rate your level of satisfaction with this encounter? (Circle the most
appropriate number.)
Extremely Dissatisfied 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Extremely
How would you describe your reaction to this encounter? Include in your description your
feelings and emotions at that time (eg., angry, sad, happy, etc.). Why exactly did you feel
that way?
I was angry with service because there were mismanagement and lack of efficiency from the side
of Flipkart. Also the behavior of delivery boy was rude. This situation made me angry.
What could the employee/firm have done to increase your level of satisfaction with the
encounter? What improvements need to be made to this service system?
The employer or firm need to give more training with the personals and staffs. They should also
provide good quality service.
How likely is it that you will go back to this service firm?
Extremely unlikely Unlikely Not sure Likely Extremely likely
Why would you return or not return to that firm? (provide details, especially when there is
a big discrepancy between your satisfaction and your repeat patronage intention)
I would not return to Flipkart service because of this incident and I have many other options of
online shopping sites.
Your Name: Vishnu Murali
Name of Firm: Indian Railways
Type of Service (industry): Public Transportation
Date and Time of Encounter: 14 April, 2018
How did the encounter take place (eg., in person, by phone, via a self-service technology)?
I booked in online tickets for travelling to Bangalore.
Describe your encounter briefly, so that who was not there would know what happened.
It was during my journey to Bangalore in Bangalore Express, i experienced bad experience with
catering service in the train. The food offered in the train was unhygienic and unhealthy.
How would you rate your level of satisfaction with this encounter? (Circle the most
appropriate number.)
Extremely Dissatisfied 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Extremely
How would you describe your reaction to this encounter? Include in your description your
feelings and emotions at that time (eg., angry, sad, happy, etc.). Why exactly did you feel
that way?
I was sad with experience because I already expected less hygiene from railway food service.
But due to the unhygienic conditions i kept starving for long hours.
What could the employee/firm have done to increase your level of satisfaction with the
encounter? What improvements need to be made to this service system?
It would be better if they provide cleanliness and hygiene to the trains.
How likely is it that you will go back to this service firm?
Extremely unlikely Unlikely Not sure Likely Extremely likely
Why would you return or not return to that firm? (provide details, especially when there is
a big discrepancy between your satisfaction and your repeat patronage intention)
I would prefer to travel in trains due to the cheap rate and fast arrival to location.
