A Service Failure Modes Identifying Method to Realize Highly Reliable Services

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yusuke Kurita ◽  
Koji Kimita ◽  
Yoshiki Shimomura
Keyword(s):  
Failure Modes ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Service Failure ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Support Service ◽  
Target Market ◽  
Practical Case ◽  
Service Engineering ◽  
Service Failures

Recently, service has been recognized as an effective means to enhance customer satisfaction. The importance of service is widely accepted. According to this background, the authors of this paper have carried out conceptual research on service design from the engineering viewpoint. The series of this research is called “Service Engineering.” In order to achieve a successful service, service providers should maintain the quality of their service and always satisfy their customers. Namely, the provision of highly reliable service is essential for service providers to survive in the target market. In order to realize highly reliable products or services, in general, it is an effective approach to prevent failures from occurring in use phase. In this study, we aim to support service failure analysis in order to minimize the occurrence of failures. This paper proposes a method for identifying the states of service failures. Specifically, we define service failure and propose a procedure to identify the states of service failures with models that are proposed in Service Engineering. The proposed method is verified through its application to a practical case.

Service Failure Effects Analysis Based on Customer Perspective

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yusuke Kurita ◽  
Koji Kimita ◽  
Kentaro Watanabe ◽  
Yoshiki Shimomura
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Service Failure ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Service Design ◽  
Support Service ◽  
Target Market ◽  
Practical Case ◽  
Service Engineering ◽  
Customer Perspective ◽  
Conceptual Research

Recently, service has been recognized as an effective means to enhance customer satisfaction. The importance of service is widely accepted. Based on this background, the authors of this paper have conducted conceptual research on service design from the engineering perspective. This research series is called “Service Engineering.” In order to achieve a successful service, service providers should maintain service quality and always satisfy their customers. To be specific, the provision of highly reliable service is essential for service providers to survive in their target market. To realize highly reliable products or services, in general, it is an effective approach to prevent failures from occurring in the use phase. In this study, we aim to support service failure analysis in order to minimize the occurrence of failures. This paper proposes a method for analyzing service failure effects in the service design phase. Specifically, we define service failure and propose a procedure to analyze service failure effects with models that are proposed in Service Engineering. The proposed method is verified through its application to a practical case.

scholarly journals A Method for Analyzing Service Failure Causes

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yusuke Kurita ◽  
Takumi Ota ◽  
Koji Kimita ◽  
Yoshiki Shimomura
Keyword(s):  
Service Failure ◽  
Service Design ◽  
Design Methods ◽  
Practical Case ◽  
Service Failures

The provision of highly reliable services is essential for the maintenance of long-term relationships with customers. To establish highly reliable services, the potential for service failures and their causes must be identified and taken appropriate steps in the process of service design. Methods are proposed to support these activities. However, the quality of these analyses depends on designers’ abilities such as their experience. Therefore, it is difficult to enumerate potential service failure and their causes exhaustively in the phase of service design. In this paper, we propose a method for the extraction of service failure causes. The proposed method is verified through its application to a practical case.

A cross-linguistic study of metacommunication in online hotel reviews

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 445-470
Author(s):  
Irene Cenni ◽  
Patrick Goethals ◽  
Camilla Vásquez
Keyword(s):  
Hospitality Industry ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Service Failure ◽  
Specific Form ◽  
Service Encounter ◽  
Service Encounters ◽  
Correct Information ◽  
Linguistic Patterns

AbstractIn this study, we focus on a specific form of metacommunication found in an emerging digital genre: Hotel reviews posted on TripAdvisor. In particular, we investigate how tourists represent their service encounter interactions. The main goal of the present study is to identify what these digital metacommunicative practices reveal about communicative norms and expectations among groups of reviewers writing in three different languages. We analyzed a multilingual dataset of 1800 reviews written in English, Dutch, and Italian. The results reveal that reviewers commented upon a broad range of aspects when evaluating service encounters interactions, for instance, describing the quality of the interaction (e.g. polite, correct), or a lack of communication when a specific type of communication is expected (e.g. absence of greetings, or apologies after a service failure). Further, we found similar cross-linguistic patterns, such as appreciation for being able to communicate in one’s mother tongue during the hotel-guest encounter. At the same time, a few differences across languages emerged, such as the preference for precise and correct information within British reviews. Since service interactions are of fundamental importance for customer satisfaction, our findings contribute not only to the current research on metacommunication in digital contexts, but may also be significant for service providers in the hospitality industry.

scholarly journals Automating The Improvement Of Service Quality: The TELCO Case

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 81-90
Author(s):  
Elad Harison ◽  
Ofer Barkai
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Service Systems ◽  
Competitive Environment ◽  
Preventive Service ◽  
Automated Systems ◽  
Customer Complaints ◽  
Service Failures ◽  
Broad Variety

The case under discussion presents a new and innovative framework for implementing preventive service systems that detect potential service malfunctions, attempt to automatically prevent them and notify customers about the results of these operations. Such automated systems may proactively avert service malfunctions and reduce the volume of customer complaints due to service outages. The presented framework is based on four major stages: continuous detection of service delivery infrastructure and equipment, prevention of identified service failures, notification of customers about service failures and follow-up activities. Telco is a major Israeli telecommunications operator that implemented the preventive service methodology and systems to improve the quality of its services to the satisfaction of its largest customers. The model presented in this paper can be utilized by a broad variety of firms and service providers as means for improving the quality of their services, the satisfaction and the loyalty of customers and the ability to retain them for longer periods in an increasingly competitive environment.

Is consumer forgiveness possible?

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 1567-1587 ◽  
Author(s):  
JungYun (Christine) Hur ◽  
SooCheong (Shawn) Jang
Keyword(s):  
Service Management ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Service Failure ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Failures ◽  
Recovery Strategies ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Hotel Managers

PurposeThis study aims to investigate how consumer forgiveness is formed by examining rumination and distraction by consumers in hotel service failures.Design/methodology/approachData were collected using a self-administered questionnaire in the USA. A total of 371 usable responses were obtained. Anderson and Gerbing’s two-step approach was used to assess the measurement and structural models.FindingsThis study suggests that rumination and distraction play significant roles in processing consumer forgiveness. Self-focused rumination and distraction increase consumer forgiveness, whereas provocation-focused rumination exacerbates the negative effects of service failure severity on consumer forgiveness. This study also shows that gender differences exist. Men were more likely than women to link self-focused rumination and distraction to their intentions to forgive a service provider.Practical implicationsThis study is helpful for hotel managers to understand the mechanisms of consumer forgiveness in service failures and develop effective recovery strategies. Managers should aim to lessen consumers’ provocation-focused rumination while encouraging self-focused rumination and distraction. In addition, because of the differences in the process of consumer forgiveness between men and women, it is critical to differentiate the two groups in designing targeted recovery strategies for service failures.Originality/valueThis study investigates consumer forgiveness as a behavioral outcome following service failures that may help consumers achieve psychological balance and allow service providers a chance to restore the broken relationship. This study adds new information for understanding consumer responses and provides a basis for effective service management strategies.

scholarly journals Measurement And Consequences Of U.S. Tourists Perceptions Of Service Quality: A South African Hunting Safari Case Study

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 33
Author(s):  
Xiliang Han ◽  
Laetitia Radder
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
South African ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Service Failure ◽  
The South ◽  
Perceived Service Quality ◽  
Quality Principles ◽  
Important Quality ◽  
Service Offering

This research verifies the usefulness of the service quality principles and the Basic Service Package elements of the Augmented Service Offering model in measuring perceived service quality of a complex wildlife tourist activity. In addition, it determines the existence of a quality-satisfaction and quality-intention link. The South African hunting safari serves as an illustrating example. As U.S. hunters constitute the largest cluster of non-domestic customers in the South African safari hunting industry, their perceptions of service quality and the resulting satisfaction and behavioral intentions can significantly impact the sustainable competitiveness and profitability of safari service providers. The results negate the applicability of the SERVQUAL model, but confirm the usefulness of the Augmented Service Offering model in measuring the service quality of the safari hunt and in identifying areas of service failure and adequate service performance. The regression analysis confirmed the existence of important quality-satisfaction and quality-intention links.

scholarly journals Robots or frontline employees? Exploring customers’ attributions of responsibility and stability after service failure or success

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-289
Author(s):  
Daniel Belanche ◽  
Luis V. Casaló ◽  
Carlos Flavián ◽  
Jeroen Schepers
Keyword(s):  
Attribution Theory ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Service Failure ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Service Robots ◽  
Frontline Employees ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Attributions Of Responsibility ◽  
Service Failures ◽  
Artificial Intelligence Technology

PurposeService robots are taking over the organizational frontline. Despite a recent surge in studies on this topic, extant works are predominantly conceptual in nature. The purpose of this paper is to provide valuable empirical insights by building on the attribution theory.Design/methodology/approachTwo vignette-based experimental studies were employed. Data were collected from US respondents who were randomly assigned to scenarios focusing on a hotel’s reception service and restaurant’s waiter service.FindingsResults indicate that respondents make stronger attributions of responsibility for the service performance toward humans than toward robots, especially when a service failure occurs. Customers thus attribute responsibility to the firm rather than the frontline robot. Interestingly, the perceived stability of the performance is greater when the service is conducted by a robot than by an employee. This implies that customers expect employees to shape up after a poor service encounter but expect little improvement in robots’ performance over time.Practical implicationsRobots are perceived to be more representative of a firm than employees. To avoid harmful customer attributions, service providers should clearly communicate to customers that frontline robots pack sophisticated analytical, rather than simple mechanical, artificial intelligence technology that explicitly learns from service failures.Originality/valueCustomer responses to frontline robots have remained largely unexplored. This paper is the first to explore the attributions that customers make when they experience robots in the frontline.

Negative emotions in Mexican, Puerto Rican and Spanish hospitals

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-37
Author(s):  
Carmen Otero-Neira ◽  
Carmen Padin ◽  
Juan Carlos Sosa Varela ◽  
Maria Santos Corrada ◽  
Irma Magana ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Puerto Rican ◽  
Critical Incident ◽  
Critical Incidents ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Service Failure ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Failures

Purpose – This paper aims to assess negative emotions in Mexican, Puerto Rican and Spanish service settings in the hospital industry. The paper also attempts to validate previous findings in existing theory and previous studies across three national samples and describes the similarities and differences in negative emotions between Mexican, Puerto Rican and Spanish service settings. Design/methodology/approach – The current study comprised Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and Spaniards who experienced a service failure (i.e. critical incident) in hospital settings within the past year. A descriptive research design was followed, and a self-administered questionnaire was applied to gather the data from respondents. Findings – The three-dimensional construct of negative emotions commonly identified in existing theory and previous studies of negative emotions turned out to be four in the current multinational study. Research limitations/implications – The four-dimensional construct of negative emotions thus revealed is relevant and valuable to research. A number of research limitations are provided, all of which provide opportunities for further research in assessing negative emotions in service settings. Practical implications – Service providers need to manage and deal with the negative emotions in service failures in an appropriate manner. It is necessary that the front-line staff identify and understand the reasons behind service receiver’s negative emotions in service failures, and that they act accordingly to reduce the intensity of critical incidents and the overall negative consequences. Originality/value – The negative emotions assessed provide a fruitful contribution and do not only complement additional facets to existing theory and previous studies of negative emotions in service settings but also fortify the notion that further research is required to gain an enhanced understanding and additional insights into them across countries and cultures, just as it is crucial to manage the occurrence of negative emotions in critical incidents accurately.

Beyond a Single Firm and Internal Focus Service Failure/Recovery: Multiple Providers and External Service Recoveries

2020 ◽  
pp. 004728752097444
Author(s):  
Karin Weber ◽  
Cathy H. C. Hsu
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Service Failure ◽  
Service Recovery ◽  
Failure Recovery ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Consumer Evaluations ◽  
Service Failures ◽  
Behavior Study ◽  
The One ◽  
And Behavior

Moving beyond the traditional focus on single service providers and internal service recoveries, this article extends service failure/recovery research by examining the effect on consumer evaluations and behavior of (1) a series of service failures that involve multiple entities in the creation of customer experiences; (2) an external service recovery, that is, a recovery implemented by a firm other than the one that caused the service failure; and (3) a joint service provider recovery, in contrast to the prevalent focus on a single firm service recovery. Employing two experiments, findings confirmed that a firm unaffiliated with the firm that caused the service failure benefits more from an external service recovery than an affiliated firm. Surprisingly, external recoveries by affiliated entities themselves, and compared to the internal recovery by the entity that caused the failure, did not significantly impact consumer evaluations and behavior. Study implications and future research directions are discussed.

Service recovery satisfaction in offline and online experiences

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Raphael Odoom ◽  
George Cudjoe Agbemabiese ◽  
Robert E. Hinson
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Service Failure ◽  
Service Recovery ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Failures ◽  
Service Failure And Recovery ◽  
Recovery Strategies ◽  
Recovery Satisfaction ◽  
Empirical Tests ◽  
Service Managers

Purpose Given that the peculiar nature of the internet has introduced new dimensions of service delivery as well as new dimensions of service failures and recovery, the purpose of this paper is to investigate and compare the relationships between recovery strategies and recovery satisfaction within offline and online settings. Design/methodology/approach Data for the empirical tests of our hypotheses were collected via offline and online (specifically Facebook and Twitter) samples of customers who have experienced some form of service failure and recovery measures from service providers within the past year. Findings The results indicate that recovery strategies largely influence recovery satisfaction among aggrieved customers. However, these are conditional and not invariant across the two settings. In the authors’ offline setting, in particular, apology did not show a statistically significant impact on recovery satisfaction, even though, along with compensation and explanation, this relationship was significant among the online sample. Originality/value The study offers practical implications for service managers within emerging economies on the various conditions where they can maximise their service recovery efforts (both offline and online) to generate optimum recovery satisfaction.

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