Inhaltsangabe:Abstract: Although many firms may aspire to offer zero defects service, the possibility of service failures cannot be wholly eliminated simply because of the variety of factors that may impact on the delivery process. Consequently, the manner in which firms respond to service failures is increasingly seen as a factor that may separate the more successful firms form the others. This response, termed service recovery, is defined as the process by which the firm attempts to rectify a service failure. Some researchers suggest that a firm s response to failures can either reinforce customer relationships or exacerbate the negative effects of the failure. In fact, some assert that it is often a firm s response to a failure, rather than the failure itself, that triggers discontent. Recoveries are critical because customers perceiving poor recovery efforts may dissolve the buyer-seller relationship and purchase elsewhere. Such customer turnover can be costly, especially given that it costs more to win new customers than it does to retain current ones. As a consequence, service failure and recovery encounters have been recognised as critical moments of truth for organisations in their efforts to satisfy and keep customers. Although there is a substantial literature on customer (dis)satisfaction and complaining behaviour, relatively little progress has been made in developing a theoretical understanding of how consumer evaluate a company s response to service failure and recovery encounters. Using perceived justice theory as a conceptual foundation, the current research develops and tests a model that (1) explains how customers evaluate service failure and recovery encounters and (2) how these evaluations affect customer satisfaction and subsequent post-purchase behaviour and attitudes. The study employed a two-stage research strategy. The first phase of the research included an extensive literature review and exploratory research involving semi-structured interviews and experiments. This first stage resulted in the development of a research model establishing the links between the antecedents and outcomes of customer satisfaction judgments involving service failure and recovery encounters. In the second phase, the proposed conceptual model was evaluated through a self-administered, cross-sectional survey. Respondents were requested to recall a time when they complained to a travel and tourism services provider about a failed [...]

Excellent service is the foundation for services marketing, contend Leonard Berry and A. Parasuraman in this companion volume to Delivering Quality Service. Building on eight years of research, the authors develop a model for understanding the relationship between quality and marketing in services and offer dozens of practical insights into ways to improve services marketing. They argue that superior service cannot be manufactured in a factory, packaged, and delivered intact to customers. Though an innovative service concept may give a company an initial edge, superior quality is vital to sustaining success. Berry and Parasuraman show that inspired leadership, a customer-minded corporate culture, an excellent service-system design, and effective use of technology and information are crucial to superior service quality and services marketing. When a company's service is excellent, customers are more likely to perceive value in transactions, spread favorable word-of-mouth impressions, and respond positively to employee-cross-selling efforts. The authors point out that a service company that does relatively little pre-sales marketing but is truly dedicated to delivering excellent quality service will have greater marketing effectiveness, higher customer retention, and more sales to existing customers than a company that emphasizes pre-sale marketing but falls short during actual service delivery. The focus of any company, they insist, must be customer satisfaction through integration of service quality throughout the entire system. Filled with examples, stories, and insights from senior executives, Berry and Parasuraman's new framework for effective marketing services contains the key to high-performance services marketing.

Integrates the latest theory, methodology and applications related to the design and analysis of repeated measurement. The text covers a broad range of topics, including the analysis of repeated measures design, general crossover designs, and linear and nonlinear regression models. It also contains a 3.5 IBM compatible disk, with software to implement immediately the techniques.

Crises and disasters that impact tourism can have extensive reputational implications for the organisations and destinations involved. This text uses real life cases studies to contextualise the relevant theories and unpacks examples of best practice to show how carefully managed response strategies can ensure the organisation’s future survival.

"This book brings together marketing approaches and the application of current technology, such as social networking arenas, to show how this interaction creates a successful competitive advantage".