Module Handbook 2022/23

Module Name: Marketing Services and the Customer

Experience

Module Code: UMKD6R-15-3

Module Leader Name: Professor Mario Vafeas

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Aims of the Handbook
The handbook is a guide for students of Marketing Services and the Customer
Experience. The information in the handbook can also be found in a number of
other electronic or paper sources and the document provides links to the
definitive data sources wherever possible.

Please note that the electronic version of the handbook will be kept up to date
and you will be notified of any significant changes. If you have taken a hard
copy of any information please remember to refer back to the electronic version
to ensure that you are working with the most up to date information.

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1. Module team information
Module Leader: Mario Vafeas
Module Teaching Team: Mario Vafeas; Joe Liddiatt

External examiners from other institutions are appointed to each module to act
independently and work with the module team in the management of threshold
academic standards. Information is available about the external examiner
appointed to this module

2. Module enhancement
Student feedback from the previous academic year was very positive and so no
significant changes have been made to the module. Content is continually
updated to reflect changes, opportunities, and challenges in the services sector.

3. Module specific information

Why study Marketing Services?
The service sector accounts for a significant proportion of the GDP of western
economies (80% in the UK, according to the ONS) and is growing as a proportion
of GDP in emerging markets. Furthermore, most products that we buy include
some element of service in them (e.g., Apple’s iCloud as a supplementary
service for its devices). For those of you who decide to pursue a career in
marketing, more than half of you will work in services marketing at some point in
your career.

Aim of the module

The aim of this module is to develop your understanding of the distinctive nature
of services marketing. Most of your studies to date will have focused on the
marketing of physical goods. While the principles of marketing remain the same,
the particular characteristics of services demand an adaptation and development
of traditional marketing concepts. We will build on the knowledge you have
acquired to date by exploring the range of strategic and tactical issues that the
marketer needs to manage in a services context.

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Programme

Stud W/C Lectorial Tutorial

y
Unit
11 February 2023 Definitions, classifications,
1 Introduction to services
(MH) trends
18 February 2023 Distinguishing features of
2 Classifying services
(VD) services
25 February 2023 The service encounter and Services evaluation and
3
(MH) service delivery consumer behaviour

4 March 2023 The service encounter:

Service quality and
4 ‘Creating a drama at TGI
(VD) satisfaction, part 1
Friday’
11 March 2023 Service quality and The service process and
5
(MH) satisfaction, part 2 blueprinting
18 March 2023
6 Managing people Assignment briefing
(VD)
25 March 2023 Service culture: The Ritz
7 Service failure and recovery
(VD) Carlton
Review of module concepts
1 April 2023 Managing capacity and
8 and application to
(MH) demand; Pricing
assignment
Capacity and demand
8 April 2023 Physical evidence and the
9 management in a creative
(VD) service environment
studio
Managing the servicescape:
15 April 2023 Building customer
10 ‘Red Design’s graphic design
(MH) relationships
studio’
Assignment Q and A Assignment Q and A
22 April 2023
(no new content) (no new content)

2 May 2023 Hand in Assignment

4. Assignment
There is one assessment component. It is an individual assignment. Question 1
of the assignment relates to a case study and the maximum word count is 2,500.

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Question 2 of the assignment is a critical reflection, and the maximum word
count is 700 words. The assignment brief is on Blackboard. There is also an
assignment briefing video on Blackboard with detailed guidance about
requirements and how to prepare a strong response.

5. Submission details
Please note that the submission deadlines are absolute and based on UWE
server time, therefore you are strongly advised to submit work well ahead of the
deadline dates to avoid situations where penalties could be incurred. Full details
of the assessment task, criteria, and submission date are on the assignment brief
which is available on Blackboard.

You will receive informal feedback verbally through all teaching sessions –
ensure you listen carefully. Your submitted assignment will be returned to you
with written feedback and consists of comments made by the tutor on students’
assessed work which enables students to understand how they have met the
defined assessment criteria and identifying areas for further improvement. The
period for providing feedback will not normally exceed 20 working days
(excluding University closure days) following the deadline for submission of the
assessment concerned. Where the period is greater than 20 working days,
students will be informed of the deadline and the rationale for the extension.
Outcomes which have not been confirmed by an examining board shall be
considered as unconfirmed. MyUWE is used to communicate unconfirmed marks,
provide cover sheets for assessments and submit work.

6. Additional information and reading

lists
Your module reading list can be accessed online through the module’s
Blackboard page. The short video available on the library’s website will introduce
you to some of the key features of the online reading list system. The core
textbook is:
Wilson, A., Zeithaml, V., Bitner, M. J., and Gremler, D. (2021) Services Marketing:
Integrating Customer Focus Across the Firm. 4th edition. London: McGraw Hill.

Useful links:

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A guide to referencing
The University’s policy on word count

7. Communication
Throughout your time with us, you will receive regular communication from your
module leaders, and also administrative staff. It is your responsibility to ensure
that you read everything that you are sent, and act upon it where appropriate.
The main communication channel used is the Blackboard for all the modules you
are currently studying. Blackboard provides the main communication channel
for module specific information and these too should be checked regularly for
new content and announcements.

Further information on all aspects of your myUWE portal is available on the

website.

8. Advice and support

There are a range of facilities and services available to go to for advice and
support depending on what the issue is. Remember - asking for help at the
earliest possible stage will help you in the long run. Your first point of call should
always be your Academic Personal tutor, as they will be able to sign post you to
the right services and will be able to deal with specific matters relating to
teaching and learning. If you are not able to contact your Academic Personal
tutor for any reason, go to an Information Point who may be able to help.

Student Support Advisers are available and can also be contacted through the
Information Points. However, you are more than welcome to talk to other
members of UWE staff depending on who you feel most comfortable talking to.

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9. Study unit briefing
Study Unit 1: Definitions, classifications, and trends

Essential reading: Wilson et al., chapter 1, pp. 3-14.

Supplementary reading:
Frow, P., Ngo, L., and Payne, A. (2014) Diagnosing the supplementary services
model. Journal of Marketing Management. 30 (1/2), pp. 138-171.
Lightfoot, H., Baines, T., and Smart, P. (2013) The servitization of manufacturing.
International Journal of Operations and Production Management. 33 (11/12), pp.
1408-1434.
Lecture: Definitions, classifications, and trends
Tutorial: Introduction to services
Preparation for tutorial: No preparation required in advance of the tutorial.
The task will be briefed in class.

Study Unit 2: Distinguishing features of services

Essential reading: Wilson et al., chapter 1, pp. 15-24; chapter 3, pp. 41-47.
Supplementary reading:
Bednall, D., Oppewal, H., and Laochumnanvanit, C. (2018) A trial engagement:
Innovative, free, and other service trials. Journal of Services Marketing. 32 (1),
pp. 46-56.
Ding, Y. and Keh, H-T. (2016) A re-examination of service standardization versus
customization from the consumer’s perspective. Journal of Services Marketing.
30 (1), pp. 16-28.
Gabbott, M. and Hogg, G. (1994) Consumer behaviour and services: A review.
Journal of Marketing Management. 10 (4), pp. 311-324.
Lecture: Distinguishing features of services
Tutorial: Classifying services
Preparation for tutorial: No preparation required in advance of the tutorial.
The task will be briefed in class.

Study Unit 3: The service encounter and service delivery

Essential reading: Wilson et al., chapter 3, pp. 48-54; chapter 8, pp. 172-179;
chapter 13.
Supplementary reading:

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Lemon, K. and Verhoef, P. (2016) Understanding the customer experience
throughout the customer journey. Journal of Marketing. 80 (November), pp. 69-
96.
Ramdas, K., Teisberg, E., and Tucker A. (2012) Four ways to reinvent service
delivery. Harvard Business Review. 90 (12), pp. 98-106.
Lecture: The service encounter and service delivery
Tutorial: Services evaluation and consumer behaviour
Preparation for tutorial: No preparation required in advance of the tutorial.
The task will be briefed in class.

Study Unit 4: Service quality and satisfaction, part 1, definitions

and dimensions

Essential reading: Wilson et al., chapter 4, pp. 62-78; chapter 5, pp. 82-100;
chapter 9, pp. 184-200.
Supplementary reading:
Barnes, D., Mesmer-Magnus, J., Scribner, L., Krallman, A., and Guidice, R. (2021)
Customer delight during a crisis. Journal of Service Management. 32 (1), pp. 129-
141.
Barnes, D., Collier, J., Howe, V., and Hoffman, D. (2016) Multiple paths to
customer delight. Journal of Services Marketing. 30 (3), pp. 277-289.
Berman (2005) How to delight your customers. California Management Review.
48 (1), pp. 129-151.
Mittal, B. (2016) Retrospective: Why do customers switch? The dynamics of
satisfaction versus loyalty. Journal of Services Marketing. 30 (6), pp. 569-575.
Lecture: Service quality and satisfaction, part 1, definitions and dimensions
Tutorial: The service encounter: Creating a Drama at TGI Friday
Preparation for tutorial: In advance of the tutorial, please read the case study
below: ‘Creating a Drama at T.G.I Fridays’.

CREATING A DRAMA AT T.G.I. FRIDAYS

(Palmer, A. (2014) Principles of Services Marketing. 7th ed. Maidenhead: McGraw-
Hill).
Is it a pub? Is it a restaurant? Is it theatre? The operators of T.G.I. Fridays would
hope that their customers see it as all three. For diners who tire of the scripted
industrialized service processes of many fast-food chains, the service encounter
at a branch of T.G.I. Fridays may come as welcome relief. T.G.I. Fridays is a
themed American restaurant and bar group started in 1965 in the USA and which
has been operated as a franchise since 1986 in the UK by Whitbread plc (in 2007
Whitbread sold operating rights of its 45 UK restaurants back to a consortium
consisting of Carlson Restaurants Worldwide and ABN Amro Capital).

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The credo of T.G.I. Fridays, according to Richard Snead, President and CEO of
Carlson Restaurants Worldwide, parent company of T.G.I. Fridays, is ‘to treat
every customer as we would an honoured guest in our home, and it is reflected
in everything we do’. Four crucial components of the company’s philosophy
contribute to successful service encounters at their restaurants:

Employees – these are seen as the key to service quality; this applies not only to
front-line staff who visibly contribute to guests’ experience, but also to back-
room staff
Product – a meal is a focal point of a customer’s visit and consistency of
standards is important
Package – this comprises the building and furnishings, which must be well
maintained
Ambience – this is an important part of the meal experience that is difficult to
specify, but is memorable to customers.

The first T.G.I. Fridays was opened at First Avenue and 63rd Street in New York
City in 1965 and featured the now familiar red and white stripes. Inside were
wooden floors, Tiffany lamps, Bentwood chairs, and striped tablecloths. Decor
has become a key element in the T.G.I. Fridays experience, transforming an
otherwise bland and boring industrial-type building into a theatrical stage. For
T.G.I. Fridays’ interior decor, a fulltime antique ‘picker’ travels extensively to
auctions and flea markets. Memorabilia has to be authentic and, if possible,
unique to the area where a new restaurant is to be located.

T.G.I. Fridays offers ‘mass customization’ in which the company offers a standard
service to all customers, but customers can personalize their meal through an
extensive range of menu permutations. The company’s approach to managing
the service encounter distinguishes between ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ elements. Hard
elements include core service processes and tangible elements of the product
offer, such as car-parking facilities, the menu offered, and target service times.
The fundamental design of T.G.I. Fridays restaurants is remarkably similar
throughout the world, with a large central bar area with dining facilities
surrounding the bar and authentic American decorative memorabilia. Even the
location of the toilets is standard, and an American guest visiting the T.G.I.
Fridays’ restaurant in Coventry would immediately know where to look for them.
Red and white striped awnings, wooden floors, Tiffany lampshades, cane chairs,
and striped tablecloths create an aura of the American bar/diner. Each restaurant
offers a range of approximately 100 American/Mexican food menu items and
approximately the same number of cocktails. Service target times form part of
the ‘hard’ element of the service encounter and the company requires that
starters should be served within seven minutes of receipt of a customer’s order.
A computer program helps managers to monitor the achievement of these
service times. The ‘hard’ elements of the service encounter tend to be specified
by head office, and branch managers are expected to achieve specified
standards. Menus and the product range are designed and priced centrally at
head office.

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However, it is the ‘soft’ elements of the service encounter that distinguish T.G.I.
Fridays from its competitors. Crucial to this is the empowering of employees to
take whatever actions they see fit in order to improve customers’ experience.
Employee performance requires, therefore, more than the traditional acts of
greeting, seating, and serving customers. Employees have to be able to provide
both the behaviours and the emotional displays to match customers’ feelings.
Getting serving staff to join in a chorus of ‘Happy Birthday’ may not be easy to
script, but spontaneous singing when a meal is served to a group of diners
celebrating a birthday can make all the difference in customers’ experience of
their meal. Of course, recruitment of the right kind of people becomes crucial,
and prospective candidates are selected as much for their sense of fun as on the
strength of their CV. Initial interviews take the form of ‘auditions’ in which
potential recruits are set individual and group tasks to test their personality type.
Opportunities are given for trained staff to express their personality and
individuality – for example, by wearing outlandish clothes that make a statement
about their personality.

T.G.I. Fridays has become a preferred place of employment for restaurant staff,
who have enjoyed relatively good working conditions, above-average earnings
for the sector – especially when tips are taken into account – and a sense of fun
while at work. The chain has won numerous awards as a good employer,
including the UK’s third best workplace according to the Sunday Times’ 2013
‘Survey of Best UK Places to Work’. It was also the fourth most fun place to work
according to the FT. Staff said that managers were ‘excellent role models’ and
they felt motivated to give their best every day.

Is the pattern of service encounters developed by T.G.I. Fridays a sustainable

business model? Among the portfolio of restaurant formats operated by
Whitbread plc, T.G.I. Fridays has been a star performer, in contrast to some of its
more traditional formats, such as Beefeater, which have become less popular
with consumers. A glance at the customer review site www.ciao.co.uk provides
an insight to customers’ experience of the service encounter. Overall,
contributors seem to be happy with the format, although a number of people
observed that service standards could decline when a restaurant becomes very
busy. It may be fine for serving staff to sing to customers when times are quiet,
but how can they do this and still meet their service delivery time targets when
the restaurant is busy? A number of customers also commented on very high
prices charged by T.G.I. Fridays, with more than one person describing them as
‘rip-off prices’. But in order to get the best staff who can create a memorable
experience, is it worth paying staff a little more and passing this on to customers
as higher prices?

Question to be addressed in class:

Using the ‘Servuction’ model or the ‘Theatre’ model, analyse the service
encounter described in the case study and identify what elements contribute to a
positive customer experience.

Study Unit 5: Service quality and satisfaction, part 2,

measurement and management

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Essential reading: Wilson et al., chapter 2; chapter 6, pp. 106-126.
Supplementary reading:
Dixon, M., Freeman, K., and Toman, N. (2010) Stop trying to delight your
customers. Harvard Business Review. 88 (7-8), pp. 116-122.
Lecture: Service quality and satisfaction, part 2, measurement and
management
Tutorial: The service process and blueprinting
Preparation for tutorial: No preparation required in advance of the tutorial.
The task will be briefed in class.

Study Unit 6: Managing people

Essential reading: Wilson et al., chapter 11; chapter 12.

Supplementary reading:
Dixon, M., Ponomareff, L., Turner, S. and DeLisi, R. (2017) Kick-ass customer
service. Harvard Business Review. January-February, pp. 112-117.
Ekinci, Y. and Dawes, P. (2009) Consumer perceptions of frontline service
employee personality traits, interaction quality, and customer satisfaction.
Service Industries Journal. 107 (125), pp. 503-521.
Grönroos, C. (2012) Conceptualising value co-creation: A journey to the 1970s
and back to the future. Journal of Marketing Management. 28 (13-14), pp. 1520-
1534.
Lecture: Managing People
Tutorial: Assignment briefing
Preparation for tutorial: In advance of the tutorial, please read the
assignment brief and case study, and watch the assignment briefing video on
Blackboard (in the Assignment tab).

Study Unit 7: Service failure and recovery

Essential reading: Wilson et al., chapter 15.

Supplementary reading:
Hoffman, D., Kelley, S., and Rotalsky, H. (1995) Tracking service failure and
service recovery efforts. Journal of Services Marketing. 9 (2), pp. 49-61.
Rosenmayer, A., McQuilken, L., Robertson, N., and Ogden, S. (2018) Omni-
channel service failures and recoveries: Refined typologies using Facebook
complaints. Journal of Services Marketing. 32 (3), pp. 269-285.
Lecture: Service failure and recovery
Tutorial: Service culture: The Ritz Carlton

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Preparation for tutorial: No preparation required in advance of the tutorial.
The task will be briefed in class.

Study Unit 8: Managing capacity and demand; Pricing

Essential reading: Wilson et al., chapter 14; chapter 17.

Supplementary reading:
Klassen, K. and Rohleder, T. (2001) Combining operations and marketing to
manage capacity and demand in services. Service Industries Journal. 21 (2), pp.
1-30.
Avlonitis, G. and Indounas, K. (2005) Pricing objectives and pricing methods in
the services sector. Journal of Services Marketing. 19 (1), pp. 47-57.
Lecture: Managing capacity and demand; Pricing
Tutorial: Review of module concepts to date and application to assignment
Preparation for tutorial: No preparation required in advance of the tutorial.
The task will be briefed in class.

Study Unit 9: Physical evidence and the service environment

Essential reading: Wilson et al., chapter 10.

Supplementary reading:
Harris, L. and Goode, M. (2010) Online servicescapes, trust, and purchase
intentions. Journal of Services Marketing. 24 (3), pp. 230-243.
Mari, M. and Poggesi, S. (2013) Servicescape cues and customer behaviour.
Service Industries Journal. 33 (2), pp. 171-199.
Lecture: Physical evidence and the service environment
Tutorial: Capacity and demand management in a creative studio
Preparation for tutorial: No preparation required in advance of the tutorial.
The task will be briefed in class.

Study Unit 10: Building customer relationships

Essential reading: Wilson et al., chapter 7

Supplementary reading:
Karantinou, K. and Hogg, M. (2009) An empirical investigation of relationship
development in professional business services. Journal of Services Marketing. 23
(4), pp. 249-260.
Vafeas, M. and Hughes, T. (2021) Inertia, boredom, and complacency in
business-to-business relationships: Identifying and interpreting antecedents and
manifestations. Journal of Business Research, 130, pp. 210-220.
Lecture: Building customer relationships

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Tutorial: Managing the servicescape: ‘Red Design’s graphic design studio’
Preparation for tutorial: In advance of the tutorial, please read the case study
below: ‘Red Design’s graphic design studio’.

‘Red Design’s Graphic Design Studio’

We put a lot of thought into the location and the whole atmosphere of the office.
We wanted to encourage our clients (marketing managers of FMCG companies)
to visit us, rather than us visiting them in their ‘soulless’ offices off the M25. We
knew we could build bonds more easily if they visited us in our environment and
met the whole team (10 in total). We were something of a ‘boutique’ agency –
not a one-man band but neither one of the big, impersonal London agencies.
However, we prided ourselves on being just as professional as the bigger firms,
and far more friendly, flexible, and adaptable. The location was just off junction
18 of the M4, so it was easy for clients to access, whether from Bristol or London,
and yet we were buried in countryside, on the edge of the Cotswolds. The view
from the office was one of green fields, a small stream, and old oak trees (the
odd cow, buzzard, and woodpecker would appear at times too). The building
itself was a barn, converted into an office, replete with original wooden beams.
There were no other buildings within a quarter of a mile.

The office was ‘open plan’ aside from a meeting room that was used for
presentations to clients. The office was painted a bright ivory. Lighting was both
natural (one side of the office had ceiling to floor wooden-framed windows) and
artificial (ceiling spotlights). All the desks, together with the square table and six
chairs in the meeting room, were made from solid American oak – clean, fresh,
and light in appearance (the owner’s son-in-law was a carpenter so he made all
the office furniture apart from the red filing cabinets). The walls were
uncluttered; there were just a few large prints from landscape photographs taken
by members of staff. There was a selection of quirky items (a miniature rocket
and an art deco lamp, for example) around the office. They were red in colour –
to complement the agency’s name (Red Design). The ‘rustic’ appearance was
contrasted (but enhanced we thought) by state-of-the-art computers. Designers
only use macs (they won’t touch PCs!) and so every desk had a beautifully-
designed large Apple monitor, keyboard, and mouse (no computer ‘boxes’).
While most design now takes place on computers, we were keen to preserve a
little of the feel of a traditional design studio, so we carefully ‘planted’ design
pads, marker pens, and pantone colour fans around the office. We also scattered
several A2 sheets of art paper with design ‘scribbles’ on several desks, to give
the impression of creativity in progress.

Phil, the owner and creative director, loved gardening and so there were
numerous flower boxes outside the entrance to the office. He was also a keen
motoring enthusiast, and his old Porsche 911 and Harley motorbike were parked
outside the office. The car park was big enough both for staff parking and for
clients visiting the agency. The car park was just a few metres from the office.

Inside the small kitchen was Red’s ‘secret weapon’: the espresso coffee machine.
Mark, the client services director, wouldn’t let anyone else touch it, and would

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personally make coffee for clients when they visited – the best coffee in Bristol
(or so he thought!). We were fortunate to be round the corner from a little village
that contained ‘Hobbs House Bakery’ that makes the finest cakes (and bread) in
England. So, whenever a client visited the office, a member of staff would make
a dash to Hobbs and pick up a selection of cakes or sandwiches to go with coffee.
If clients had a little more time, lunch could be had at the seventeenth century
pub, ‘The Dog’, which was a three-minute drive from the office. Aside from the
office itself, we took care over the appearance of other items that clients saw or
touched. Portfolio bags (to carry artwork to clients) were red, envelopes were
red, and paperclips were red. Careful consideration was also given to paper stock
for the stationery; paper was of a substantial weight and had a matt rather than
gloss finish. Company brochures (which were square and just too large for clients
to hide away, and lose, in a filing cabinet) were matt laminated but with
occasional gloss varnish ‘spots’ for photographs. To round off the atmosphere,
music was played (at a low volume) all day long. The favourite radio station was
BBC Radio Six Music.

Question to be addressed in class:

Question: What responses (cognitive, emotional, and physiological) are Red
Design hoping to trigger from their clients, and what stimuli will achieve these
responses?

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