Article Discussion Questions
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Introduction (Week 1):
 | Jason, Leila (2001), "Are There Rules of Etiquette for Cellphone Use?" Wall Street Journal, September 10, B9. |
What would be considered "professional etiquette" for cell phone usage in the class room?
| Gremler, Dwayne (2001), Tru-Green Complaint Letter. |
An example complaint letter.
Chapter 1 (Week 1):
| Millman, Joel (2000), "Services May Lead U.S. to Trade
Surplus," Wall Street Journal, 236 (108), December 4, A1.
Why are services being referred to as "the unsung hero of our trade balance"?
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| Brown, Stephen W. (2000), "The Move to Solutions Providers," Marketing Management, 9 (Spring), 10-11. |
Why are "goods" firms (e.g., IBM, GE, HP) becoming services businesses?
| Henkoff, Ronald (1994), "Service is Everybody's Business," Fortune, (June 27), 48-60. |
What does Henkoff mean by "service is everybody's business" and why does he suggest this?
Chapter 4 (Week 3 or 4):
| Martinez, Barbara (2000), "Now It's Mass Medicine," Wall Street Journal, August 21, B1 and B4. |
As a fellow "consumer," what do you think of this approach?
What are the benefits of this approach to medical service delivery to customers? to service providers?
As a marketer, what benefits would you suggest the firm communicate about this service?
| Graber, Kyp (1999), "He Has a Well-Oiled Business Plan," The Spokesman-Review, September 10, A1 and A12. |
For oil-change services, what is desired? What is adequate?
What would you think about a firm who could come to your home to change your oil?
What would you pay for "home delivery" of oil-change service?
Chapter 5 (Week 5):
| Brady, Diane (2000), "Why Service Stinks," Business Week, October 23, 118-128. |
What service providers are you aware of who treat different types of customers differently?
What does Brady mean by "the new consumer apartheid"?
Do you think it is appropriate to treat customers differently based on the customer's value to the firm? Why or why not?
| McLinden, Thomas (2002), "Gratify Customers by Tapping Their Emotions," Marketing News, Vol. 36, No. 22 (October 28), 44. |
How do emotions influence customer satisfaction?
Why are emotions particularly relevant for service experiences? Provide a personal example to illustrate your point.
Chapter 6 (Week 6):
| Associated Press (2004), "Microsoft Ramps Up Its Customer Service by Paying Attention," appearing in the Toledo Blade, July 9. |
In what way has Microsoft been listening to its customers?
What has changed at Microsoft as a result of listening to customers?
Chapter 7 (Week 8):
| Schrage, Michael (1992), "Fire Your Customers!" Wall Street Journal, March 16, A8. |
Schrage suggests that "the smartest thing most service-oriented companies could do...is layoff 10-15% of their customers." Do you agree or disagree? Defend your position.
Can you be truly customer-focused and yet lay some customers off?
Chapter 8 (Week 9):
| Hatfield, Beth (2001), "Northwest Airlines created honeymoon nightmare," The Columbus Dispatch, (February 10), A11. |
What could the firm have been done better to recover in this situation?
| Various advertisements about guaranteed satisfaction: (Hampton Inn, Federal Express, Speedy Muffler King, etc.) |
For each guarantee, is this a good guarantee? Why or why not?
| Richman, Tom, (1984), "Getting the Bugs Out," INC Magazine, June, 67-72. |
For discussion questions, see case discussion questions on Bugs Burger.
| Gremler, Dwayne D. and Michael A. McCollough (1997), "Service Guarantees in the Classroom: Should We Practice What We Preach?" Marketing Educator, 14 (4), 1, 4. |
Do you think it is appropriate to offer a service guarantee in a university course?
| Vogt, Andrea (1999), "These Profs Take a Page From Industry: Idaho Instructors Guarantee Business Class is Worth Taking," The Idaho Spokesman-Review, (March 27), A1, A11. |
Why would a professor want to offer a service guarantee in a university course?
Should such a guarantee be offered here at BGSU? Defend your response.
| Bly, Laura (2002), "Online Complaint about Bad Hotel Service Scores Bull's-eye," USA Today, (January 4), D6. |
What do you think the hotel should have done to prevent this horror story from occurring?
Chapter 9 (Week 10):
| "Diets to You Delivers to Homes," adapted from Lenore Skenazy (1998), Advertising Age, March 14. |
Be prepared to create a blueprint of this service.
Chapter 11 (Week 11):
| Green, Jeff (2000), "Ladies Night Out--At the Garage," Business Week, September 18, 16. |
How did this service provider modify the servicescape in order to provide value to its women customers?
In what other service settings might the service scale be altered to appeal to women customers? to male customers? to physically-challenged customers?
| Gibson, Richard (1999), "Burger King Seeks New Sizzle," Wall Street Journal, April 14, B1. |
What physical evidence strategies did Burger King employ in 1999? Do you think these strategies have been successful?
Chapter 12 (Week 12):
| Powell, Joanna (1997), "Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust," Good Housekeeping, 225 (October, No. 4), 155-158. |
What human resource strategies do you see being employed here? (Refer to those discussed in Chapter 11 for some ideas.)
Which strategies would work universally? Which would be rather limited in applicability?
How would you describe the Disney culture?
| Applegate, Jane (1996) "Mickey Mouse Operation is a Great School," The Spokesman-Review, December 9 (Reprinted from the Los Angeles Times). |
What can other companies learn from Disney in terms of leadership, people management, and service quality?
| Cho, Janet H. (2004) "Hotel Seminar Teaches Passion for Pampering," Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 1, C7. |
How would you describe the Ritz Carlton culture?
What does the Ritz-Carlton do to get employees to be passionate about providing good service?
| "Welcome to Nordstrom," from the Nordstrom Employee Handbook. |
Chapter 13 (Week 14):
| Sheth , Jagdish N. and Rajendra S. Sisodia (1999), "Outsourcing Comes Home" Wall Street Journal, (June 28), A26. |
What services do you currently "outsource"? What services are you most likely to outsource in the future?
What would influence your decision to have someone else provide:
child care?
house cleaning?
shopping?
lawn care?
pet care?
Chapter 14 (Week 15):
| Hagerty, James R. (1998), "Home Depot Tests Expanded Home Services," Wall Street Journal, (July 27), A4. |
What are some of the risks Home Depot faces in launching this program?
What are the benefits?
What is the most challenging issue?
| Sapsford, Jathon (2000), "Consumers Take Notice of Online Banks," Wall Street Journal, (November 28), C1, C19. |
What are the advantages to online banking for the bank? for customers?
What are the disadvantages of online banking for the bank? for customers?
| Associated Press (2004), "Three Oregon Hotels Allow Visitors to Set Own Rates," appearing in Marketing News, Vol. 38, No. 11 (June 15), H55. |
What are the advantages and disadvantages of having customers set their own rates?
As a service intermediary (e.g., travel agent) in this industry (travel/tourism), how would you combat this movement toward direct company interactions with customers?
Chapter 15 (Week 16):
| Gibson, Richard (1998), "Merchants Mull the Long and Short of Lines," Wall Street Journal, (September 3), B1. |
What impact can waiting in line have on customer behavior and satisfaction?
What are the benefits of the "serpentine" line? What are the drawbacks?
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