ESR in Service Delivery: Understanding the Effects of Enforcing Service Rules

This article discusses the impact of enforcing service rules (ESR) on customer satisfaction and brand image. It highlights the importance of effective communication and conflict management in service delivery. The article provides recommendations to Qantas, Australia on how to train cabin crew and customers to handle tense situations and resolve conflicts.

Running head: ESR IN SERVICE DELIVERY
ESR in service delivery
Name of the student:
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Slide 2: Findings of the chosen article
The article titled “When serving customers includes correcting them: Understanding
the ambivalent effects of enforcing service rules” throws light on the effect of ESR or
enforcement of service rules on customer satisfaction. The author opines that it is not just the
service provider who affects the quality of service delivered, the behavior and the attitude of
the customer is equally important (Habel, Alavi & Pick, 2017). The article further claims that
it is the duty of the service provider to ensure that rules and standards of that particular
organization are adhered to by the customer and any dysfunctional behavior on their part
would be penalized. Additionally, the article states that failure to enforce their service rules
and stringent policies on the customer would adversely impact the brand image of the
company itself (Oliver, 2014). Furthermore, other customers who have witnessed the
company enforce their policies on customers who showed inappropriate behavior reacted
with warmth and empathy towards the said company. This is because it is assumed that a
customer who is misbehaving or breaking the rules would have a negative impact on the
customers who abide by prescribed norms and regulations.
Slide 2: Recommendations to Qantas, Australia with regards to ESR
In airline companies like Qantas, service delivery is the combined effort of both the
service provider and the customer. While on board, customers often exhibit air rage or unruly
behavior which can cause disturbance to other passengers (Dahlberg, 2017). It is thus the
flight attendants’ responsibility to curb such behavior and try to minimize it. That is why it is
important to train the cabin crew in effective communication skills so that they can stay calm
during such tense situations and handle the passengers while not losing their temper.
Similarly, often passengers raise their voice against extreme restrictive measures which are a
part of flight regulations; in such situations, the flight attendants are expected to clearly

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explain to the passengers that these measures are for their own safety, while simultaneously
retaining their state of composure. Additionally, the customers can be trained in conflict
management (Goldsmid et al., 2016). In confined places like an airplane, conflicts may arise
between passengers or between the passenger and the cabin crew. Whatever the case may be,
the flight attendants would have to devise ways of resolving conflict without letting it
escalate beyond control.

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References:
Dahlberg, A. (2017). Air rage: The underestimated safety risk. Routledge.
Goldsmid, S., Fuller, G., Coghian, S., & Brown, R. (2016). Responding to unruly airline
passengers: The Australian context. Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice,
(510), 1.
Habel, J., Alavi, S., & Pick, D. (2017). When serving customers includes correcting them:
Understanding the ambivalent effects of enforcing service rules. International Journal
of Research in Marketing, 34(4), 919-941.
Oliver, R. L. (2014). Satisfaction: A Behavioral Perspective on the Consumer: A Behavioral
Perspective on the Consumer. Routledge.