Service Encounter and Critical Analysis using RATER Model: A Case Study of Qantas Airlines

Running Head: Bachelor of Hospitality Management
Bachelor of Hospitality Management
Service Marketing and Concepts

Bachelor of Hospitality Management P a g e | 1
Table of Content
Introduction to Report..................................................................................................................................... 2
Service Encounter............................................................................................................................................... 3
Critical analysis using RATER Model......................................................................................................... 4
R-Reliability...................................................................................................................................................... 5
A-Assurance...................................................................................................................................................... 5
T-Tangibility..................................................................................................................................................... 6
E-Empathy......................................................................................................................................................... 6
Responsiveness............................................................................................................................................... 7
Recommendation................................................................................................................................................ 7
Adhere to the RATER model......................................................................................................................8
Collecting Feedback....................................................................................................................................... 8
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................................. 9
References........................................................................................................................................................... 10

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Introduction to Report
Service encounter can be understood as transactional interactions during which one
person provides a service or good to another person. A service encounter is the most
vivid truth in the minds of consumer regarding his experience of the service which he
received (Dabholkar, 2015). A service encounter appears every time a consumer
interacts with a service provider or receives a service, there are three types of service
encounters a customer may face. Remote encounter is the type of service encounter
when the customer does not interact with the person, but receives service through a
machine or some internal application, here; the human contact in service delivery is
zero (Liu & Mattila, 2016). The second most common type of service encounter is Phone
encounter; herein the customer interacts with the organization through phone and
receives a service (Lee, Boon & McCarthy, 2016). The last and the frequently occurring
service encounter is face to face interaction, here the customer actually interact with a
human while receiving the service. Service encounter is the reflection of the delivery of
services by the organization (Stock, 2015).
The report here is a reflection, wherein I will recreate the scenario of a service
encounter I faced with the airline. On the basis of critical analysis of the service
encounter, relevant theories related to services such as RATER and SERVQAUL model
will be used to analyse the scenario. Toward the end, a set of recommendation will be
suggested to the service organization to push the envelope of services given to the
customers.

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Service Encounter
Service encounter as explained in the introduction section is transactional interaction a
person has with a business organization (Soderlund, 2017). The service encounter is
primarily of three types in nature; Remote encounter, Phone encounter and service
encounter. Few months back I faced a service encounter with an airline, and in my view
it was the most delighted service encounter I ever had with a service provider.
The service encounter I had was with one of the leading airline of the world and the
largest airline of Australia, Qantas Airlines. I still remember it was the fall of summers
and I was travelling with my ailing mother from Delhi to Sydney. It was that one day,
when Delhi was jammed with traffic; I was of the opinion that I would miss my airline. I
was worried, not because I would incur loss; my worry was related to my mother,
whom I was taking to Australia to get her treatment for Breast cancer.
It was almost 2 hours for the flight to depart, I decided to call the customer service team
of Qantas Airline, and this was my first service encounter with the Airline. The best
thing was that I did not have to wait as I had all the information on the PNR and flight
detail, so within fraction of seconds I was diverted to the customer success agent. I
informed the customer service agent that I am stuck in traffic, and however I would try
reaching in time, but please not to take off the flight as I am travelling with a terminally
ill patient. The customer success agent was filled will full of empathy and concern
towards my mother and ensured me that the airline will try to hold the aircraft for as
long as they could. Meanwhile he took my number so that he can ask about my
whereabouts. The customer success agent called me 3 times in duration of an hour, to
ask if I am inching closer to the aircraft or not. By the grace of God, I reached the Airport
60 minutes before the departure of the flight.
As soon as I reached the Kiosk of Qantas Airline, I was pleased to see some 2-3 service
executives were waiting for my mother and me with a wheelchair and water to quench
out thirst. This was the second encounter I had with Qantas Airline, and I was thrilled
with the welcome and empathy received at the Airport. Our Check in, security check,
Baggage and other formalities were done hassle free and we were consistently asked if