Service Failure Experience and Strategies of Service Recovery

This article discusses a service failure experience encountered during travel and proposes service recovery strategies. It also provides recommendations to maintain customer loyalty.

Service Failure Experience 1
Service failure experience and strategies of service recovery
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Service Failure Experience 2
Introduction.
There are situations whereby what one does not get the services expected especially in
cases of businesses where services and products enquired are not received, or they are done
poorly or in some cases, goods are delayed. This is what service failure entails. Customer
satisfaction can be determined in two ways; through subjective and objective factors.
Subjective element is concerned with customer needs and emotions while objective factors
are features of the product and services. Psychologists use various theories to portray the
effect of expectancy and satisfaction. Some of these them are the contrast and assimilation
theories. The following is a service failure scenario I encountered, analysis of its causes and a
proposal on similar service recovery program and strategies as well as a recommendation
towards the same.
Analysis
Recently I traveled to attend a conference in Dubai. I booked a flight and a hotel too
for my accommodation. I chose to book the flight online because it is more convenient and
less economical compared to travelling to the booking office. In most cases, customers do
online research on travel agencies’ website before choosing a certain flight agency (Singh
and Goyal 2014, p.700). I did extensive online research finally got a travel agency of my
choice. It offered the most satisfying services, and hence I booked a flight. I also did the same
when booking for the hotel.
When I left to the airport to take a flight, all was well though the flight delayed with
one hour. We did not get updates on that, so we kept on waiting until there were commotions
caused by travelers who were angered. Later they made us aware of the delay and argued that
there was a technical issue. They provided us with an option to board another plane. In this
plane, cabin washrooms were untidy which very unhygienic. I had high expectations of the

Service Failure Experience 3
food quality to be offered especially due to the high flight charges. Additionally, changing the
flight made me get a different seat which was opposite to my expectations about Plane seats.
In my case, my position was uncomfortable, but the situation was better than a canceled
flight. Lack of comfort and contentment in customers might kill their loyalty to a particular
service agency (De Giovanni and Zaccour 2016, p.602). Services on the plane were not
pleasing. Some of the orders I made, like my favorite Fanta soft drink, was not available. We
arrived safely although it was an hour and thirty minutes late. The cabin crew was apologetic
about the situation of which the passengers understood.
Upon arrival, I took a cab to the hotel where I intended to spend my time regarding
accommodation for the one week I would be in Dubai. The staff and room qualities, security,
safety, location, comfort, and cost are essential in determining customer's satisfaction (Pizam
and Ellis 2016, p.34). I checked in at the hotel, and I must say that the security of the hotel
seemed so tight and I felt secure. The receptionist seemed a bit distracted, unease and looked
tired. She was emotional and replied rudely not informing me of the necessity of the hotel
rooms and directions. According to the information I had about the hotel, I expected the
receptionist to be more welcoming, friendly but the one I encountered was a bit cold and rude
too. Rules and regulations were a bit reasonable, though my showers were not working and it
took a while for them to repair them, so they gave me a free room. They apologized for those
inconveniences.
From the above traveling service failure scenario, the assimilation theory which
makes a comparison between service performance received and expectations can be applied
(Pritchard and Howard 2015, p.123). In this case, I tried to reduce tension from the services I
received from the failure of flight departure and the services offered by acknowledging the
fact that at long last making it to Dubai was a success. The travel agency offered an
alternative by getting another flight and sent apologies which neutralized the situation.

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The contrast theory can also be applied in this service failure experience. It states that
the tendency to magnify a discrepancy between one's attitudes and the attitudes represented
by opinion statements might lead to a contradictory effect (Kiseleva and Kankhva 2016,
p.101). This contrast is evident at the hotel whereby the services I got from the hotel were
different compared to what I expected and the information from the customer care desk
before booking. Slow attendance to the clients and unwelcoming receptionists contradicts
with my expectations.
Service Recovery Strategies.
Service recovery entails all actions that are designed solve the issues and complaints
of the client to get rid of the negative attitude and dissatisfaction of clients or consumers and
retain them (Pizam & Shapoval 2016, p 20). In my case, the following strategies can aid in
ensuring service recovery
Anticipating Customer Needs
Customer needs should be central in service delivery organizations. Any agency
offering services should understand what their customer expect from them and prepare
adequately to offer those expectations (Ozuem and Lancaster 2014, p.146. For an agency to
be successful regarding the achievement of the clients' expectations, it should ensure all its
personnel are qualified for their respective positions. For instance, during my flight, the
traveling agency should have ensured that communications about failure and delay of the
departure were made early in advance.
Acknowledging a Client's Feelings
This is an essential strategy in service recovery. It is necessary to recognize what a
client is feeling about a service offered. During this moment, one should not argue but
explain the situation accordingly by acting upon the complaints made (Kandampully and

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Bilgihan 2015, p.380). Although most of us were angry about the delay, the responsible crew
took responsibility to explain the situation calmly and offered us an alternative rather than
justifying their failures. Also, at the hotel, they told me that all faults will be looked into and
will be responded. They took responsibility for failures in the room and offered me another
more comfortable room.
Apologizing For Any Discrepancies
Apologizing and taking the responsibility of any negativity observed by a client is a
critical thing in the recovery process (Kim and Knutson 2015, p.180). Being sorry plays a
vital role in diffusing anger to a client. Being apologetic helps in bridging the gap between
negativity and positivity. Always being apologetic will not mean that one is wrong but a good
way of trying to solve the issues in a calm way and humbleness (Paparoidamis and
Chumpitaz 2015, p.422). In both situations, apologies were offered due to the inconveniences
which helped in easing the conditions and brought about understanding.
Giving Alternatives
Offering alternatives to clients if possible helps the dissatisfied customers to gain a
sense of self-control. This offer is essential especially when a service failed, and you need to
offer another chance to the client (Tussyadiah 2016, p.80). It explains why, instead of telling
clients that what they are asking is impossible, one should focus on offering an option in
favor of a client. As in the case with the flight, they traveling agency arranged to get us
another airplane rather than canceling the flight. At the hotel, I was also offered an
alternative room neat and pleasing.
Making Amendments
This is another way of service recover where those responsible try to making
something wrong right. Amends can be done by making an honest and sincere apology to the

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complaints, one may be sent a follow-up letter or even offer a token of appreciation or sent a
gift to the complaint (Nikbin and Ismail 2015, p.253). In my case at the hotel, they offered
me free transport whenever I could leave the room.
Recommendations to Maintain Customer Loyalty
To achieve this customer loyalty, a company offering any services should:
i. Always examine the customer experience and identify what they expect from them
ii. Identify critical issues and needs at all levels and come up with ways which can be
followed to achieve them (Lemon and Verhoef 2016, p. 39).
iii. Educate the stuff about client’s expectations and make them aware that they should
understand a client’s needs when they are enquiring for services.
iv. Ensure that the stuff has high communication skills for dealing with customers who
were not satisfied (Naidoo and Topple 2016, p.50). Excellent communication skills
involve being apologetic and acknowledging the dissatisfied customer.
Conclusion.
From the above discussion, it is clear that after a customer complaint, one has an
excellent opportunity to make everything right or wrong. Breaking the chances of satisfactory
recovery or earning customers loyalty lies at the hands of the staff who are dealing with such
a client. All staff members should feel comfortable and confident when dealing with
customer's complaints. It is evident that customer recovery strategies play a significant role in
impacting customer satisfaction which later affects their loyalty to the company. Being
apologetic and at least compensating to the clients still works well and can ensure that the
loyalty of the customer to the company improves. Clients who receive poor services and are
apologized to sincerely remain more loyal than those who never experienced those failures.

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References.
De Giovanni, P. and Zaccour, G. (2016). Incentive strategies for an optimal recovery program
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