Service Failure Experience and Strategies of Service Recovery

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.