Services Relationship Marketing/Module 3

Week 3/Module 3
The topic of conversation this week is customer service. If you sat down and described customer service from memory and then from your reading you may find definitions vary between the two, and between you and your classmates. Customer service has many aspects, and one focus can be on the servicescape of the organization. Within your groups you may be evaluating this for your chosen organizations as you develop measurements.

Some of you may be familiar with Dick’s Last Resort (website provided in your reading list) while others may not. If you get stuck and are not familiar, you are welcome to search and see if there are videos of customer service at this location online to get a better sense of what the atmosphere is. Otherwise, the module this week is asking you to review the website to get a feel for what type of customer service you will receive at these locations and answer some questions regarding this example.

TOPIC
Customer Service and Service Culture

Weekly Objective
Discussion Question: How does this apply, what examples are students familiar with, are there areas they might be interested in.

Learning Goals: LO1 continued, LO2 (start)

Activity/Scaffolding
OER text: Chapter 5, Know your Audience msnbc.com example

Doubletree Service Culture/ Disney Resort Video

Activity/Deliverable
Discussion: Dick's Last Resort

Online Discussion Question: How does customer service at Dick's Last Resort apply in this situation and compare to what we have learned about customer service?

Students can also address their familiarity with this business, personal opinions, and whether they would enjoy this " service experience."

Onsite Discussion Component:

1) Servicescape discussion/activity

Students are asked to select a location (brick-and-mortar/online) and describe the servicescape. This should include specific expectations for what specific components should be addressed based on the lecture and examples provided in class.

2)Discussion regarding listening skills

Students are asked to discuss "listening skills" and what good listening skills are required for exceptional customer service. This can be a class activity where each individual needs to practice this skill by having pairs of two discuss something for two minutes each. The person not telling their story needs to practice listening skills and provide an overview of what they heard without talking (or providing feedback) while the other person is talking. After this exercise, students are asked to discuss how difficult it was to just listen, what helped them in the exercise, and what they need to practice more to improve their own listening skills.