HRT 4760 Attitude and Elements of Service

This is one of a package of 15 different assignments that comprise the Elements of Service, which you will study this term. For this assignment, you will observe elements of service in almost any particular service establishment. A few examples of service establishments would include, but not be limited to these:

Hotel, resort, private club, restaurant, airline, cruise line, grocery store, doctor’s office, coffee house, and scores of others. Your answers to this assignment will all focus on the particular service element that appears in the above template title (Attitude – Tone of Voice), which also corresponds to those listed in your textbook and Power Point slides.

Here is a list of the 15 Service Elements that I am asking for you to observe and, by answering a set of questions provided in each assignment, critically analyse. While the question templates all ask for you to answer the same questions, each assignment’s set of questions focuses on a different Service Element (15 in all):

01 Timeliness

02 Incremental Flow

03 Anticipation

04 Communication

05 Customer Feedback

06 Accommodation

07 Supervision and Organisation

08 Body Language

09 Attitude: Tone of Voice

10 Tact

11 Attentiveness

12 Naming Names

13 Guidance

14 Selling Skills

15 Gracious Problem Solving

Here are a few tips for successfully completing the assignment:

• The most frequently asked question by students: “The templates all look the same. Won’t I just be writing a lot of repetitive answers?” Answer: The answer is, “No.” While there will be some repetition, each assignment has a separate title.

Your answers to the particular assignment will all focus on the particular service element that appears in the template title, which corresponds to your textbook and your Power Point slides. For example, your first assignment is about Timeliness (and only about timeliness).

Your second assignment is about Incremental Flow (and only about incremental flow). Your third assignment is about Anticipation (and only about anticipation).

• To prepare for this assignment: Read the text, review the Chapter Power Point Slides, and view the streaming chapter lecture.
• Enter your name in the block provided above.
• This is an individual and not a group-project-oriented class. To receive credit, each of you needs to do your own individual write-up for each assignment, make your own individual submittal, and learn and experience the 15 elements of service.
• Because many of the questions in this assignment build, use and refer to the same establishment throughout the assignment. So, if you are using Starbuck’s for this assignment, use this Starbuck’s for each of the questions in this assignment. (The examples in this assignment use different establishments to give you a variety of perspectives, but you should use the same establishment.)
• For subsequent assignments, you may change establishments or you may continue referring to the same establishment throughout all of these Service Element assignments.

Whichever works better for you is okay. If you plan to use this course to give yourself practice for applying this package of Service Elements to one organisation (perhaps where you work), then I strongly suggest that you use the same organisation for all of your Service Element assignments. The consistency of using one organisation will aid you in learning and application.

• When making observations, realise that you can get a far better and more accurate understanding of your subject organisation by visiting and observing multiple times before reporting your observations. Visiting and observing at different times and days helps to provide a clearer picture of how the establishment performs overall.
• This assignment, like everything that you do for this course, has a set deadline (both time and date). The deadline is listed in the syllabus. While you can turn in any assignment early or on time, you cannot turn in anything late. No credit will be given for assignments turned in late.
• Make this and all assignment submittals through Blackboard. Do not submit any assignment by email attachment, as it will not receive credit.
• If you are unsure how to submit an assignment correctly using Blackboard, refer to and follow the directions provided in the syllabus.
• Begin your answer immediately after each question. Don’t worry about skipping lines or other formatting.
• Answer each question completely. Don’t worry about the length of your answer as long as you answer completely. Use correct sentence structure (complete sentences) and not word blurbs (bullets).

Your 11 Questions Begin Here (remember to answer these 11 questions focusing on the particular service element that appears in the template title):

1. Category. If you were looking up this service establishment on Google, what words would you use in your search? (Examples: Restaurant, Grocery Store, Private Club, Hotel, Dry Cleaners, Doctor’s Office, etc.)

Category. Begin Your Answer Here:

1. Name of service establishment.

Examples: Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Shop, Hilton Waterfront, Sawgrass Country Club, CVS Pharmacy, Trader Joes, The Fairmont Hotel, Watson Real Estate, Smith & Wollensky Steakhouse, Lowe’s Home Improvement, Target, Starbuck’s, Delta Airlines Reservations, Dr. Larry Porter’s Dental Office, etc. As is evident from the examples, almost any type of service establishment can be observed using this system.

Name. Begin Your Answer Here:

III. Location.

Examples: Rancho Cucamonga, Chicago, Claremont, West L.A., Malibu, Charlotte, etc. I don’t need the street address or phone.

Location. Begin Your Answer Here:

1. Describe the situation in which you observed this element of service. Examples: While I was at the front desk checking in, while I was waiting to see the doctor, while I was waiting for the check to be closed at the restaurant, when I couldn’t find the aisle for coffee, etc. Notice that some examples take less description than others. Provide enough description so that a reader will be able to envision what it was that you were doing (the contextual situation) when you made the observation.

Situation. Begin Your Answer Here (Three or four sentences):

1. Definition. Assume that no definition exists for this service element. Based on the category, name, location, situation, your expectations, and other experiences, how would you define this element of service in your own words (do not use wording from any of the examples or slides)? If a definition of this element does exist at this location (and this will not be the case often), then write how the establishment could effectively define this element.

Example definition: The time that it takes the product or service to get to each customer.

Definition. Begin Your Answer Here (Two or three sentences):

1. Benchmark (what?). Benchmarks are also sometimes referred to as service standards – our aimand idealway of performing this service. Referring back to your definition (so stay within this context), past experience, and reasonable expectations what is it that this establishment should ideally do to perform this element correctly? Think for a moment.

If you were in charge of the employee training at this organisation, what is it that your employees should, ideally, always do in performing this service standard element of service correctly? The best benchmarks provide objective measures (counts and times), to help ensure that all staff members better understand the level of service desired by the establishment.

A count might be how many times something will occur. A time might be how long a particular service element may take or at what point in service contact an item should occur.

Example benchmark: The seater greets and makes first contact with arriving guests within 30 seconds. (Notice that the Benchmark relates back to the Definition.)

Benchmark. Begin Your Answer Here (Two or three sentences):

VII. Actual (how?). Overall, and not using any specific example, during your time there, how was this particular service element actually performed (in summary form)? What did you observe?

Provide an answer that describes both how the service element was performed (overall) and whether or not it met your expectations (based on your definition and benchmark above). Be sure to tie it contextually to your definition and benchmark.

Example actual: Usually customers were greeted within the 30-second benchmark. When Frosty’s Ale House was particularly busy, customers had to wait for a greeting for as long as 2-3 minutes. This occurred primarily because the seater also has responsibility for bussing and table set up. (Notice that the Actual relates back to the Benchmark.)

Actual. Begin Your Answer Here (Three or four sentences):

VIII. Strength(s). Despite whether you were left (overall) with a positive or negative impression of this service establishment, think about one or two particular incidents during your time there that were enjoyable relative to the benchmark of this service element and describe it (them) in detail.

Be sure to include details such as date, time, service person’s name, and details. In formulating your answer, imagine yourself as a secret shopper. The idea is for you to capture enough detail, so that if you were reporting details to a manager, he or she could go back to that person and thank them for their effort.

Example strength: On July 23, at approximately 8:30 PM, I arrived at the establishment. Macy, the seater, not only greeted me immediately upon arrival, she also opened the door and warmly welcomed me into the restaurant with a smile.

Strength. Begin Your Answer Here (Three or four sentences):

1. Weakness(es). Despite whether you were left (overall) with a positive or negative impression of this service establishment, think about one or two particular incidents during your time there that were under-performed relative to the benchmark of this service element and describe them in detail.

Be sure to include details such as date, time, service person’s name, and details. In formulating your answer, imagine yourself as a secret shopper. The idea is for you to capture enough detail, so that if you were reporting details to a manager, he or she could go back to that person and counsel him or her on what was observed compared to what was expected.

When counselled properly, these service failures can become learning opportunities for improvement in service and growth opportunities for the service providers.

Even if you are observing at a Four Seasons Resort, there is always room for incremental improvement in service. If you write that there were no weaknesses, then that means that you weren’t observing closely enough and you will lose points.

Example weakness: On February 22, at approximately 11:45 AM, I arrived and there was no one at the host/check-in station. I waited for 3 minutes and 45 seconds before Willard came back to get menus and seat me. There was no welcome – just a “sorry for the delay, we have to bus and re-set tables now, as well as seat. I don’t know how they expect us to do all of this.”

Weakness. Begin Your Answer Here (Three or four sentences):

1. Armchair. Now that you have experienced the actual encounter (refer back to your summary in VII), revisit your benchmark. If you were in charge of the employee training at this organisation, what details would add to your benchmark to help make service even better and more consistent? Think for a moment.

Even if service in this element met your benchmark and expectations, what details would you modify in terms of expected times and or counts that would help ensure an even higher level of service? Refine and improve the details of your benchmark in this question. This is good practice for you for the future. Discuss.

Armchair. Begin Your Answer Here (One or two paragraphs):

1. Effect. As a result of your experience with this element, are you pleased, okay, unhappy, or somewhere in between? What is the likely effect this element of service will have on you returning to this establishment and or what you will tell others about your experience? Discuss.

Effect. Begin Your Answer Here (One or two paragraphs):

Now, look back over your answers and ensure that you have provided thoughtful, insightful, and detailed observations. Run spell and grammar check, do an additional save, make sure that you are happy with the document and ready to upload the entire completed assignment template (including the front-end instructions and tips), and then upload.

Now you can relax a bit. Learning how to do this type of observation and detailed analysis will help make you a more perceptive, effective, and successful leader.

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