SERVICE MARKETING

ASSIGNMENT 2
Service Encounters

Submitted by
Gayatri Gupta (141117)
Guru Chowdhary (141118)
Nikhat Raj (141130)
Smit Patel (141155)

Institute of Management, Nirma University

Date of Submission: 06-10-2015

Bad Experience
Company: IMAX theatres
Circumstance of encounter:
I was in Mumbai at the time of my summer internship and decided to go for a movie with my friends . I
was very excited to go for the movie because of 2 reasons. I had been anxiously waiting for the movie
Mad Max and also it would be my first time in an IMAX theatre. I had heard only good things from my
friends who had seen movies in IMAX so I was pretty excited to go myself and experience it.
I booked the night show of 8.30 PM and reached there with my friend. We took the seats at around 8.25
and waited for the movie to start. Within 5 minutes into the movie the audio stopped and the picture got
hanged. We were shocked. The staff working there went to inquire what had happened. Everybody started
talking in loud voices to show their annoyance. After a while, the people working there came and told us
it was a technical problem and the movie would resume soon enough. I was shocked. I had never
experienced such an experience in a movie theatre before but I decided to wait. After about 15-20mins,
the manager came and told us that they could not resolve the issue right away. It was a technical error and
out of their hands. He told us that he would refund the ticket and that we could book the movie for
tomorrow night. Many people started shouting at this. My whole evening had been spoilt. Moreover, the
manager and the staff were least courteous and apologetic to us and still maintained that it was not their
fault. They just refunded us our tickets and told us to come tomorrow.
Such behavior on their part was unacceptable and it ruined my whole evening. I dont think many people
would have gone back the next day. I certainly didnt.
As a customer:
As a customer I was thoroughly disappointed with the service which includes the movie that was
supposed to be shown and also the behavior of the staff and manager as they were the least apologetic to
us and took no responsibility. On a zone of tolerance:
Adequate Expectation: my adequate expectation was to see the movie. This was my least expectation as
I was eager to see the movie first.
Predicted Expectation: To have a good experience in the theatre. This was something I had predicted
before going to IMAX that I will have a good experience overall.
Desired Expectation: this expectation would have been met if the staff was courteous and would provide
personalized service to us. Also watching the movie experience in an IMAX theatre compared to rest
other movie theatres would be much better.
As a service marketer:
A service marketer should have tried to give a good experience to his customers. As movie theatres are a
pure service experience, customers should fel welcome and good about coming to the theatre. They
should feel happy with the whole experience. Even when faced with the technical glitch, the manager

should have apologized properly and given them some concession to see the movie next time or else
given them free snacks. People had come to watch the night show to enjoy and get a good experience and
the marketer should not have made them leave feeling unsatisfied and annoyed.
Questions
Q1.What was your expectations from this encounter?
My prior expectation before going to the movie theatre was to watch the movie and have a good
experience overall. After taking feedback from my friends I had expected that I would be satisfied and
would enjoy the movie. But when the technical glitch happened, I had at least expected the manager to be
courteous about the whole thing and at least be apologetic. He should not have made us feel unwelcome. I
have never had such a bad experience in a theatre before. Even a proper explanation from the staff would
have quelled some of our annoyance.
Q2. Exactly, what did happen? What did the firm/employee say or do?
After the movie stopped, many people expressed their annoyance. The staff standing there told us to wait
as they would go and inquire what had happened. After about 15 minutes the manager came said that
there was some technical error which they could not resolve right away. He said it was not their fault as it
was a technical error. Then he said that our money would be refunded back to us and the movie would be
showing tomorrow and asked us to come then. He never apologized and took no blame at all.
Q3. How would you rate your level of satisfaction with this encounter (on a scale of 1 to 7)?
I would rate my experience as 1 on a scale of 1 to 7.
Q4. What makes you give this rating?
I would give a rating of 1 because I was very dissatisfied with the service. I could neither enjoy the move
and my first experience at INOX also was very bad. The distasteful manner of the staff also put me off.
Q5.What could the employee/firm have done, with respect to your expectations, to make you happier
with the encounter?
Even when facing a technical glitch of any sort, a proper explanation should have been given to us. A
courteous reply should have been given. We had come for a good experience and we had to go with a bad
one. They should have made sure that we were ready to come back to the theatre even after the problem.
They should have given us some concession on either the tickets or the snacks which would make us feel
that they really wanted us to come back the next time and not what happened in this case where the staff
behaved as if they had better things to do.
Q6. How likely is it that you will go back to this service firm (on a scale of 1 to 7)?
After the experience I had and the treatment I received, I most likely would not want to go back to the
same theatre. On a scale of 1 to 7 I would choose 1 or 2.

Good Experience
Company: UBER
Place: Nirma University
Circumstance of encounter:

I had to reach home urgently as my

grandmother had met with an accident and was waiting for an auto rickshaw
outside Nirma. Just then I say a few UBER cabs parked near the gate of Nirma
University. I decided to go by cab as I would reach my place early.

Questions
1. What were your expectations from this encounter?
Adequate Expectation: My adequate expectation was to get a cab as early as
possible.
Predicted Expectation: From my past experience I had predicted the mobile
application to connect me to the nearest UBER cab in the earliest time possible.
UBER charges the least among all the cab providers currently.
Desired Expectation: Get a cab early than was expected to arrive and reach the
destination before time. Low priced ride. Co-operation by the driver in terms of
providing the in-car facilities
2. Exactly, what did happen? What did the firm/employee say or do?
My grandmother had met with an accident so had to reach home as soon as
possible. I spotted the UBER cabs from the opposite of the road when I was
waiting for a direct auto to gandhinagar. Called the cab using UBER app which
was very convenient to use and took me less than a minute. An auto rickshaw
would take 30 minutes to reach gandhinagar while the cab driver sped up on my
demand to reach my place in 15 minutes.
3. How would you rate your level of satisfaction with this encounter (on a
scale of 1 to 7)?
Rate - 7
4. What makes you give this rating?
I was highly satisfied with the service. The driver understood the urgency of the
situation and dropped me at my destination before the time I had expected to
reach. It was relatively cheaper than an auto which would cost around Rs.180 in
contrast to Rs.149 that I had spend for the cab ride. The app was very
responsive which searched for the nearest cab available and this process took
less than a minute.

5. What could the employee/firm have done, with respect to your

expectations, to make you happier with the encounter?
UBER should have informed the cab drivers that are destined to park outside
college to be at a place which is directly visible to the customers.
6. How likely is it that you will go back to this service firm (on a scale of 1 to 7)?
Rate - 7