Report Alternative Solutions

Three alternative solutions are designed to solve the issues resulted in the lack of communication. The first option is to use sales promotion to manage service promises. This includes using short-incentives such as vouchers; coupons or discounts, which would help appease customers’ anger, retain current customers as well as a way of compensating customers. It is a short-term solution to solve problem and get instant feedback from customers.

The second option is to create tiered-value service offering such as free upgrading customers’ membership levels to manage customer expectations. This is also a short-term solution, which helps avoid a bad word-of-mouth as well as losing potential customers such as the friends of the customers.

The third option to provide a professional training for employees in terms of communication information, tools and skills to create effective vertical communication between employees in each single department and horizontal communications between operation and management department. It is a long-term solution to help improve a comprehensive service quality of the company as a whole.

Combined the short-term and long –term solutions mentioned above, we recommend 3 steps to improve service delivery regarding to inadequate communication.

Step1: According to Gronroos (2000), service promises is a form of service culture, which appreciate a good service. The promises cycle explains the process for managing service promises through meeting customers’ expectations, planning and designing appropriate service promises, keeping service promises rules in stage three to evaluate the accessibility of the service promises and make adjustment.

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Step2:  As Zeithaml (2006) states “customer expectations are a norm of service delivery”. By managing customer expectations, promise strategies such as honoring promises, under-promises and positioning customized promises can be used.

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