Service Improvement Plan

For Everyman Cinema (Baker Street) Service Marketing BMKT610

Zhaneta Shtereva ID: 12437762 Seminar tutor: Dr. Annie Chen

Word Count: 1983

Contents
Contents..........................................................................................2 Executive Summary............................................................................3 Service Quality Defined......................................................................4 The Service Gap Model.......................................................................5 Solutions Proposed.............................................................................6 Promotional Channels.........................................................................8 Budgeting...........................................................................................9 Conclusion..........................................................................................9 References........................................................................................10 ............................................................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................................................... ...............................................................................................................................................

Executive Summary
Service quality can only be defined by the consumer. Even though it is subjective, it is crucial for organizations to keep the quality of their service up to standards. Only firms that realize the importance of constant improvement and innovation of services would reap substantial benefits. The ability to identify service quality gaps and potential pitfalls is a powerful tool that combined with a service improvement plan is a guarantee for successful service innovation. This paper provides detailed Improvement Plan for Everyman Cinema (Baker Street). It reviews the limitations identified through different methods of research, supported by relevant theory and definitions. The report starts with a short introduction and background of the company followed by problem definition. The model of Service Gaps is introduced, followed by detailed analysis of the gaps identified between the services delivered and the customers expectations. This discussion is completed by providing in depth solutions to the problems described. Specific attention has been paid to the budget of the whole program and this has been illustrated in a table at the end of the report. In conclusion the contents have been summarized in short and specified conclusion, listing the importance of understanding and managing service quality.

Introduction
A variety of forces shape the entertainment services industry from fierce competition and globalization to the modularization of business processes and technology. Clients want entertainment companies to deliver costeffective services in smaller, fixed price contracts, but at the same time want to retain highly seasoned professionals equipped to address their most challenging industry-specific process needs.

Everyman Cinema is just another small company in the big Entertainment Industry Ocean. It was established in 1978 as a small chain of nine cinema sites in total around London. It was chosen for this project as it does not offer the typical cinema experience, but guarantees its customers rather exclusive services that could not be found in every cinema. The aim of the report is to provide an action plan that the management of the cinema could use to tackle service quality problems. But before this is done a definition of service quality would be provided.

Service Quality Defined

Service quality can be defined as the comparison of consumer expectations with actual performance. Lewis and Booms (1983) describe service quality as a measure of how well a delivered service meets the customers expectations. Keeping track on service quality is essential for every companys success. The main reason to focus on quality is to meet customer needs while remaining economically competitive in the same time. This is why satisfying customers, is crucial in order for enterprises such as Everyman Cinemas to survive. In order to accurately assess the quality of services offered at Everyman cinema (Baker Street), two types of research have been conducted. A primary research, using the mystery customers methodology and primary observation has been used together with a secondary research, conducted by collecting customer reviews from Internet websites such as View London, Yell etc. Using only secondary research would not have been sufficient enough as the information collected from the customer reviews was not complete. The reviews (a total of 15) score the cinema 4.5 out of 5.0 but they do not give much information about the areas where the
4

Management can improve. This is why a more sophisticated and trusted method was necessary. The mystery customer method was especially useful as it confirmed the findings of the secondary research but revealed more details around the areas of improvement identified. The research shows that Everyman Cinemas biggest issue is the lack of customers. Observations have showed that even on weekends the level of customers is very low. This suggests that the company is not using its potential and thus loosing on sales and opportunities to gain new customers. So the main objective of the improvement plan would be to increase the volume of customers by filling up the service gaps identified via research methods.

The Service Gap Model

The model developed by Parasuraman and Zeithaml in 1990 says that the expected service is influenced by the word-of-mouth, the personal needs, past experience and also by the external communication to customers. The same model also suggests that a perception gap can appear between the expected service and the perceived service. This gap is called the GAP 5 (also called the service quality gap), it occurs if the customer is not satisfied and depends on other four gaps described. A clear gap can be seen noticed between the experience specification and the delivery of the experience at the Everyman Cinema. This is identified as GAP 3 in the RATER model (Tangibles) McCabe, D et al. (2007) There are no disabled facilities on site provided. The exclusivity and high pricing of the services would suggest that these services would be made available to everyone who wants to use them. However the company does not offer any access to people with physical disabilities. This means that even though there are customers willing to pay and use the services, they wont because of this limitation, thus the cinema is losing potential customers instead of gaining more. Another limitation pointed out in the customer reviews is the limited choice of movies showed daily at the cinema. The type of projections showed at Everyman cinemas is limited to the classical movies. The audience has noticed that there is no mainstream movies showed at
5

present. The limited choice of movies limits the number of people who would visit the cinema. This is yet another reason why the volume of customers is not increasing. Consumers demand is different than what the cinema is offering, in order to attract customers the management would have to focus on what customers are looking for. This identifies another gap from the gap model: the marketing information gap. (Parasuraman, 1990) It appears because the service provider does not know what the customer expects. The third gap was detected via using the mystery customer method. (Cronin, 1992) By visiting the site it was possible to accurately evaluate the present level of customer services. It was reported to be disappointing, as there was no one to greet the customers in to the venue, on top of that there were no employees on the till. This made it complicated to purchase tickets. And as the customers were a first time visitors it was confusing and time consuming to go around the cinema and look for staff to assist them. This in the RATER model is described as a Service Performance Gap. The model suggests it occurs when there is lack of teamwork or poor employee job fit or lack of empowered service employees. Having the limitations identified leads to the next stage of the Improvement Plan- the setting of achievable goals in order to tackle the gaps described.

Solutions Proposed
Services are much harder to recover or improve, once a service is sold, it is gone, it cannot be taken back or changed. This is also known as perishability of services. (Harvey , 1998) Because of perishability, inventory is zero. In this sense demand forecasting becomes the core of successful services marketing. Along with demand forecasting, creative thinking and capacity utilization is necessary to take place at the cinema. Along with this, there is the need of a strong backup plan anytime supply doesnt meet customer demands. This is why the role of the Service Improvement plan is so important. The Improvement Plan developed in this report is designed to be used within the next financial quarter- April 2012- July 2012. It should not
6

be executed by the management team alone. Other participants essential for the success of the plan should be include. The use of an architect would be extremely important. The participation and collaboration of the employees would be vital for the successful implementation of the strategies. The first improvement to be introduced is the installment of disabled facilities on site. This strategy would attract more potential customers who didnt have the opportunity to visit the cinema till then. In order to complete this task the cinema would have to use the services of an architect who would design the facilities and monitor their installment. Then the Management team should decide on extending the choice of movies offered at the Everyman Cinema (Baker Street). Offering more choices to consumers would be a great idea. As Professor Sheena Iyengar discussed in her lecture for TED Global in 2010, having choice and making one is the only way of defining and asserting ones individuality. Giving people the ability to choose makes them feel in control and gives them the feeling of satisfaction. Thus offering new movies alongside the classical ones would bring a new wave of customers to the Everyman Cinema. By this way they would target completely new group of customers. This would be a good opportunity, especially with the Westminster University in such a close proximity to the cinema. Young students are rarely interested in classic black and white movies but if there was the choice of the latest movies, this would increase the chances of them visiting the Everyman (Baker Street). Last but not least the Improvement Strategy tackles the customer service issues spotted through the research. The lack of team work and competence of the employees can be easily battled by providing training programs for inexperienced staff: organizing team building events in order to develop the relationship between employees. Introducing incentives such as a bottle of wine or cash prize for reducing queues at busy times or for reducing the number of complaints would be an excellent way of motivating employees to work harder. A way of monitoring employees development would be the introduction of regular monthly staff meetings. By this way the management would be able to easily communicate the latest news and updates regarding the business as well as correct any further
7

gaps found. In order to successfully implement the Improvement Plan the management of Everyman Cinema (Baker Street) should take into account all the goals set but should focus on 2 main objectives which should be kept and prioritized in the long-term future as well. Know what the customers want. The first thing is to make sure they really know what their customers want. This sounds too basic to even talk about, but many organizations make assumptions about what their customers want without asking them. So using surveys and questionnaires would be of great help for the management to get to know the customers better and also get to know what customers like about the services offered and what they dont. Get everyone involved. Too often, management does not get enough people involved in finding solutions and addressing opportunities. They think they have (or are supposed to have) all the answers. Or they talk to employees but they never really involve them in any process of improvement. A new approach should be adopted at the Everyman Cinema. The management should try to get everyone involved with the activities planned. Often employees on the till or in the lounge of the cinema are the people who interact with customers the most. If customers are not satisfied with the service these employees would be the first to notice that. For the same reasons the employees may be the first to notice the need of improvement. This can be very useful as they can contribute with fresh ideas.

Promotional Channels
After completion of the plan it is suggested that the management uses some promotional channels in order to let the local audience know of the changes and improvements made. This should be done by advertising at the local shop windows and by handing out leaflets near the tube station or the Westminster University.
8

Budgeting
Item 1 2 3 4 5 Total: Name Disabled ramps Hiring architect Staff training Advertising on local shops Printing leaflets Cost per unit 2000 2500 200 250 0.50p Number 2 1 6 8 1000 Cost 4000 2500 1200 2000 500 10200 3 hours training course Additional Information

Conclusion
Driven by demanding clients, intense competition, globalization, emerging technologies, and modularization, Everyman Cinema (Bakers Street) is turning toward service delivery improvement as a way to deliver high-value services at competitive prices to their target customers. With service delivery innovation, Everyman would evaluate and offer profitable new services to existing clients. The Improvement plan developed would be a powerful tool in the hands of management if used carefully. The strategies suggested would aid the improvement of the service gaps analysed. By taking care of the issues described and by regularly monitoring the service quality provided, the company would ensure that it performs up to standards
9

and meets customers expectations. Understanding the importance of innovation and improvement is crucial for the survival of the Everyman Cinema. This would help them to identify ways to serve client segments more effectively and profitably, and recommend different pricing models or structures to attract new clients.

References
1. Cronin Jr., J.J. & Taylor S.A. (1992). Measuring service quality: A reexamination of extension. Journal of Marketing, 56, 55-68. 2. Deborah McCabe, Mark S. Rosenbaum, and Jennifer Yurchisin (2007), Perceived Service Quality and Shopping Motivations: A Dynamic Relationship, Services Marketing Quarterly, 29 (1), 121 3. Jean Harvey,1998, "Service quality: a tutorial", Journal of
10

Operations Management, No. 16, pp.583597 4. Lewis. R. C., & Booms, B. H. (1983). The Marketing Aspects of Service Quality. In Berry, L., Shostack, G., & Upah, G. (Eds.). Emerging Perspectives on Service Marketing. Chicago, IL: American Marketing, 99-107 5. Parasuraman, et al., 1990, cited in George R. Milne, Mark A. McDonald (ed.). Sport marketing: managing the exchange process, 1999, p.110-114 6. Seth, N., Deshmukh, S.G., & Vrat, P. (2005). Service quality models: a review. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 22(9), 913-949.

11