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Byline: Estela Fernandez Sabiote (1), Sergio Roman (1) Keywords: Services marketing; Social regard; Customer--organization relationship; Length of relationship; Satisfaction; Trust; Word of mouth Abstract: Purpose The authors examine the influence of employees' social regard toward the customers on customer satisfaction, trust, and word of mouth. In addition, we analyzed the moderating role of length of relationship between the service provider and the customer on the effects of social regard on the customer relationship outcomes. Design/Methodology/Approach Hypotheses were tested with customers of two service industries: financial services and hair salon services. Data were gathered through telephone and personal interview surveys. Findings Findings reveal that social regard had a positive influence on customer satisfaction, trust, and positive word of mouth. Also, length of relationship seems to moderate the effect of social regard on customer satisfaction and trust, but not on word of mouth. Implications The key influence of employees' social regard reveals that it can become a tool for the management of customer satisfaction, trust, and word of mouth. Aspects of staff training should be affected by these findings. Originality/Value Despite the importance that researchers and practitioners have assigned to the influence of employees' behaviors on relational variables at the company level, employees' social regard toward the customers not only remains unexplored but also has been confounded with other social variables. This research not only proves its effects on relational variables (satisfaction, trust, and word of mouth) but also shows the moderating role of length of relationship. Author Affiliation: (1) Marketing Department, Facultad de Economia y Empresa, University of Murcia, 30.100 Espinardo, Murcia, Spain Article History: Registration Date: 02/06/2009 Online Date: 20/06/2009 Article note: Received and reviewed by former editor, George Neuman.

Research suggests that the greater service failure severity the greater the recovery performance necessary to convert the customers' dissatisfaction into satisfaction and the more difficult it should be for the service provider to achieve full recovery (Magnini, Ford, Markowski, and Honeycutt 2007; Mattila 1999; McCollough, Berry, and Yadav 2000; Smith and Bolton 1998; Sundaram, Jurowski, and Webster 1997; Weim, Beatty, and Jones 2004). This research investigates the recovery paradox, the proposition that superior recovery can leave the customer as satisfied, if not more satisfied, than if nothing had gone wrong (McCollough and Bharadwaj 1992) by examining the impact of service failure severity and the recovery performance on post-recovery satisfaction. This research answers the call for future research investigating service failure severity (Matos, Henrique, and Rossi (2007) extending previous research on post-recovery satisfaction and the recovery paradox. Findings show that for a recovery paradox to emerge the service failure severity must be very modest and the recovery effort superior. Indeed, the relative low level of harm caused by the failure and the relatively high recovery performance necessary is surprising and indicates that the recovery paradox may be a rather limited phenomenon., INTRODUCTION Services fail, and fail often (Fisk, Brown and Bitner 1993). Indeed, due to the unique nature of services, failure is both more common than goods failure and inevitable (Chung [...]

The paper aimed at examining the extent to which a local bank in Vietnam was practicing service quality based on the assessment of service quality gap perceived by the bank customers. More specifically, the research attempted to answer the questions: 'Is there a gap between customer's expectation and customer's perception towards the service quality which the bank is offering?', and 'Is there an association between age/ gender of customers and the frequency of their bank visits?' The findings, through empirical research, revealed that the majority of respondents were quite satisfied with what they perceived from the bank though the gaps between customers' expectations and customers' perceptions towards the service quality which the bank was offering did exist. It also found out that there was an association between gender and frequency level of bank visits of respondents while there was no association between frequency levels of respondents' bank visits across five age groups. In addition, the research produced some other findings giving the bank a deeper insight into their customers with respect to age and gender criteria. The research results suggested that the most frequent bank customers were the second youngest group (24-35) and middle-aged people (36-49). In terms of gender, female respondents (61.2%) accounted for the majority of the bank's customers compared to male ones (38.8%)., INTRODUCTION The global trends and challenges in services in today's business world showed that 'services companies are under a constant and dynamic change' while 'customers are becoming less loyal, more [...]

The examination of movie sequels as brand extensions of experiential goods, to develop an econometric model of consumer satisfaction based on the degree of assimilation with the parent movie, is presented.

Branding plays a special role for labor-intensive services as strong brands increase customers' trust. Orchestrating the clues, connecting emotionally to the customer, and internalizing the brand to support employee performance are emphasized to develop a strong service brand.

This market research focuses on customer satisfaction related to the influence of justice in a hotel setting. Videos of various problem situations and their resolutions formed the basis of the satisfaction ratings gathered. Results indicate a two-way interaction between type of compensation and adherence to policy. Customers were more satisfied with compensation, even tokens such as drink vouchers, than with favors provided by hotel staff.

By understanding the four basic approaches to customization, managers can tailor their products to meet their customers; unique needs at a low cost. Virtually all executives today recognize the need [...]

Rubbermaid Inc. is famous for its relentless innovation process to continuously develop hundreds of housewares that satisfy a variety of customers' needs and wants. It was adjudged by Fortune magazine as the most-admired company in the US in 1994, while returns on its average shareholder's equity has exceeded 20% since 1983. Rubbermaid's success is attributed to its aggressive product development strategy coupled with an obsession with customer satisfaction., Companies that innovate relentlessly and successfully are intriguing. How do they manage? Can other organizations develop the competencies and processes that foster obsession for customers and products? In this chapter [...]

Motorola Inc. instituted a total customer satisfaction (TCS) team competition in 1989 as part of its continuous improvement program. The idea for the competition was sparked by a visit of senior Motorola executives to Japan wherein they were introduced to the concept of TCS. TCS can be a goal of any team in a company even if they are far from the ultimate customers, as each team may consider the team in a subsequent process as an internal customer. The process of establishing the TCS competition and the criteria for judging TCS teams are presented., In its quest for quality, Motorola has encouraged employees to cooperate and share ideas for improvement as part of formal yet voluntary teams. But the company has found that some [...]

Total quality management calls for the establishment of a complete complaint management programme. This expresses the need for a customer service program which shall handle individual complaints and aggregate complaint analysis. The latter entails thoughtful planning and decision making to ensure that the results are accurate and actionable. The move should be the management's tool for reducing the number of complaints and, consequently, effectively ensure consumer satisfaction. A method on how to properly analyze and manage aggregate complaints is discussed., Analysing aggregate complaints is a critical part of a complete complaint management programme The inability of firms to provide consumers with acceptable products and services is expensive. The cost of [...]