Physical Evidence - One of the 7Ps of Service Marketing

I was catching up with a friend over coffee yesterday afternoon and we were discussing about the 7Ps of service marketing.

He was asked to write a short working paper by his bosses and he was seeking some advice on the definition of physical evidence and it's role as one of the 7Ps.

Interestingly, we were having coffee at a cafe located in an upscale shopping mall along the Orchard Shopping belt which I happened to be having dinner at one of its many dining outlets about three weeks ago. At that time, I'd made 2 interesting observations while window-shopping in the mall.

The first observation came from this outlet specializing in premium chocolate. The outlet was beautifully designed and has a small area where customers could have their indulgence with their selection of fine chocolates. However, as you can see from the pic below, which was taken from the outside, there is a potential fire safety concern with the placement of the fire extinguisher.



Imagine if a fire were to really break out, how would the service staff be able to put his/her hands easily through the sharp glass edges and retrieve the fire extinguisher in time to put out the fire? From my view, the fire extinguisher would not be able to squeeze through easily in between the two glass displays and critical time would be lost probably in trying to hoist the extinguisher upwards. That's not factoring in seemingly not-so ergonomically layout and placement of the extinguisher which would most likely cause some physical discomfort to the staff for his/her efforts.

As a potential customer, I would be very concerned at the possible lack of safety planning and possible breach of fire safety regulations.

The second observation came from the same mall at another dining outlet. From the pic below, you might not be able to make out there is an exit to the right of the outlet signage. I certainly didn't until I was standing in line at the ATM machines located near to where the pic was taken and was surprised when a staff of the dining outlet came out from the exit and slammed the door on the lighting located just below the piping.



Imagine what will happen if patrons are asked to leave via this exit and unknowingly opened the door with such a strong force that when the door hits the lighting above, it unhinges and come down on unsuspecting patrons either standing outside or passing by? There should also be a sign warning of an out-swinging door placed prominently at strategic location(s).

In service marketing, the 3 additional Ps, People, Process and Physical Evidence are important in the marketing planning stage and while Physical Evidence in an implicit factor in service delivery, it is still an important aspect of marketing planning and it's impact must never be underestimated.

Heart Warming Commercial on Family Values

I am sure for all those in Singapore you might have the opportunity to catch the latest Family Commercial by The National Family Council.

Simply heartwarming. Just in case if you did not catch it and for international readers of the blog, happy viewing!

Service Recovery by a hotel along Orchard Road - Part 2

Following up from Part 1 of the earlier post, what are the possible areas in the particular service recovery that could have been managed better?

First and foremost. Spell Check! The spelling and grammatical errors were glaring, especially since it came from the hotel's General Manager. Representing senior management, this is certainly unexpected.

Secondly, the GM did not apologize for not having replied at the promised date and this was despite having being given almost more than a working week's time frame to conduct the necessary investigation and recovery.

Thirdly, explaining the unfortunate incident as being part of a normal occurrence in Singapore's temperate climate. Totally unacceptable. As a hospitality provider, cleanliness is a given standard service expectation and in cases such as this, in-depth operational and process investigation should be conducted and reviewed to ascertain if this was due to incomplete process mapping or insufficient human capital investment.

Next, the letter did not address the other service gaps identified and this could lead to a potentially incorrect perception that the rest of the concerns raised was 'simply brushed off'.

Last but not least, the extension of two complimentary buffet dinner, putting aside monetary value, could again give the impression of this incident being taken lightly by the hotel's management.

The hotel's DOSM took a good initiative to arrange for a face-to-face meeting, attempting to reduce potential negative build-up and I must congratulate her for being EQ astute. But this also inadvertently gives me the perception that the GM had not managed the whole recovery process well and that he is 'inexperienced' in managing service recoveries.

For those keen to pick up tips and best practices in writing and responding to customer's written feedback could attend a 1-day Executive Development Programme titled "Responding to Customers' Written Feedback with Empathy & Professionalism" by Ms. Gael Lee on 24 July and 15 October, organized by the Marketing Institute of Singapore.

For more details on the seminar outline and cost, do visit http://www.mis.edu.sg/edp/seminars/ under Service Excellence or contact Angelina: 6327 7586, Su: 6327 7588 and Vivian: 6327 7581 for more information and registration.

Service Recovery by a hotel along Orchard Road - Part 1

In the first part of this post, I will share a personal experience of an actual service recovery that was less than ideal in execution. In Part 2, I will identify the gaps in recovery and possible improvements for better customer experience.

I had the opportunity to take a short break over a weekend towards the end of May at a hotel property along Orchard Road. Upon checking-in to a Deluxe Room, several service delivery gaps were identified.

1. Shortage of a bottle of drinking water

2. Shower amenities were missing (i.e. shower gel, shampoo etc)

3. Sub-optimal TV remote

4. Unacceptable Baby Cot Standard (i.e. missing mattress & pillow)

5. Unsecured Glass Coffee Table Top

The best is yet to come. In the middle of the night, I discovered a cockroach while using the bathroom. As my family was still asleep and that I'd managed to 'tame' the insect, I'd decided not to make a fuss until later in the morning.

At about 9.30 am, I rang up the Front Office requesting for the Duty Manager's presence in the room. The DM promptly arrived and I'd showed him the 'tamed' insect. He was shocked and was extremely apologetic. I also took the opportunity to inform him on the unacceptable status of the baby cot. He asked if there was anything further that he could be of assistance and at that point in time, we simply asked for an extension of the check-out time since we wanted to take the opportunity for some family bonding.

He promptly agreed but did not leave his business card for us. As the room was booked under my wife's name and we decided to leave her business card for the DM's retention when we were on our way out for our breakfast.

At about just before noon, we received a complimentary fruit basket and a bottle of wine. While the fruit basket was a nice gesture, the bottle of wine was totally inappropriate. We were with our little one and with both of us being light drinkers, we certainly would not be able to enjoy the wine. As we also would not want to bring the bottle of wine back with us with our other belongings and stroller (we do not own a car), we returned the wine.

So the on-site recovery was that. We wrote to the management on the incident and the General Manager promised to reply at a certain date which he didn't. We had to write to him to follow-up and below is excerpts of his reply:

"We would like to apologise for the untoward incidents your experienced during your stay from xx to xx May 08.

We sincerely regret the unpleasant experienced you encountered. Rest assured that the service which you received was definitely not in line with our standards of service.

I have personally taken up the roach incident with all concerned and have immediately informed our Contractor, xxxxxx Pte Ltd to conduct a detailed investigation in Room xxxx. For your information, xxxxxx Pte Ltd is a highly reputable pest control in this industry and has been appointed by xxxxxxx Hotel to conduct a regular preventive treatment on a monthly scheduled on our guestrooms and hotel premises. An audit of the services provided showed no emissions or lapses in the preventive treatment. As you will surely agree despite all efforts to eradicate, these incidents do occur even in the best kept homes especially in tempered climates.

Please allow me to reassure you that this is an isolated incident.

As a gesture of goodwill due to the inconveniences you experienced, we would like to extend you a Buffet Dinner for Two persons at our Cafe."


We wrote back declining his kind offer and that the other service lapse were not addressed in his reply. The Room Sales Manager promptly follow-up and arranged for a meeting between the hotel's DOSM (Director of Sales & Marketing) and us to try and close the recovery.
I must say she handled the meeting very well, putting her more than a decade of hositality experience to good use. But again, the follow-up action is bad. It has been about a week and a half since the meeting and we did not receive any follow-up communication on the meeting and status update on the agreed recovery arrangements.