Deck 14: Consumption to Satisfaction

Question 1

Culture Creates Customer Dissatisfaction?
Written by Mohan Menon, University of South Alabama
It was close to lunch time in Singapore when a long-time customer, Mr. Joe Teng, walked into the offices of Global Voyages and began to raise his voice in anger. He was not in a joyful mood. When employees at the travel agency offered to help, he brushed them aside. He wanted to see the owner to demand his three airline tickets for a flight that night. Mr. Teng had planned to travel to Australia with his family to plan the wedding of his daughter in Sydney. His daughter, who completed her graduate program in environmental sciences at Macquarie University, is working in Sydney. She invited her parents to visit and help her with the wedding in a couple of months.
As Mr. Teng rushed past the row of employee desks, heading toward the back of the office, the owner, Mr. Tarun Yadav, walked out of his office to meet him. "I've been getting my tickets from you for the past four years, and now you make me lose face with my future son-in-law. If I can't leave tonight I would have to postpone the wedding." Mr. Yadav kept his cool in front of his employees and tried to calm the customer down, but in vain. Mr. Teng was in no mood to reason. He wanted his three tickets and nothing else mattered.
The genesis of this service encounter began a few years ago when the customer was referred to Global Voyages by one of Mr. Teng's business acquaintances, who was himself a customer of the travel agency. Global Voyages is a full-service travel agency that primarily serves the corporate market in Singapore and countries in the Asia-Pacific region including China and India. But through referrals Global Voyages developed a significant proportion of business in the retail sector over the years with little or no promotion.
Global Voyages' owner, Mr. Yadav, worked for Thomas Cook, a global full-service travel agency, before establishing his own business. He was with them for about ten years in their Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, office. He was involved with both corporate and retail clients during that time. At Thomas Cook, Mr. Yadav experienced the peril of retail travel business in the Asian markets and was deliberate in his attempt to target the corporate marketplace with Global Voyages. As with other businesses in the high-context Asian region, retail referrals are sustained if not sought after. Small- and medium-scale businesses welcome referrals, which provide higher marginal revenues with little effort.
Yet many small business owners, like Mr. Yadav, deal with referrals such as Mr. Teng's with trepidation. The reason is cultural, in that consumers develop the bonds of trust with business owners and thus expect to be served without regard for their own "deficient" payment habits. The situation with Mr. Teng's dealings with Global Voyages is illustrative of this phenomenon. Consumers expect prompt and high-quality personal service but seem reluctant to make timely payments. For various reasons, consumers expect unsecured credit for services. Seldom do they skip town without paying, but delayed payments affect a business's cash flow situation.
At the same time, in such high-context cultural societies, repeated pleas or threats for payment are frowned upon and most business owners, such as Mr. Yadav, feel uncomfortable doing so anyway. In the past, he tried having his employees do this "dirty" job with mixed success. Longtime customers sometimes feel slighted by the approach. Travel business is personal in the region, therefore a high level of satisfaction among customers is a prerequisite for building loyalty. Meeting or exceeding customer expectations is the name of the game.
The travel industry has been battered in recent years on several fronts. The economic downturn across the world, including in southeast Asia, a rise in aviation fuel prices, and competition among the major carriers and the low-cost airlines have had a profound negative effect on the travel business. Add to this the pricing pressure from airline websites, third-party consolidator sites, and meta-search sites such as Kayak.com, and it is easy to understand the scope of the problems that contribute to fullservice travel agencies being squeezed.
Since travel site switching costs are negligible, younger customers tend to price-shop online and thus are harder for full-service agents to attract. Older travelers, on the other hand, are generally in need of additional help with their travel arrangements and tend to value relationships they've cultivated through the years. They are not very price sensitive and thus patronizing businesses such as Global Voyages provides higher levels of service and satisfaction.
But given his earlier experiences with Thomas Cook, Mr. Yadav also feels that some consumers take advantage of this cultural peculiarity in Asia. Both his corporate accounts and retail clients are generally satisfied with his company, and 80% of them are repeat buyers. His own surveys and audits of travel-related blogs and forums confirm his belief that the company is doing well in the satisfaction ratings. He is fond of adding personal touches to his client interactions. For instance, he and his employees call clients once they reach their destinations to make sure they had pleasant trips and reassure them of help if they need it. At the same time, he uses these personal calls to subtly upsell local attractions or other arrangements they might need. Older clients appreciate this level of attention and often refer their friends and family to the business.
But he has had enough with a few consumers such as Mr. Teng. He feels that their service expectations about Global Voyages are high, yet their reimbursements for services rendered are protracted beyond reason. Customers' vision of what they want from businesses is sometimes colored by their unrealistic expectation of the level of service they feel they deserve within a cultural context. Mr. Teng is not likely to delay payments to service providers in Australia, a country he visits often. Other customers also tend to exhibit such behaviors to varying degrees, and Global Voyages has had to resort to intense coaxing to get paid. Legal maneuvers are rarely utilized, since they might backfire in the high-context culture of Singapore.
This time, he wants to take a stand, yet not in a manner his customers or employees might find hostile. He needs to set the right tone and be the role model that his employees have come to expect. Mr. Yadav also wants his employees to take a stand insimilar situations in the future.
What type of expectation does Mr. Joe Teng have about his ticketing situation?

Answer 1

Mr. TY worked for the full-service travel agency for more than ten years, and thought to deliberate his attempt in establishing his own travel agency. TY targeted Asian countries to establish his travel agency named GV. TY found it difficult to implement the activities, as Asian countries possess high-context cultures among the customers.
The travel agency GV faced a tough competition from various online service providers. Moreover, the switching cost for the customer was negligible. So, it was a bit difficult task for the travelling agency to attract customers towards the full-service agents.
Mr. TG wanted to leave to the country AUS to plan his daughter's wedding. TG wanted to book the tickets to reach AUS in time, or else he would lose face in front of his son-in-law. Mr TG took the help of the service provider GV, to which he was a customer for more than four years.
The service provider could not provide TG the services required. So, TG rushed into the office of the travel agency, and demanded to meet the owner TY. TY tried to keep himself cool in front of the employees, and attempted to calm down TG, but was in vain. TG was demanding for the tickets, and nothing else mattered.
Customers may expect a high level of satisfaction when dealing with travelling services. Meeting the needs of the customer is important to build relationships with the customers. Here, Mr. TG was expecting high quality service from the GV travelling agency. One of TG's expectations is as follows:
• Based on one of his business acquaintances, TG was expecting three tickets to leave to AUS, as he as to plan his daughter's wedding.
The expectations were not met by the travelling agency GV, as they could not provide the required services. This led to negative performance perception in the mind of the customer TG.

Question 2

Culture Creates Customer Dissatisfaction?
Written by Mohan Menon, University of South Alabama
It was close to lunch time in Singapore when a long-time customer, Mr. Joe Teng, walked into the offices of Global Voyages and began to raise his voice in anger. He was not in a joyful mood. When employees at the travel agency offered to help, he brushed them aside. He wanted to see the owner to demand his three airline tickets for a flight that night. Mr. Teng had planned to travel to Australia with his family to plan the wedding of his daughter in Sydney. His daughter, who completed her graduate program in environmental sciences at Macquarie University, is working in Sydney. She invited her parents to visit and help her with the wedding in a couple of months.
As Mr. Teng rushed past the row of employee desks, heading toward the back of the office, the owner, Mr. Tarun Yadav, walked out of his office to meet him. "I've been getting my tickets from you for the past four years, and now you make me lose face with my future son-in-law. If I can't leave tonight I would have to postpone the wedding." Mr. Yadav kept his cool in front of his employees and tried to calm the customer down, but in vain. Mr. Teng was in no mood to reason. He wanted his three tickets and nothing else mattered.
The genesis of this service encounter began a few years ago when the customer was referred to Global Voyages by one of Mr. Teng's business acquaintances, who was himself a customer of the travel agency. Global Voyages is a full-service travel agency that primarily serves the corporate market in Singapore and countries in the Asia-Pacific region including China and India. But through referrals Global Voyages developed a significant proportion of business in the retail sector over the years with little or no promotion.
Global Voyages' owner, Mr. Yadav, worked for Thomas Cook, a global full-service travel agency, before establishing his own business. He was with them for about ten years in their Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, office. He was involved with both corporate and retail clients during that time. At Thomas Cook, Mr. Yadav experienced the peril of retail travel business in the Asian markets and was deliberate in his attempt to target the corporate marketplace with Global Voyages. As with other businesses in the high-context Asian region, retail referrals are sustained if not sought after. Small- and medium-scale businesses welcome referrals, which provide higher marginal revenues with little effort.
Yet many small business owners, like Mr. Yadav, deal with referrals such as Mr. Teng's with trepidation. The reason is cultural, in that consumers develop the bonds of trust with business owners and thus expect to be served without regard for their own "deficient" payment habits. The situation with Mr. Teng's dealings with Global Voyages is illustrative of this phenomenon. Consumers expect prompt and high-quality personal service but seem reluctant to make timely payments. For various reasons, consumers expect unsecured credit for services. Seldom do they skip town without paying, but delayed payments affect a business's cash flow situation.
At the same time, in such high-context cultural societies, repeated pleas or threats for payment are frowned upon and most business owners, such as Mr. Yadav, feel uncomfortable doing so anyway. In the past, he tried having his employees do this "dirty" job with mixed success. Longtime customers sometimes feel slighted by the approach. Travel business is personal in the region, therefore a high level of satisfaction among customers is a prerequisite for building loyalty. Meeting or exceeding customer expectations is the name of the game.
The travel industry has been battered in recent years on several fronts. The economic downturn across the world, including in southeast Asia, a rise in aviation fuel prices, and competition among the major carriers and the low-cost airlines have had a profound negative effect on the travel business. Add to this the pricing pressure from airline websites, third-party consolidator sites, and meta-search sites such as Kayak.com, and it is easy to understand the scope of the problems that contribute to fullservice travel agencies being squeezed.
Since travel site switching costs are negligible, younger customers tend to price-shop online and thus are harder for full-service agents to attract. Older travelers, on the other hand, are generally in need of additional help with their travel arrangements and tend to value relationships they've cultivated through the years. They are not very price sensitive and thus patronizing businesses such as Global Voyages provides higher levels of service and satisfaction.
But given his earlier experiences with Thomas Cook, Mr. Yadav also feels that some consumers take advantage of this cultural peculiarity in Asia. Both his corporate accounts and retail clients are generally satisfied with his company, and 80% of them are repeat buyers. His own surveys and audits of travel-related blogs and forums confirm his belief that the company is doing well in the satisfaction ratings. He is fond of adding personal touches to his client interactions. For instance, he and his employees call clients once they reach their destinations to make sure they had pleasant trips and reassure them of help if they need it. At the same time, he uses these personal calls to subtly upsell local attractions or other arrangements they might need. Older clients appreciate this level of attention and often refer their friends and family to the business.
But he has had enough with a few consumers such as Mr. Teng. He feels that their service expectations about Global Voyages are high, yet their reimbursements for services rendered are protracted beyond reason. Customers' vision of what they want from businesses is sometimes colored by their unrealistic expectation of the level of service they feel they deserve within a cultural context. Mr. Teng is not likely to delay payments to service providers in Australia, a country he visits often. Other customers also tend to exhibit such behaviors to varying degrees, and Global Voyages has had to resort to intense coaxing to get paid. Legal maneuvers are rarely utilized, since they might backfire in the high-context culture of Singapore.
This time, he wants to take a stand, yet not in a manner his customers or employees might find hostile. He needs to set the right tone and be the role model that his employees have come to expect. Mr. Yadav also wants his employees to take a stand insimilar situations in the future.
Which of the theories of postconsumption reactions might explain Mr. Teng's experience? Why?

Answer 2

Mr. TY worked for the full-service travel agency for more than ten years, and thought to deliberate his attempt in establishing his own travel agency. TY targeted Asian countries to establish his travel agency named GV. TY found it difficult to implement the activities, as Asian countries possess high-context cultures among the customers.
The travel agency GV faced a tough competition from various online service providers. Moreover, the switching cost for the customer was negligible. So, it was a bit difficult task for the travelling agency to attract customers towards the full-service agents.
Mr. TG wanted to leave to the country AUS to plan his daughter's wedding. TG wanted to book the tickets to reach AUS in time, or else he would lose face in front of his son-in-law. Mr TG took the help of the service provider GV, to which he was a customer for more than four years.
The service provider could not provide TG the services required. So, TG rushed into the office of the travel agency, and demanded to meet the owner TY. TY tried to keep himself cool in front of the employees, and attempted to calm down TG, but was in vain. TG was demanding for the tickets, and nothing else mattered.
Theories of Post-consumption Reactions:
In simple, it is the reaction of the customers on the services consumed. It involves multiple theories as shown below:
• Expectancy/ disconfirmation theory
• Equity theory
• Attribution theory
In addition to the above, delight, disgust, exhilaration, surprise and anger are also part of the post-consumption theories.
Mr. T experienced post-consumption reaction of anger, disgust and frustration. Since, he was in no position to listen to the owner of the GV. The reaction of T is observed to have two reasons, one being the expected action of booking tickets was failed and other, it is with the fear of losing his prestige before his future son-in-law as in turn the marriage would also be postponed. Mr. T experience also involve expectancy/ disconfirmation theory based on the following reasons:
• As Mr. T was with a pre-determined assumption that the tickets would be booked by GV
• It also depicts negative disconfirmation since, the services are below the expected standards of Mr. T
• The expectations were based on the past set of services or actions performed by the GV concern

Question 3

Culture Creates Customer Dissatisfaction?
Written by Mohan Menon, University of South Alabama
It was close to lunch time in Singapore when a long-time customer, Mr. Joe Teng, walked into the offices of Global Voyages and began to raise his voice in anger. He was not in a joyful mood. When employees at the travel agency offered to help, he brushed them aside. He wanted to see the owner to demand his three airline tickets for a flight that night. Mr. Teng had planned to travel to Australia with his family to plan the wedding of his daughter in Sydney. His daughter, who completed her graduate program in environmental sciences at Macquarie University, is working in Sydney. She invited her parents to visit and help her with the wedding in a couple of months.
As Mr. Teng rushed past the row of employee desks, heading toward the back of the office, the owner, Mr. Tarun Yadav, walked out of his office to meet him. "I've been getting my tickets from you for the past four years, and now you make me lose face with my future son-in-law. If I can't leave tonight I would have to postpone the wedding." Mr. Yadav kept his cool in front of his employees and tried to calm the customer down, but in vain. Mr. Teng was in no mood to reason. He wanted his three tickets and nothing else mattered.
The genesis of this service encounter began a few years ago when the customer was referred to Global Voyages by one of Mr. Teng's business acquaintances, who was himself a customer of the travel agency. Global Voyages is a full-service travel agency that primarily serves the corporate market in Singapore and countries in the Asia-Pacific region including China and India. But through referrals Global Voyages developed a significant proportion of business in the retail sector over the years with little or no promotion.
Global Voyages' owner, Mr. Yadav, worked for Thomas Cook, a global full-service travel agency, before establishing his own business. He was with them for about ten years in their Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, office. He was involved with both corporate and retail clients during that time. At Thomas Cook, Mr. Yadav experienced the peril of retail travel business in the Asian markets and was deliberate in his attempt to target the corporate marketplace with Global Voyages. As with other businesses in the high-context Asian region, retail referrals are sustained if not sought after. Small- and medium-scale businesses welcome referrals, which provide higher marginal revenues with little effort.
Yet many small business owners, like Mr. Yadav, deal with referrals such as Mr. Teng's with trepidation. The reason is cultural, in that consumers develop the bonds of trust with business owners and thus expect to be served without regard for their own "deficient" payment habits. The situation with Mr. Teng's dealings with Global Voyages is illustrative of this phenomenon. Consumers expect prompt and high-quality personal service but seem reluctant to make timely payments. For various reasons, consumers expect unsecured credit for services. Seldom do they skip town without paying, but delayed payments affect a business's cash flow situation.
At the same time, in such high-context cultural societies, repeated pleas or threats for payment are frowned upon and most business owners, such as Mr. Yadav, feel uncomfortable doing so anyway. In the past, he tried having his employees do this "dirty" job with mixed success. Longtime customers sometimes feel slighted by the approach. Travel business is personal in the region, therefore a high level of satisfaction among customers is a prerequisite for building loyalty. Meeting or exceeding customer expectations is the name of the game.
The travel industry has been battered in recent years on several fronts. The economic downturn across the world, including in southeast Asia, a rise in aviation fuel prices, and competition among the major carriers and the low-cost airlines have had a profound negative effect on the travel business. Add to this the pricing pressure from airline websites, third-party consolidator sites, and meta-search sites such as Kayak.com, and it is easy to understand the scope of the problems that contribute to fullservice travel agencies being squeezed.
Since travel site switching costs are negligible, younger customers tend to price-shop online and thus are harder for full-service agents to attract. Older travelers, on the other hand, are generally in need of additional help with their travel arrangements and tend to value relationships they've cultivated through the years. They are not very price sensitive and thus patronizing businesses such as Global Voyages provides higher levels of service and satisfaction.
But given his earlier experiences with Thomas Cook, Mr. Yadav also feels that some consumers take advantage of this cultural peculiarity in Asia. Both his corporate accounts and retail clients are generally satisfied with his company, and 80% of them are repeat buyers. His own surveys and audits of travel-related blogs and forums confirm his belief that the company is doing well in the satisfaction ratings. He is fond of adding personal touches to his client interactions. For instance, he and his employees call clients once they reach their destinations to make sure they had pleasant trips and reassure them of help if they need it. At the same time, he uses these personal calls to subtly upsell local attractions or other arrangements they might need. Older clients appreciate this level of attention and often refer their friends and family to the business.
But he has had enough with a few consumers such as Mr. Teng. He feels that their service expectations about Global Voyages are high, yet their reimbursements for services rendered are protracted beyond reason. Customers' vision of what they want from businesses is sometimes colored by their unrealistic expectation of the level of service they feel they deserve within a cultural context. Mr. Teng is not likely to delay payments to service providers in Australia, a country he visits often. Other customers also tend to exhibit such behaviors to varying degrees, and Global Voyages has had to resort to intense coaxing to get paid. Legal maneuvers are rarely utilized, since they might backfire in the high-context culture of Singapore.
This time, he wants to take a stand, yet not in a manner his customers or employees might find hostile. He needs to set the right tone and be the role model that his employees have come to expect. Mr. Yadav also wants his employees to take a stand insimilar situations in the future.
If the customer is likely to mention his dissatisfaction or negative experience with Global Voyages to his friends and acquaintances, what can Mr. Yadav's business do to combat it?

Answer 3

Mr. TY worked for the full-service travel agency for more than ten years, and thought to deliberate his attempt in establishing his own travel agency. TY targeted Asian countries to establish his travel agency named GV. TY found it difficult to implement the activities, as Asian countries possess high-context cultures among the customers.
The travel agency GV faced a tough competition from various online service providers. Moreover, the switching cost for the customer was negligible. So, it was a bit difficult task for the travelling agency to attract customers towards the full-service agents.
Mr. TG wanted to leave to the country AUS to plan his daughter's wedding. TG wanted to book the tickets to reach AUS in time, or else he would lose face in front of his son-in-law. Mr TG took the help of the service provider GV, to which he was a customer for more than four years.
The service provider could not provide TG the services required. So, TG rushed into the office of the travel agency, and demanded to meet the owner TY. TY tried to keep himself cool in front of the employees, and attempted to calm down TG, but was in vain. TG was demanding for the tickets, and nothing else mattered.
Customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction: If the products or services reach the expectations, it satisfies the needs and wants of the customers. It is obtained from a favourable outcome which the customer gets from post-consumption of the goods and services.
Here, TG was dissatisfied with the services being provided by GV travelling agency. If TG undergoes a bad publicity or share the negative experience with his friends, and business acquaintances, the agency can combat against it as follows:
• Take no action regarding the negative talk, as the talk will eventually vanish after few days.
• Deny the negative talk, but make sure that there is an eventual proof to safeguard.
• Take the responsibility to prove what is wrong using the attribution theory, i.e. what outcome is prevailed using the services being provided.
• Use the attribute being provided and showcase the customer's feedback on the process of services.

Question 4

Culture Creates Customer Dissatisfaction?
Written by Mohan Menon, University of South Alabama
It was close to lunch time in Singapore when a long-time customer, Mr. Joe Teng, walked into the offices of Global Voyages and began to raise his voice in anger. He was not in a joyful mood. When employees at the travel agency offered to help, he brushed them aside. He wanted to see the owner to demand his three airline tickets for a flight that night. Mr. Teng had planned to travel to Australia with his family to plan the wedding of his daughter in Sydney. His daughter, who completed her graduate program in environmental sciences at Macquarie University, is working in Sydney. She invited her parents to visit and help her with the wedding in a couple of months.
As Mr. Teng rushed past the row of employee desks, heading toward the back of the office, the owner, Mr. Tarun Yadav, walked out of his office to meet him. "I've been getting my tickets from you for the past four years, and now you make me lose face with my future son-in-law. If I can't leave tonight I would have to postpone the wedding." Mr. Yadav kept his cool in front of his employees and tried to calm the customer down, but in vain. Mr. Teng was in no mood to reason. He wanted his three tickets and nothing else mattered.
The genesis of this service encounter began a few years ago when the customer was referred to Global Voyages by one of Mr. Teng's business acquaintances, who was himself a customer of the travel agency. Global Voyages is a full-service travel agency that primarily serves the corporate market in Singapore and countries in the Asia-Pacific region including China and India. But through referrals Global Voyages developed a significant proportion of business in the retail sector over the years with little or no promotion.
Global Voyages' owner, Mr. Yadav, worked for Thomas Cook, a global full-service travel agency, before establishing his own business. He was with them for about ten years in their Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, office. He was involved with both corporate and retail clients during that time. At Thomas Cook, Mr. Yadav experienced the peril of retail travel business in the Asian markets and was deliberate in his attempt to target the corporate marketplace with Global Voyages. As with other businesses in the high-context Asian region, retail referrals are sustained if not sought after. Small- and medium-scale businesses welcome referrals, which provide higher marginal revenues with little effort.
Yet many small business owners, like Mr. Yadav, deal with referrals such as Mr. Teng's with trepidation. The reason is cultural, in that consumers develop the bonds of trust with business owners and thus expect to be served without regard for their own "deficient" payment habits. The situation with Mr. Teng's dealings with Global Voyages is illustrative of this phenomenon. Consumers expect prompt and high-quality personal service but seem reluctant to make timely payments. For various reasons, consumers expect unsecured credit for services. Seldom do they skip town without paying, but delayed payments affect a business's cash flow situation.
At the same time, in such high-context cultural societies, repeated pleas or threats for payment are frowned upon and most business owners, such as Mr. Yadav, feel uncomfortable doing so anyway. In the past, he tried having his employees do this "dirty" job with mixed success. Longtime customers sometimes feel slighted by the approach. Travel business is personal in the region, therefore a high level of satisfaction among customers is a prerequisite for building loyalty. Meeting or exceeding customer expectations is the name of the game.
The travel industry has been battered in recent years on several fronts. The economic downturn across the world, including in southeast Asia, a rise in aviation fuel prices, and competition among the major carriers and the low-cost airlines have had a profound negative effect on the travel business. Add to this the pricing pressure from airline websites, third-party consolidator sites, and meta-search sites such as Kayak.com, and it is easy to understand the scope of the problems that contribute to fullservice travel agencies being squeezed.
Since travel site switching costs are negligible, younger customers tend to price-shop online and thus are harder for full-service agents to attract. Older travelers, on the other hand, are generally in need of additional help with their travel arrangements and tend to value relationships they've cultivated through the years. They are not very price sensitive and thus patronizing businesses such as Global Voyages provides higher levels of service and satisfaction.
But given his earlier experiences with Thomas Cook, Mr. Yadav also feels that some consumers take advantage of this cultural peculiarity in Asia. Both his corporate accounts and retail clients are generally satisfied with his company, and 80% of them are repeat buyers. His own surveys and audits of travel-related blogs and forums confirm his belief that the company is doing well in the satisfaction ratings. He is fond of adding personal touches to his client interactions. For instance, he and his employees call clients once they reach their destinations to make sure they had pleasant trips and reassure them of help if they need it. At the same time, he uses these personal calls to subtly upsell local attractions or other arrangements they might need. Older clients appreciate this level of attention and often refer their friends and family to the business.
But he has had enough with a few consumers such as Mr. Teng. He feels that their service expectations about Global Voyages are high, yet their reimbursements for services rendered are protracted beyond reason. Customers' vision of what they want from businesses is sometimes colored by their unrealistic expectation of the level of service they feel they deserve within a cultural context. Mr. Teng is not likely to delay payments to service providers in Australia, a country he visits often. Other customers also tend to exhibit such behaviors to varying degrees, and Global Voyages has had to resort to intense coaxing to get paid. Legal maneuvers are rarely utilized, since they might backfire in the high-context culture of Singapore.
This time, he wants to take a stand, yet not in a manner his customers or employees might find hostile. He needs to set the right tone and be the role model that his employees have come to expect. Mr. Yadav also wants his employees to take a stand insimilar situations in the future.
In your opinion, is this a case of customer misbehavior or not? Please justify your answer.

Question 5

Culture Creates Customer Dissatisfaction?
Written by Mohan Menon, University of South Alabama
It was close to lunch time in Singapore when a long-time customer, Mr. Joe Teng, walked into the offices of Global Voyages and began to raise his voice in anger. He was not in a joyful mood. When employees at the travel agency offered to help, he brushed them aside. He wanted to see the owner to demand his three airline tickets for a flight that night. Mr. Teng had planned to travel to Australia with his family to plan the wedding of his daughter in Sydney. His daughter, who completed her graduate program in environmental sciences at Macquarie University, is working in Sydney. She invited her parents to visit and help her with the wedding in a couple of months.
As Mr. Teng rushed past the row of employee desks, heading toward the back of the office, the owner, Mr. Tarun Yadav, walked out of his office to meet him. "I've been getting my tickets from you for the past four years, and now you make me lose face with my future son-in-law. If I can't leave tonight I would have to postpone the wedding." Mr. Yadav kept his cool in front of his employees and tried to calm the customer down, but in vain. Mr. Teng was in no mood to reason. He wanted his three tickets and nothing else mattered.
The genesis of this service encounter began a few years ago when the customer was referred to Global Voyages by one of Mr. Teng's business acquaintances, who was himself a customer of the travel agency. Global Voyages is a full-service travel agency that primarily serves the corporate market in Singapore and countries in the Asia-Pacific region including China and India. But through referrals Global Voyages developed a significant proportion of business in the retail sector over the years with little or no promotion.
Global Voyages' owner, Mr. Yadav, worked for Thomas Cook, a global full-service travel agency, before establishing his own business. He was with them for about ten years in their Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, office. He was involved with both corporate and retail clients during that time. At Thomas Cook, Mr. Yadav experienced the peril of retail travel business in the Asian markets and was deliberate in his attempt to target the corporate marketplace with Global Voyages. As with other businesses in the high-context Asian region, retail referrals are sustained if not sought after. Small- and medium-scale businesses welcome referrals, which provide higher marginal revenues with little effort.
Yet many small business owners, like Mr. Yadav, deal with referrals such as Mr. Teng's with trepidation. The reason is cultural, in that consumers develop the bonds of trust with business owners and thus expect to be served without regard for their own "deficient" payment habits. The situation with Mr. Teng's dealings with Global Voyages is illustrative of this phenomenon. Consumers expect prompt and high-quality personal service but seem reluctant to make timely payments. For various reasons, consumers expect unsecured credit for services. Seldom do they skip town without paying, but delayed payments affect a business's cash flow situation.
At the same time, in such high-context cultural societies, repeated pleas or threats for payment are frowned upon and most business owners, such as Mr. Yadav, feel uncomfortable doing so anyway. In the past, he tried having his employees do this "dirty" job with mixed success. Longtime customers sometimes feel slighted by the approach. Travel business is personal in the region, therefore a high level of satisfaction among customers is a prerequisite for building loyalty. Meeting or exceeding customer expectations is the name of the game.
The travel industry has been battered in recent years on several fronts. The economic downturn across the world, including in southeast Asia, a rise in aviation fuel prices, and competition among the major carriers and the low-cost airlines have had a profound negative effect on the travel business. Add to this the pricing pressure from airline websites, third-party consolidator sites, and meta-search sites such as Kayak.com, and it is easy to understand the scope of the problems that contribute to fullservice travel agencies being squeezed.
Since travel site switching costs are negligible, younger customers tend to price-shop online and thus are harder for full-service agents to attract. Older travelers, on the other hand, are generally in need of additional help with their travel arrangements and tend to value relationships they've cultivated through the years. They are not very price sensitive and thus patronizing businesses such as Global Voyages provides higher levels of service and satisfaction.
But given his earlier experiences with Thomas Cook, Mr. Yadav also feels that some consumers take advantage of this cultural peculiarity in Asia. Both his corporate accounts and retail clients are generally satisfied with his company, and 80% of them are repeat buyers. His own surveys and audits of travel-related blogs and forums confirm his belief that the company is doing well in the satisfaction ratings. He is fond of adding personal touches to his client interactions. For instance, he and his employees call clients once they reach their destinations to make sure they had pleasant trips and reassure them of help if they need it. At the same time, he uses these personal calls to subtly upsell local attractions or other arrangements they might need. Older clients appreciate this level of attention and often refer their friends and family to the business.
But he has had enough with a few consumers such as Mr. Teng. He feels that their service expectations about Global Voyages are high, yet their reimbursements for services rendered are protracted beyond reason. Customers' vision of what they want from businesses is sometimes colored by their unrealistic expectation of the level of service they feel they deserve within a cultural context. Mr. Teng is not likely to delay payments to service providers in Australia, a country he visits often. Other customers also tend to exhibit such behaviors to varying degrees, and Global Voyages has had to resort to intense coaxing to get paid. Legal maneuvers are rarely utilized, since they might backfire in the high-context culture of Singapore.
This time, he wants to take a stand, yet not in a manner his customers or employees might find hostile. He needs to set the right tone and be the role model that his employees have come to expect. Mr. Yadav also wants his employees to take a stand insimilar situations in the future.
Which of the characteristics of relationship quality does Global Voyages exhibit in the case?

Question 6

Culture Creates Customer Dissatisfaction?
Written by Mohan Menon, University of South Alabama
It was close to lunch time in Singapore when a long-time customer, Mr. Joe Teng, walked into the offices of Global Voyages and began to raise his voice in anger. He was not in a joyful mood. When employees at the travel agency offered to help, he brushed them aside. He wanted to see the owner to demand his three airline tickets for a flight that night. Mr. Teng had planned to travel to Australia with his family to plan the wedding of his daughter in Sydney. His daughter, who completed her graduate program in environmental sciences at Macquarie University, is working in Sydney. She invited her parents to visit and help her with the wedding in a couple of months.
As Mr. Teng rushed past the row of employee desks, heading toward the back of the office, the owner, Mr. Tarun Yadav, walked out of his office to meet him. "I've been getting my tickets from you for the past four years, and now you make me lose face with my future son-in-law. If I can't leave tonight I would have to postpone the wedding." Mr. Yadav kept his cool in front of his employees and tried to calm the customer down, but in vain. Mr. Teng was in no mood to reason. He wanted his three tickets and nothing else mattered.
The genesis of this service encounter began a few years ago when the customer was referred to Global Voyages by one of Mr. Teng's business acquaintances, who was himself a customer of the travel agency. Global Voyages is a full-service travel agency that primarily serves the corporate market in Singapore and countries in the Asia-Pacific region including China and India. But through referrals Global Voyages developed a significant proportion of business in the retail sector over the years with little or no promotion.
Global Voyages' owner, Mr. Yadav, worked for Thomas Cook, a global full-service travel agency, before establishing his own business. He was with them for about ten years in their Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, office. He was involved with both corporate and retail clients during that time. At Thomas Cook, Mr. Yadav experienced the peril of retail travel business in the Asian markets and was deliberate in his attempt to target the corporate marketplace with Global Voyages. As with other businesses in the high-context Asian region, retail referrals are sustained if not sought after. Small- and medium-scale businesses welcome referrals, which provide higher marginal revenues with little effort.
Yet many small business owners, like Mr. Yadav, deal with referrals such as Mr. Teng's with trepidation. The reason is cultural, in that consumers develop the bonds of trust with business owners and thus expect to be served without regard for their own "deficient" payment habits. The situation with Mr. Teng's dealings with Global Voyages is illustrative of this phenomenon. Consumers expect prompt and high-quality personal service but seem reluctant to make timely payments. For various reasons, consumers expect unsecured credit for services. Seldom do they skip town without paying, but delayed payments affect a business's cash flow situation.
At the same time, in such high-context cultural societies, repeated pleas or threats for payment are frowned upon and most business owners, such as Mr. Yadav, feel uncomfortable doing so anyway. In the past, he tried having his employees do this "dirty" job with mixed success. Longtime customers sometimes feel slighted by the approach. Travel business is personal in the region, therefore a high level of satisfaction among customers is a prerequisite for building loyalty. Meeting or exceeding customer expectations is the name of the game.
The travel industry has been battered in recent years on several fronts. The economic downturn across the world, including in southeast Asia, a rise in aviation fuel prices, and competition among the major carriers and the low-cost airlines have had a profound negative effect on the travel business. Add to this the pricing pressure from airline websites, third-party consolidator sites, and meta-search sites such as Kayak.com, and it is easy to understand the scope of the problems that contribute to fullservice travel agencies being squeezed.
Since travel site switching costs are negligible, younger customers tend to price-shop online and thus are harder for full-service agents to attract. Older travelers, on the other hand, are generally in need of additional help with their travel arrangements and tend to value relationships they've cultivated through the years. They are not very price sensitive and thus patronizing businesses such as Global Voyages provides higher levels of service and satisfaction.
But given his earlier experiences with Thomas Cook, Mr. Yadav also feels that some consumers take advantage of this cultural peculiarity in Asia. Both his corporate accounts and retail clients are generally satisfied with his company, and 80% of them are repeat buyers. His own surveys and audits of travel-related blogs and forums confirm his belief that the company is doing well in the satisfaction ratings. He is fond of adding personal touches to his client interactions. For instance, he and his employees call clients once they reach their destinations to make sure they had pleasant trips and reassure them of help if they need it. At the same time, he uses these personal calls to subtly upsell local attractions or other arrangements they might need. Older clients appreciate this level of attention and often refer their friends and family to the business.
But he has had enough with a few consumers such as Mr. Teng. He feels that their service expectations about Global Voyages are high, yet their reimbursements for services rendered are protracted beyond reason. Customers' vision of what they want from businesses is sometimes colored by their unrealistic expectation of the level of service they feel they deserve within a cultural context. Mr. Teng is not likely to delay payments to service providers in Australia, a country he visits often. Other customers also tend to exhibit such behaviors to varying degrees, and Global Voyages has had to resort to intense coaxing to get paid. Legal maneuvers are rarely utilized, since they might backfire in the high-context culture of Singapore.
This time, he wants to take a stand, yet not in a manner his customers or employees might find hostile. He needs to set the right tone and be the role model that his employees have come to expect. Mr. Yadav also wants his employees to take a stand insimilar situations in the future.
What would you do if you were the owner of Global Voyages; in other words, how would you deal with the situation?