Retail Services Characteristics - 2084 Words

In this paper the most common services characteristics, namely perishability, intangibility, inseparability and heterogeneity will be applied to a well - known retail services brand. In this case the focus shall be on how the aforementioned characteristics apply to Starbucks. In order to better understand the problem the history of the company alongside current corporate objectives will be briefly described. In the following paragraphs the notice will be mainly on the retailer’s ability to cope with the theory’s implications. The first Starbucks coffee shop was opened in 1971 in Seattle. The name was inspired by Moby Dick and the logo which has now become somehow of a cult figure is a twin-tailed mermaid. However it wasn’t until 1987 when†¦show more content†¦Specific problems can occur where staff is involved in providing services on a one-to-one basis. In these cases no easy method of monitoring or control is possible. There are two particular aspects of heterogeneity which are relevant to the services. The first one is the extent to which production standards vary from a norm, both in terms of outcomes and of production processes. The second one is the extent to which a service can deliberately be varied to meet the specific needs of particular customers (Palmer, 2005). In order to tackle the aforementioned aspects of heterogeneity and also to satisfy customer needs retailers usually standardize the service as much as possible without noticeably affecting the perceived customer value. M any service organizations have reduced variability by adopting equipment-based production methods or by offering already prepared menus or meals. However Starbucks took a slightly different approach here then some fast-food outlets. They are offering more than 87,000 different drink combinations. With that in mind they cannot simply standardize the whole process of coffee making. Customers want to see consistency and quality in their stores so for that purpose they offer their front-line staff a basic training and they are also using some motivation tools to enhance staff performance. So for instance they refer to their employees as partners and their pay package isShow MoreRelatedLife1340 Words   |  6 Pages19.2.2013 Ð ³. The fundamentals ! STRATEGIC RETAIL MANAGEMENT TYPES OF ENVIRONMENT ï‚ § Retail institution types vary based on retail characteristics such as products, scale of operation, and mix of store attributes. The primary retail institution types are as follows: ï‚ § Department store, discount store, and specialty store. ï‚ § According to the U.S. Bureau of Census classifications of product developed in1924, product categories were named based on the retail institution type where they were displayedRead MoreNorstorm987 Words   |  4 PagesNordstrom’s is classified as. Describe the characteristics it shares with other retailers of this type. I would classify Nordstrom’s as a specialty store due to the fact that their service levels are high, assortment is narrow, price would be moderate to high, and the gross margin is high. Also, a statement from the case study from Industry observer Lior Arussy calls Nordstrom’s business strategy â€Å"greed through love.† Nordstrom’s shares the same characteristics as Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s, Macy’sRead MoreBusiness1288 Words   |  6 PagesOne Shoe† Identify the type of retailer that Nordstrom’s is classified as and describe the characteristics it shares with other retailers of this type. A store like Nordstrom has built a successful model on availability of knowledgeable salespeople, and other luxury or near-luxury retailers would be advised to pay attention. But a mass retailer like Target is not dependent on â€Å"high touch† customer service; rather, the most important things it can do to satisfy its shoppers are to ensure that goodsRead MoreImpact Of The Job Design On Retail Banking1033 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction As a financial service provider, the banking industry employs an abundance of standardized processes. In order to deliver a professional, accurate and fast service to customers, as well as to maintain the motivation and performance of banking staff, it is critical to design a smooth and friendly process for various types of service requests, or in other words, to allocate the tasks to appropriate positions. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the impacts on performance resultingRead MoreHow Do Retailers Like David Jones Add Value to the Marketing System? Does an Online Retailer Like Scorptec Add Value in the Same Manner?845 Words   |  4 Pagesgoods amp; services have throughout the years begun to lead to a new perception of consumer relationship and in ways businesses conduct their operations. Not only is a business concerned with the buying and selling of goods amp; services but to further maintain that relationship with their customers to correlate between both parties. As this being the prime functionality of businesses, each business must differentiate themselves with other businesses offering different and wholesome services, whichRead MoreGgr252 Notes1483 Words   |  6 Pagesof the retail and commercial activity in the Toronto area, two different types of retail will be evaluated in the following report. The character, market orientation and location of a retail space all play crucial role in contributing to the success of the business. All three aspects of the retail spheres will be carefully assessed in order to make direct comparisons between the two types of retail businesses. The two retail systems that will be contrasted includes the ancillary retail systemRead MoreCase Study : Supply Chain Management1028 Words   |  5 PagesMANAGEMENT IN RETIAL INDUSTRY: CONCEPTS, STRATEGIES AND WALMART CASE STUDY Mian Wang CID: 01090728 Imperial College Business School, MSc Management ABSTRACT With the rapid increase of operation cost and fast development of E-commence in today’s retail industry, traditional operation management models are antiquated. Companies attempt to enhance competitive capacity through management innovation, and an increasing amount of attention is paid to their supply chain management for the purpose of costRead MoreMarketing1135 Words   |  5 PagesIdentify the type of retailer that Nordstrom’s is classified as. Describe the characteristics it shares with other retailers of this type. The type of retailer Nordstrom is classified as is a Department store. A Department store is a retail establishment which specializes in satisfying a wide range of the consumer’s product needs, carries a wide variety of shopping and specialty goods, including apparel, cosmetics, houseware, electronics, and sometimes furniture. Nordstrom fall into this categoryRead MoreThe Purpose Of Marlene Amorium And Fatemeh Bashashi Saghezchi992 Words   |  4 Pagesdeeper analyze service quality in terms of physical aspects, personal interactions, reliability, and policies from the point of view of the consumer to find what keeps a customer loyal, and how the expected quality may differ between supermarkets and hypermarkets in Portugal. The study explores the differences in retail stores and if they may be a direct link to consumer expectations. Consumers are likely to have individualized expectations per store in regards to the quality of service a supermarketRead MoreResearch Paper1655 Words   |  7 PagesMeichenq@uci.edu Abstract This paper explores five published articles that report on results from research conducted on online platform and the changes they made to the customers’ behaviors. The articles, however, vary in the online platform and physical retail stores. Clemes, M. D., Gan, C., Zhang, J. (2014) suggest that Beijing, China has significant increasing users in B2C online shopping. Other articles comprise different product types and the acceptance of online shopping. Lian, J. W., Lin, T. M