Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
problems only after they arise, by which time
service already has suffered. Therefore, software
or hardware with more advanced and predictive
techniques should be applied in order to prevent
technical difficulties or traffic overloading. In case
male customers are dissatisfied with network qual-
ity, the firm should assign highly competent and
senior staff to work on the problem. Competent and
senior staff not only are likely to be able to fix the
problem but also have more authority to give some
type of compensation for any inconvenience or
other lost experience by male customers, playing
to the male gender trait of having a materialistic
orientation. Moreover, as gender is also an effec-
tive positioning variable reflecting the prototypes
of essential expression in commercials (Bartsch,
Burnett, Diller, & Rankin-Williams, 2000; Goff-
man, 1979), promoting superior network quality
via e-mail advertising to male customers may
work to significantly boost customer confidence
in network quality and, thus, to improve relation-
ship quality.
Finally, since service recovery influences re-
lationship quality equally for both genders (H
10
),
service recovery is substantial and fundamental
to IT service value and is not gender-specific.
This is not to suggest that service recovery is
not important, but on the contrary, given that
managers have to seriously justify their resources
in service quality improvements, IT service
providers should organize sufficient support for
service recovery. Growing numbers of users of
IT services also mean growing dependence on IT
services, which, in turn, means that support for
service recovery is critical. This IT support crisis
(McClure, Smith, & Sitko, 1997) is really a crisis
of knowledge; namely, knowledge management
and the key components of knowledge transfer.
Successful service recovery requires the rapid
and comprehensive identification of user prob-
lems. Consequently, applying efficient databases
combined with Web sites and call centers to go
through a complaint-handling process assists ser-
vice providers in achieving good service recovery.
Slow and inefficient service recovery causes dis-
satisfaction and perceptions of untrustworthiness
among all customers. Online support delivered
via e-mail and self-service from the knowledge
base and expert system is inexpensive and can
help to reduce the need for direct and personal
contact with service units. These tools also can
be used to accelerate service recovery.
Since different customers interpret the same
words differently, staff communication tech-
niques are also important. In fact, it is important
for the frontline staff to listen and to respond to
individual problems. Frontline staff thus should
be taught the importance of displaying empathy
and concern for users during service recovery,
and they must avoid complacent attitudes and a
lack of understanding. Finally, the employee who
receives the complaint from the customer should
be the one who stays with the matter from start
to finish, if none of the other employees can take
over the mission. At any rate, if the employee
cannot actually do anything, he or she at least
has to remain with the customer throughout the
recovery process. This ensures that the service
failure always is taken care of in a professional
manner, since the customer has a consistent point
of contact from the employee and will feel that the
ISP is doing its utmost to solve the problem.
In conclusion, IT service providers must use
a multifaceted approach in order to maintain
relationship quality and strong loyalty in the
long term. Simply applying a single approach to
all customers without considering gender is not
only inadequate but also inefficient. Specifically,
genders have been observed to differ in the char-
acteristics they consider important when assess-
ing products (Holbrook, 1986; Meyers-Levy &
Sternthal, 1991). Therefore, specialized training
for understanding the influence of gender on the
relationships between loyalty and relationship
quality and their antecedents may be required
to help frontline staff to promote good relation-
ship quality and loyalty. Service providers may
find it useful to examine how more effective
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