Assignment Two Word Count - 1261

142588 Service Encounters are an integral part of marketing; this essay will focus on and attempt to explain what a service encounter is and why it is important for it to be managed, whilst also outlining the factors that influence the behavior of customers before, during and after the encounter. For the purposes of this essay a Service Encounter will be defined as a transactional interaction where a person provides a good or service to another person, often described as the moment of truth, where the service is examined and all pre conceived ideas now become experiences (Bitner et al. 1990). The arguments will be supported with examples in order to demonstrate a higher understanding of the concepts and ideas involved.

What is meant by experience and credence properties?
The service encounter in a company or organization is an integral part of the organizations successful growth, services can be likened to a package of attributes rendering contentment, yet have more appropriately been described as “promises of satisfaction” (Levitt, 1983). In comparison with goods, it is better known that services have a diverse range of characteristics however both services and goods contain search, experience and credence qualities, all which need to be managed. Service Encounters are high in experience and credence attributes, as a service is much like a performance it is often deemed as an encounter, the transactional interaction where a person provides a good or service to another person (Walker, 1995) which includes the elements of an encounter, as for example there is a physical presence, waiting, and service workers involved, therefore providing factors that need to be managed.

Is there just one service encounter, or are there many separate encounters with the customer?
Service Encounters are transient(Materson, et al. 2010),