Service fairness in customer relationship management systems

Service Fairness in CRM

In the case of Time Warner Cable, the company's return and adjustments policy favors the customer the majority of the time there are service interruptions due to their internal systems becoming inoperable, extreme weather events, or other utilities interfering with their service. The intent of this analysis is to evaluate the service fairness they provide customers from the context of their returns and adjustment procedures and processes.

Time Warner Returns and Adjustment

Most critical to Time Warner is reducing the churn and customer loss as a result of customer dissatisfaction. The use of returns and adjustments to maintain and enhance customer satisfaction is an explicit objective of these strategies. The perceived fairness of returns and adjustment strategies in the context of customer services strategies is critical to giving customers an opportunity to retain their dignity while also delivering profitable service (Seiders, Berry, 1998). What returns and adjustment programs must do is keep balanced between what is profitable business for the company on the one hand, and staying consistent with customers on the other. Studies of the perceived fairness of airline security measures illustrates that the perception of egalitarian or equal treatment across customers is as important as the actual delivery of service itself (Sindhav, Holland, Rodie, Adidam, Pol, 2006). This perception of equality is more important than the actual process definition of it, as every business, private or in an industry, wants to avoid episodes of service recovery (Thanh, 2007). Service recovery conditions exist when a customers' experiences have not met expectations and dissatisfaction results. The companies who excel at returns and service adjustment anticipate the potential for service recovery in their more complex transactions (Sindhav, Holland, Rodie, Adidam, Pol, 2006). They design these processes to make them simpler, more scalable and more easily managed. This drastically reduces customer dissatisfaction with the returns and service adjustments as a result.

Time Warner approaches the issue of returns and service adjustment through a series of escalation paths and programs. These are the first step in averting any potential need for service recovery. When the service disruption is their fault or the fault of weather-related causes the company, Time Warner is quick to provide a refund or at least a credit for lost service. This is consistent with the concept of reciprocation and respect for customers as well (Thanh, 2007).