Question 1

Relate the three dimensions of justice theory to service recovery (or lack thereof) of
Emirates in this case study.
Question 2
What lessons can any service marketer learn from this?
Question 3
What would Emirates have to do to recover this customer? Or do you think it is an
impossible task?
Question 4
By Maddy Andrews, Rachael Loudoun, Priscilla Shu-Kiu Wong and Carrie
Choi
Emirates
Problems
Insufficient staff training
Lack of communication
Poor online services
Staff training:
It is very important as staff training ensures their commitment to and their
understanding of the brand values (McDonald, de Chernatony & Harris, 2001,
p.343).
Value proposition:
The specified package of benefits and solutions that the firm intends to offer and
how it proposes to deliver them to target customers (Lovelock, Patterson & Wirtz,
2011, p.7).
Consumers perception of the bundle of benefits offered by a supplier to satisfy the
consumers needs and/or wants. (Stolk, P., 2014).
An effective value proposition needs to:
Be
relevant
to customer needs
Provide
compelling reasons to purchase
Be
associated with a credible firm

to purchase from
Contain
a distinctive offering
compared to competitors
(Stolk, P. 2014)

Your glossy advertisements and promises of a superior flying experience are quite
removed from the reality of the product offering.
Lovelocks Flower of Service
Ways to recover customers
(Smith and Bolton, 2002; Smith and Bolton, 1998; Smith et al., 1999), (Sparks and
McColl-Kennedy, 2001)
Emirate's service recovery tactics
Identifying and Correcting Service Quality Shortfalls:Parasurman, Zeithaml & Berrys
(1985) Gaps Model
Identifying and Correcting Service Quality Shortfalls:Parasurman, Zeithaml & Berrys
(1985) Gaps Model
Compensation
Service Recovery Paradox
Service recovery
involves actions taken by the organisation to put things right for a customer
following a service (core or supplementary) failure. (Lovelock, Patterson & Wirtz,
2011, P.415).
Justice theory
The three dimensions of justice theory are known as:

Procedural justice
Interactional justice
Emirates representatives did not reply regarding the unhappy service.
Therefore, there was no explanation to the consumer and no effort at all from
Emirates.
Outcome justice
There was no compensation for the consumers loss
Gold card was an unconnected incident
To show his anger and disappointment the consumer cut the gold card up and sent
it back to them.
Therefore...
Emirates have failed to recover from their service letdown
The complaint the consumer went out of their way to write was completely ignored.
The letter writer also works within the travel industry, this can lead to work

colleagues and anyone associated to the consumer that made the complaint to also
not trust Emirates due to the negative experience being told and spread throughout
word of mouth.
Emirates
The airlines Hub City is based in Dubai
The airline is a subsidiary of The Emirates Group, which is wholly owned by the
government of Dubai's Investment Corporation of Dubai.
Founded in 1985
Emirates has been awarded the Worlds Best Airline award, presented by Skytrax
at the 2013 World Airline Awards.
Emirates scooped up a further two awards including Best Middle East Airline and
for a record ninth year in a row, Worlds Best Inflight Entertainment.

(Emirates Australia, 2014)

Comfort and attention to detail you can rely on whenever you travel (Emirates,
2014).

"Whether its your first flight or simply your latest, we work to anticipate your every
need" (Emirates, 2014)
The Emirates Experience
Discussion Questions
"While customers are primarily interested in the final output, the manner or way in
which they are treated during the process of service delivery also has a significant
impact on their satisfaction and value perceptions" (Lovelock, Patterson & Wirtz,
2011, p.9).
Wherever your travels take you, youll find comfort, convenience, and exceptional
service are part of the Emirates experience" (Emirates, 2014).
Emirates Holiday
Arabian Adventures
Cargo Partners
dnata
dnata Contact Centre
Emirates Engineering
Emirates Flight Catering
Emirates High Street

(The Emirates Group, 2014)

The consumer wrote the letter concerning his disappointment

interesting in an explanation from Emirates
The letter writer received no response
Therefore, Emirates did not take responsibility for the bad service

Have you ever flown with Emirates, If so was it a good experience

Would you consider to fly with emirates after hearing the complaint?
How would you resolve the issue with the customer?
flying first class does not always live up to expectations
The service provided was inconvenient
.
Service encounter failure.
Core service failure.
Competition.
Response to service failure.
Flying First Class does not always live up to expectations
CASE BACKGROUND
Letter of complaint from a bad customer experience
"I heard that the airline had undergone a number of enhancements and was
positioning itself as a serious competitor" says Mr. C
Several service failure points
No service recovery paradox
Wait for service
Service mistakes: downgrade from business class to economy.