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The Bonita Bay Marina, founded 20 years ago by the Bonita Bay Group, established a reputation of high-quality service delivery. According to the marina's manager, customers' high regard for their services was due to the organization's adherence to a well-defined customer service philosophy known as the E5 Customer Service Philosophy. The manager must decide whether the benefits of pursuing a Clean Marina certification program would bolster the level of service quality and, ultimately, the reputation of Bonita Bay Group in the marketplace. Further evaluation of the current customer service program is needed to determine whether the clean marina certification would complement the existing E5 Customer Service Philosophy and create synergies that would enhance customer perceptions of their services as well as contribute to profit margins for years to come.

International services offer the best prospects for growth in numerous industries. Yet, compared to manufacturing, relatively little is known about the international growth and development of services, largely because fewer service firms have ventured overseas. Examines the similarities and differences between international manufacturing and services, helping to point out the challenges facing various types of service businesses. The strategies that leading service firms follow in international markets provide valuable guidelines for other companies to follow.

Describes a small, luxury retail chain's operational sophistication achieved through the use of technology and "high-touch" customer service. A family-run business, Mitchells has built its success with a customer service strategy known internally as "hugging." The term is deceptively simple. The firm's true success lies in its blend of a warm, other-oriented corporate culture, sophisticated information technology, and an effective family business structure. It is currently considering further expansion for future generations. A rewritten version of an earlier case.

This case introduces students to the design of artificial agents and evolutionary tournaments through W. Brian Arthur's minority game. Following Arthur, the game is motivated by the story of El Farol, a popular music bar in Santa Fe, California. The bar tended to attract large crowds with its programming of Irish music on Thursday nights. The venue offered only a limited amount of space which detracted from the enjoyment of music programs when the audience outgrew the bar capacity. Moderately attended events were highly successful with most patrons. A crowed bar, however, would diminish this enjoyment to the point where most patrons would have preferred not to attend the event. Since El Farol did not pre-sell tickets, patrons had no information about the evening's attendance until they arrived at the restaurant. Although there was no information about attendance at upcoming events, patrons could learn attendance levels in previous weeks by word of mouth and, over time, formed expectations about future attendance based on their knowledge of past attendance figures.

This case is about the history, achievements, and problems of a uniquely run medical institution. It has become an award-winning, world-class institution through emphasis on and nurturing of talented, hard-working, and salaried doctors; a culture of excellence and innovation; and teamwork. In recent years, as competition for patients grew, funding and reimbursement diminished, and patients demanded better service, the center has had to find ways to provide better patient service in order to maintain its competitive edge.

A hospital specializing in hernia operations is considering whether and how to expand the reach of its services.

The president of the Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Charity Trust had just returned to his office after meeting with Britain's Prince Charles, who was on an official visit to Mumbai. The trust was the managing organization of the dabbawallah meal delivery network. The dabbawallah's service was cited internationally by management scholars and industry executives as exemplary in supply chain and service management as well as delivery reliability. However, many observers now expressed concerns over the future viability of the dabbawallah's service given the difficulty in duplicating its delivery network elsewhere, the emergence of other lunch competitors in Mumbai, and an array of environmental changes affecting both its customers and the workforce.

Supplements the (A) case.

The case is concerned with the evaluation of a relationship strategy: implementing "JIT" delivery to key customers. The strategy has structural implications and an adaptation may be necessary.

Dubai Internet City (DIC) was inaugurated in October 2000. Despite carrying the name "Internet," the free zone was designed as a hub for all information and communications technology companies. Although the original plan focused primarily on real estate, the shift to an innovative, one-stop approach was almost immediate. DIC not only offered its clients office space, but handled visas, incorporation, travel bookings, work permits, etc. To support clients further, DIC set up a state-of-the-art telecommunications company. This was the first in a series of businesses that DIC launched to serve customers and then spin-off as stand-alone entities. The park's objective was to help companies do business in the area while making it as easy as possible to operate out of Dubai. The fact that the park operated inside a free zone meant that it could offer clients attractive deals such as 100% foreign ownership, no tax, or 100% repatriation of capital. The large concentration of companies working from a single location (600 by 2004) also created networking opportunities, which the company further supported through organized events. By 2004, the company had reached the objectives it had set for 2007 and began looking at different options: internationalizing by either building, operating, or advising on similar parks abroad, or capturing other parts of the value chain (manufacturing, outsourcing, etc.). A 2004 EFMD award winner.

The managers of British business forum planner, Richmond Events, are struggling to expand their conference offerings into new territories. At the same time, they are trying to decide how product managers, who are critical to event success, should be hired, trained, managed, and retained. There is a philosophical disagreement between managers about how to take Richmond Events to the next level. Founder Mark Rayner wants to stay the course and give project managers as much autonomy as possible. He asserts that autonomy leads to priceless innovation and argues that normative controls will prevent product managers from going too far astray. Marketer Deborah Parkes wants to streamline the production process and build hierarchy into the system to promote consistent service quality. As management considers leveraging its service platform and expanding into Asia, these working tensions intensify.

Duke University Health System has for the past five years operated a specialized clinic for the management of congestive heart failure, a very common and costly condition in the surrounding community. Nurse practitioners, whose work is guided by highly specified protocols and overseen by cardiologists, staff the multidisciplinary clinic. The chancellor of the health system views the program as a huge financial burden and an undesirable use of academic cardiologists' time. The case examines models of disease management; Duke's heart failure program operations, finances, and outcomes of disease management; and the relationship between its nurse practitioners and cardiologists.

This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. Most consumption experiences are the routine stuff of life--filling the gas tank, buying groceries, grabbing a quick lunch. Such tasks for the most part are neither fun nor painful; they're simply things that need to get checked off the list. Indeed, the authors say, they are so neutral that people often choose the seller with little thought and forget the experience in a matter of hours. Some providers of neutral services want to keep things that way. They want to be so convenient and reliable that people continue to use them unthinkingly. For certain mature service businesses, however, the addition of fun can be an important differentiator. The authors present three case studies taken from industries not known for fun--furniture retailing, consumer banking, and the grocery business--to show how it can be turned to profitable advantage. Jordan's Furniture, Commerce Bank, and Stew Leonard's operate their basic business models at a very high standard of excellence. But they also have what it takes to make a routine experience into something positive: strong leadership, a clear vision, a discriminating filter for new employees, a focus on hiring for attitudes rather than skills, and the ability to come up with the unexpected. The authors offer some general guidelines and cautionary notes to help managers who may want to try to emulate these successful companies.

Describes a small, luxury retail chain's operational sophistication achieved through the use of technology and high-touch customer service. A family-run business, Mitchells has built its success with a customer service strategy know internally as "hugging." The term is deceptively simple. The firm's true success lies in its blend of a warm other-oriented corporate culture, sophisticated information technology, and an effective family business structure. Although the setting is regional, the approach is clearly applicable to many service organizations. The chain is currently considering further expansion for future generations.

This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. Having received a great deal of attention for decades now, customer satisfaction practices have become one of the core prescriptions for managers and organizations. Indeed, for many companies, customer satisfaction has become the guiding principle, as they increasingly initiate all manner of strategies and processes under its banner. But more and more, says Fredrik Dahlsten, these practices are losing their effectiveness for companies and their customers alike. Using qualitative research at Volvo Cars, the author illustrates how the interpretation of customer satisfaction can become skewed, employing rigorous and extensive customer satisfaction measurements, but measuring the wrong variables and using the information in mainly reactive ways. Many companies have only an intrinsic customer satisfaction focus--a product orientation based on attribute quality and a short-term internal perspective triggered by surveys and aimed at cost control. With an intrinsic focus, customer satisfaction is seen mostly as the absence of dissatisfaction. In contrast, an extrinsic customer satisfaction focus emphasizes finding new ways to increase the positive, emotional aspects of the customer experience over time. The author argues that managers who wish to climb out of their customer satisfaction rut must move beyond the mere measurement of quality, refocus their practices on the customer's actual experience, and formulate a comprehensive strategy for using that knowledge throughout the organization.

Supplements the (A) case.

Supplements the (A) case.

Describes the complex operations of the cruise industry. Positioned between luxury cruise lines and mass market lines, Celebrity struggles to find ways to create customer loyalty and increase profitability.

The company's management is faced with long-term questions regarding the rate and manner of growth in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and general industry malaise.

Spreadsheet supplement for case 803-133.