The notions of service quality and service experience have featured significantly in various marketing manuscripts as well as discussion topics for the marketing audience. An appreciable percentage of literature has been dedicated to comprehending these concepts from the customer’s point of view. Popular manuscripts that have dominated pertinent literature reveal that more often than not customers depend on the performance aspect of services (as opposed to tangible objects) to assess service quality and contextual experience. However, even more imperative is the service experience as may be delivered by how the service provider delivers services and how relevant tangibles are integrated in the service offering. The perceptions that consumers form concerning a given service provider play a crucial role in creating service experiences that in turn influence the emotional and realistic perceptions of the quality of service(s) offered by a given organization. This report gives an account of a service experience and as such details the service experienced by travelling aboard one of the major airlines in Europe.

The experience took place last summer during a trip aboard Virgin Atlantic to one of the most popular museums in Paris. True as it were, the company seems keen to pay attention to the notion of service experience for it has embedded in its operations the need to deliver quality services. As its competitors in the industry, it strives to ensure it is the preferred choice for its customers by most importantly giving an incomparable service (travel experience). It cannot be denied that the fiercely competitive climate characterizing the airline industry implies that the contextual market is typically oversupplied. In such a scenario, it is imperative that as service satisfies a customer lest he or she moves on to try another airline hoping the service experience would be more satisfying.  From the experience last summer, an inference can be made that the airliner is, like most organizations nowadays, paying closer attention to customer retention that customer acquisition. If Virgin Atlantic is to benefit as far as customer retention is concerned, it is crucial that customers also seek to reap benefits delivered through their loyalty (to the service provider). In this respect, practicing relationship marketing is helpful for through it the company is able to create bonds with its customers.