| Survey research was conducted with a random sample of retail florists in the Midwestern United States and floral mass marketers nationally to investigate customer service in floral distribution. A primary objective was to identify the domain of customer service in a perishable-product distribution channel, in particular, the services performed by floral suppliers (wholesale florists, wholesale growers, and shippers) for their customers (florists and mass marketers). LISREL models were developed from the scaled survey data to validate the structure of customer service and to identify relationships between the perceived performance of service provided, the customer's level of satisfaction with its supplier, and the customer's intentions toward future purchasing from its supplier.;The major findings of the research are the following: (1) Customer service in floral distribution comprises 18 components, including delivery speed, product availability, response to problems, product pricing/discounts, product quality maintenance, order/delivery reliability, credit policy, post-sale support/guarantees, accessibility, order/delivery flexibility, promotional/marketing support, product knowledge, personnel courtesy, product packaging, product labeling, communications/order information, relationships/contractual arrangements, and box standardization, (2) Florists and mass marketers have different perceptions relative to the importance they place on specific services when selecting a supplier, and (3) Customer services can be viewed as two distinct, but related, classes of service: physical distribution and marketing services; however, the performance of physical distribution services generally have stronger relationships to customer satisfaction than do marketing services.;The major managerial implications from the research are the following: (1) The primary focus of a customer service program should be directed towards physical distribution services, especially services related to the knowledge and competence of boundary personnel, and communications/order information services, (2) The quality and freshness of delivered product is an essential service element, as it has a significant relationship to customer satisfaction, (3) The secondary focus of a customer service program should be directed towards marketing services, especially services related to product mix, packaging, boxing and labeling, and pricing discounts, and (4) An improvement in customer service can have a significant "payoff," with the returns being greater satisfaction for the customer, and a moderate likelihood for increased customer purchases in the future for the supplier. |
