| Course | MGT 215 Customer Relationship Management |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 8 |
| Paper type | Customer experience plan |
| Length | About 1,011 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MGT 215 Module 8
From the First Quote to the Last Box: A Customer Experience Plan for a Moving and Storage Company
Student Name
Business Administration Program, Aspen University
MGT 215: Customer Relationship Management
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
From the First Quote to the Last Box: A Customer Experience Plan for a Moving and Storage Company
Bluegrass Moving and Storage, a composite company based in Louisville, Kentucky, completes about 4,800 local and long-distance moves a year and rents storage units in two warehouses. Its prices are competitive and its crews are generally careful, yet its online ratings average 3.6 stars, while two larger competitors average above 4.5. Most new customers choose a mover after reading reviews, so the gap is costing business. A review of 600 recent reviews shows that complaints rarely concern broken items; they concern final bills higher than estimates, calls that went unanswered on moving day and slow responses to damage claims. This plan, the course's culminating assignment, uses customer experience research to address these problems.
The Customer Journey
Lemon and Verhoef (2016) define customer experience as a customer's cognitive, emotional, sensory, social and behavioral responses across the journey with a firm. They divide the journey into prepurchase, purchase and postpurchase stages and identify four kinds of touchpoints: brand-owned, such as the company's website and crews; partner-owned, such as a building's loading dock rules; customer-owned, such as how customers pack; and social or external, such as reviews and advice from friends. They emphasize that firms control only some touchpoints, and that past experiences shape expectations for the next journey.
Where the Journey Breaks
| Stage | Moment | Pain point from reviews | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prepurchase | Reading reviews | Rating below rivals | Respond to every review; ask satisfied customers to post |
| Prepurchase | Getting a quote | Estimates by phone vary widely | Video walkthrough and binding estimate |
| Purchase | Booking | Unclear what is included | One-page summary of services, fees and timing |
| Purchase | Week before move | No contact, customers anxious | Confirmation call and packing guide three days ahead |
| Purchase | Moving day | Cannot reach anyone | Crew lead texts arrival time and progress |
| Purchase | Final bill | Higher than estimate | Binding estimate honored; changes approved in writing |
| Postpurchase | Damage claim | Weeks without reply | Named claims contact; decision within ten days |
| Postpurchase | After the move | No follow-up | Thank-you call; referral reward |
Staging the Experience
Pine and Gilmore (1998) argued that businesses can compete by staging experiences that customers remember, and they offered principles for doing so: theme the experience, harmonize impressions with positive cues, eliminate negative cues, offer memorabilia and engage the senses. For a moving company, the theme is calm in a stressful week. Positive cues include a crew lead who introduces the team by name, floor protection laid before anything moves and a quick walkthrough at the end. Negative cues to eliminate include unexplained charges, crews arriving without notice and trucks left idling for an hour while paperwork is sorted out. A small memento, such as a first-night box with toilet paper, snacks and a shower curtain, signals care when customers are most tired.
Drawing on the Course
The plan applies earlier topics. Customer data will record each move's details, so repeat customers and referrals are recognized. The damage-claims process follows service recovery research, offering fast, fair outcomes with explanation. A referral reward for customers who recommend Bluegrass to friends uses loyalty principles while targeting the social touchpoints Lemon and Verhoef highlight.
Touchpoints the Company Does Not Own
Lemon and Verhoef's point that customers meet many touchpoints outside the firm's control matters for movers. Apartment buildings set elevator reservations and loading hours, and when crews arrive to find the elevator booked, customers blame the mover. Bluegrass will ask about building rules at booking and call building managers a week ahead. Customers' own packing also shapes the day; boxes packed loosely are slow to carry and easy to crush. The packing guide sent before the move will show how to pack and label rooms, and customers who want help can add partial packing. Reviews and friends' advice, the social touchpoints, are where the company's reputation is formed, which is why responding to reviews and rewarding referrals appear in the plan.
Employees Are the Experience
On moving day, the crew is the company. Crew members are often hired seasonally and trained mainly to lift and load safely. The plan adds a half day of training on the customer side of the job: introducing themselves, explaining the order of work, asking before moving fragile items and handling questions about charges without arguing. Crew leads will carry a short checklist for the final walkthrough. Crews who receive strong ratings will be recognized in monthly meetings, so that good service is visible and valued, not only fast loading.
Capabilities and Culture
Homburg et al. (2017) found that firms managing customer experience well shared cultural mindsets that place the customer journey at the center, strategic directions that define the experience the firm intends to deliver, and capabilities for designing touchpoints, prioritizing them, monitoring them and adapting them over time. Bluegrass will appoint an operations manager as owner of the customer experience, review journey measures monthly with crew leads and pay crew leads a bonus tied to customer ratings for their moves.
Twelve-Month Plan
In months one to three, Bluegrass will introduce binding estimates through video walkthroughs and the one-page summary, owned by the sales manager. In months three to six, crew leads will be trained to text customers and conduct final walkthroughs, owned by the operations manager. In months four to eight, the claims process will be rebuilt with a named contact. From month six, follow-up calls, referral rewards and review responses will begin.
Measures
The company will track average rating and rating trend, the share of final bills matching estimates, response time on moving-day calls, claim decision time, complaints per 100 moves and the share of new customers who arrive through referrals.
Conclusion
Bluegrass's customers are not unhappy with how their belongings are moved; they are unhappy with surprises and silence. Mapping the journey shows where those moments occur, Pine and Gilmore's principles shape how each should feel and Homburg and colleagues' capabilities explain how to sustain change. A twelve-month plan built on these ideas and on the course's earlier lessons gives the company a clear path toward the ratings its work deserves.
References
Homburg, C., Jozić, D., & Kuehnl, C. (2017). Customer experience management: Toward implementing an evolving marketing concept. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 45(3), 377-401. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-015-0460-7
Lemon, K. N., & Verhoef, P. C. (2016). Understanding customer experience throughout the customer journey. Journal of Marketing, 80(6), 69-96. https://doi.org/10.1509/jm.15.0420
Pine, B. J., II, & Gilmore, J. H. (1998). Welcome to the experience economy. Harvard Business Review, 76(4), 97-105.
What the MGT 215 Module 8 instructions ask for
Aspen's MGT 215 ends with customer experience, and the final paper generally asks students to combine the course's ideas into a plan for one organization. Take requirements from your classroom's Module 8 prompt; the example below builds the plan for a single service company. Describe the company's current experience and evidence of problems. Map the customer journey across stages and touchpoints, using research. Identify the moments that matter most to customers. Propose changes for each, drawing on earlier topics such as data, complaints and loyalty. Explain the capabilities and culture the company needs to sustain the plan. Provide a timeline, assign responsibility and set measures that show whether the experience improves.
How this MGT 215 Module 8 example is built
The paper begins with Bluegrass Moving and Storage, which completes about 4,800 moves a year and whose reviews mention surprise charges and unanswered calls. Lemon and Verhoef's Journal of Marketing article describes the journey in three stages and four kinds of touchpoints: brand-owned, partner-owned, customer-owned and social or external. Pine and Gilmore's Harvard Business Review article advises harmonizing impressions with positive cues and eliminating negative ones. Homburg, Jozić and Kuehnl's 2017 study of experience management names cultural mindsets, strategic directions and capabilities for managing experience. A table maps eight journey moments with pain points and fixes, including binding estimates and a crew lead who texts customers. A twelve-month plan assigns owners, and measures include rating trends and referral rates.
MGT 215 Module 8 rubric: what earns full marks
Customer experience plans are evaluated on a complete journey map grounded in research, attention to the moments customers care about most and a plan with owners, timing and measures. This example maps the journey using Lemon and Verhoef's stages and touchpoints, and uses review data to find where the experience breaks. Pine and Gilmore's principles guide how moments should feel, not only what should happen. Homburg, Jozić and Kuehnl's capabilities explain what the company must build to sustain improvement. The table connects each pain point to a fix, and the plan draws on earlier course topics. Measures cover ratings, complaints and referrals over a full year.
MGT 215 Module 8 help: mistakes that cost marks
A common gap in customer experience plans is a journey map that lists steps but never says which ones customers care about. Use evidence, such as reviews or complaints, to identify the moments that matter. Another weakness is focusing only on touchpoints the company controls; customers also rely on reviews, friends and partners. Connect the plan to earlier course topics, such as data, loyalty and service recovery. Explain the culture and capabilities needed, since experience depends on employees as much as on processes. Assign an owner and timing to each change. Finally, measure experience over time, not once, and include behavior such as referrals. Budget for training.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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MGT 215 Module 8 questions, answered
What does MGT 215 Module 8 usually ask for?
Aspen's MGT 215 concludes with customer experience, so a plan drawing together CRM concepts for one company is typical. Check your classroom prompt.
What is a customer journey?
Lemon and Verhoef describe it as the process a customer goes through across prepurchase, purchase and postpurchase stages, through many touchpoints.
What are touchpoints?
Points of contact between customer and company or its context, which can be brand-owned, partner-owned, customer-owned or social and external.
Where can I find a free MGT 215 Module 8 sample paper?
The complete plan above maps a moving company's customer journey, identifies pain points from reviews and sets out a twelve-month customer experience plan.
What capabilities does customer experience management need?
Homburg, Jozić and Kuehnl identify cultural mindsets, strategic directions and firm capabilities such as designing, prioritizing, monitoring and adapting touchpoints.