| Shopping for services can be a daunting experience. Shoppers can't pick up a service and examine it as they might a product. Often they must deal with aggressive sales techniques and a variety of service options. Eventually they may need to examine written estimates or sign a contract.
CONSUMER REPORTS articles about services help to cut through the confusion. They explain what to expect from a service provider, offer guidelines for shopping for the service, warn of pitfalls to avoid, and often evaluate service providers by name.
The services CONSUMER REPORTS evaluates are as diverse as health-care services to airlines. Coverage is of two kinds: reportorial and survey-based. The survey-based reports allow ratings of services based on the experiences of readers.
This section deals with non-financial services. Section 6 covers services related to personal finance. Since shopping for services is closely linked to consumer issues, there is a necessary cross-over between the sections on services and Section 7, "Using Articles About Consumer Issues."
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- To identify different kinds of services.
- To determine the advantages and disadvantages of using different services.
- To learn how to find and interpret information about services.
- To analyze advertisements for services.
- To evaluate the importance of comparative shopping for services.
- To explore the economics of services.
- To explore the rights and responsibilities of consumers in seeking services.
- To explore ways of seeking redress for unsatisfactory services.
VOCABULARY
contract
estimate
fine print
option
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provider
service
service provider
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KEY CONCEPTS
- Each day the average consumer uses a host of services. A service is work or an action performed at the request of a consumer. Services range from entertainment to health care, from home repairs to travel.
- Comparison shopping for services can pay off. Services from competing providers often vary widely in what they offer, what they cost, and how satisfactory they are. Consumers can reduce their chances of getting unsatisfactory services by doing research before purchasing: reading contracts, getting written estimates, checking references or reputations, analyzing ad claims, consulting publications like CONSUMER REPORTS, consulting consumer agencies, etc.
- Reading a contract for services (especially the fine print) rather than simply taking the word of a salesperson before signing can avert problems for the consumer. A contract is a legal document and signing one is a promise to abide by its terms.
- The consumer has a right to insist on satisfactory service. City, state, and federal agencies regulate some services and can help consumers seek redress. Professions often have voluntary regulatory boards.
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TEACHING STRATEGIES
BEFORE READING
Explore what students already know about the service covered by the article.
- Have you or your family ever used this kind of service? Were you pleased or displeased with the outcome? Why?
- Is this a necessary service? Why or why not? Are there alternatives? Explain.
- Have you seen ads for this service? What kinds of people are targeted by these ads? What does this tell you about the service?
Brainstorm ways of evaluating services..
- What are some ways you might evaluate a service? (Consider price, convenience, reliability, reputation of provider, etc.)
- Think of a new service you or your family have bought recently. How did you choose it? Were you satisfied with your choice? Why or why not? Could you have done better if you had comparison-shopped for the service? Explain.
- Is shopping for a service anything like shopping for a product? Explain.
Identify services. Some students may not understand the difference between a product and a service. To help students understand the difference, list some services on the board, e.g. medical and dental care; hair cutting; airlines; phone service; etc. Then have volunteers explain how each is a service.
DISCUSSION AND ACTIVITIES
Have students identify the major points in the article..
- What main points did CONSUMER REPORTS make in the article? Did CONSUMER REPORTS offer recommendations about buying or using this kind of service? If yes, what do you think was its most important recommendation? Why?
- What range of choices do providers of this service offer? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? Discuss what sellers provide and don't provide.
- Do buyers of this service sign contracts? If so, how could the contract for this service protect the consumer? The seller? If the terms of the contract were unfavorable, what could the consumer do?
- Are there health, safety, or environmental considerations related to this service? If so, how might that affect your decision to buy?
- If you were dissatisfied with this service, or felt cheated, what could/would you do?
Explore how CONSUMER REPORTS conducted its evaluation of the service.
- How did CONSUMER REPORTS gather information for its evaluation of this service? Surveys? Evaluation of studies? Interviews? Comparisons of contract provisions? What kinds of information did it get from each source? How could you add to this research?
- Which service provider got the lowest rating from CONSUMER REPORTS? Highest? Do you think either service provider might or should make any changes in response to the CONSUMER REPORTS evaluation? Explain.
Interpret the ratings chart.
- What is the most important information given in the ratings chart? How is this information presented? Are overall scores given? How? What do those scores mean? What don't they mean?
- Does the chart contain any information not given in the article? Explain. Is there information in the article not shown on the chart? Explain.
Student Activity 5-A1: Analyze a Service
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ACTIVITY OBJECTIVES
- To identify criteria by which a service can be judged.
- To use these criteria to analyze and compare services.
ACTIVITY PLAN
- Have students brainstorm positive and negative factors they would consider in evaluating the service.
- Have students complete the activity sheet using the factors or characteristics that they think are most important.
- Have students read the CONSUMER REPORTS article and then compare their lists to the characteristcs CONSUMER REPORTS recommends that one consider in choosing the service.
- Have students adjust their lists. Discuss how their lists changed and why.
- Have students use their lists in comparing two services.
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES
Evaluate advertising. Have students look for ads, commercials, or direct-mail promotions that try to sell this service. What do the ads claim? How accurate is the information they provide? What techniques are used to persuade consumers to buy this service? Follow up. If the ads exaggerate or mislead, have students rewrite to provide a more accurate picture.
Role-play buying a service. Divide the students into pairs. Have one student try to sell a service. Have the other ask questions to evaluate the service. Before beginning, have students brainstorm a list of sales strategies the provider might use.
Write a complaint letter. Write a letter complaining about unsatisfactory service or praising exceptional service. If possible, base the letter on an actual experience.
Research/Interpret a contract. Provide students with a contract for this type of service, if applicable. Have students put in their own words: a description of the service to be provided; what it promises; how the customer is protected; how the provider is protected; and the total price for the service. Is there anything about the contract that the consumer should not accept? Discuss. |
Student Activity 5-A2: Compare Services
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ACTIVITY OBJECTIVES
- To appreciate the benefits of comparing services before making a choice.
- To analyze similarities and differences between two comparable services.
- To make inferences about the services based on the analysis.
ACTIVITES PLAN
- Discuss the importance of comparison shopping for services. How would students go about comparing two providers of the same service? How would reading a CONSUMER REPORTS article on this service help them?
- Have students select a service to evaluate. Ask them to find two providers who offer this service in your community.
- Have students use the activity sheet to compare the two services. Have them follow CONSUMER REPORTS' recommendations in judging the services. Discuss their answers. In what ways are the two services alike? Different?
- Ask students which service they would select, based on their analysis of that service's positive and negative features. Have them defend their choices on a separate sheet of paper.
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES
Prepare a shopping plan. Ask students how they would go about comparison shopping for this service. Have each student develop a plan. Encourage students to brainstorm a list of criteria they would use in preparing their shopping plans, including price, contract, reputation, etc. Follow up. How else could a buyer find information about this service? Have students list possible sources of information in their community.
Comparison shop. If applicable, have students compare the costs of purchasing this service from three different providers in their community. Ask them to calculate the basic cost of the service plus any additional options or special features. Have them present their findings in chart form and discuss the results in class.
Plan a service business. Have students think of services most teens use. Then divide the class into groups and have each group dream up a mock company to provide one of these services. Have them prepare an ad or direct-mail piece describing the service and why it is desirable. The ad should describe what is special or unique about the service, how much it costs, and how it differs from services of other providers. Discuss each group's marketing piece with the class to determine if it meets all the objectives. Compare the plans to see which student-produced service would be the most useful or profitable. |
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