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Group Report
Presented to: Professor Philippe Colas
MARK 451 – B
John Molson School of Business
Concordia UniversityPresented by:
Ahmad Abudieyed
Carolanne Lavoie
Madina Moukas
Maya Safah
Brittany Seale
Nadine Zahran

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Table of Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 3
Story of Elderly people ......................................................................................................... 3
What is the Freedom Express?.............................................................................................. 4
Target Market........................................................................................................................ 5
SDL Approach ........................................................................................................................ 6
Co-creation............................................................................................................................ 6
Relational Messages.............................................................................................................. 7
Purchase Phase ....................................................................................................................... 8
Pre-Purchase.......................................................................................................................... 8
Service Encounter ................................................................................................................. 9
Post-Purchase...................................................................................................................... 10
Image and Communication.................................................................................................. 12
Above & Beyond Services .................................................................................................... 13
The Service Package ........................................................................................................... 13
Augmented Services............................................................................................................ 14
Gaps & Measures.................................................................................................................. 17
Plan of Action........................................................................................................................ 18
Short-term ........................................................................................................................... 18
Medium-term....................................................................................................................... 18
Long-term............................................................................................................................ 18
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 19
Appendix A - CPV/CPR....................................................................................................... 20
Appendix B - Touchpoints ................................................................................................... 21

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INTRODUCTION
Story
While waiting for the bus down the street, Janice, a 65 year-old woman, struggles to
hold her groceries and stand with the use of her cane. Young people always seem to cut the
line in front of her since it takes her a longer time to get on the bus than the rest. When she
finally gets on the bus, she looks for a seat. The teenagers on the bus ignore her and never
give up their seat. Once she finally sits, her back starts hurting because the bus seats are so
uncomfortable. That is the moment Janice reminisces and misses the days she still had her
license and was able to perform her regular activities with comfort. She feels like she lost her
sense of freedom.
As the founders of Freedom Express, we believe in creating and helping the older
generation with this service. The elderly have helped our generation to become an
independent and productive society. It is through their hard work and loyalty that we have
decided to focus our attention to elderly people. Within the next few years, many Baby
Boomers are going to take their retirement. They will eventually move out of their houses

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and live in retirement homes for elderly people. This community helps them be part of a
common and safe environment, while still having their independence. In Montreal, there are
many retirement homes for elderly people. Elderly people constantly want to go to specific
locations, but they are deprived from that either because they do not have their license, or
they do not desire driving in horrible weather conditions. Moreover, elderly people are often
anxious and stressed about their appointment and feel powerless in such situations. They
need to be confident about being able to get there safely and on time. Of course they can take
the bus, taxi or metro, but it does not satisfy their needs. Most often, people have to wait a
long time to take the bus. Also, sometimes the elderly cannot find any place to sit down in
the bus or metro, which can cause them physical pain. As for a taxi, the drive brings you to
your desired destination, however without offering any extra help. This is why we came up
with the service called Freedom Express, because we have seen a gap in the market.
What is the Freedom Express?
Freedom Express offers a mean of transportation for older people. This shuttle will be
picking up elderly people from their retirement homes and bring them to their desired
destination. The shuttle will include a driver, an assistant, and 10 comfortable seats with
cushions available for our customers. We will have a head office, where all the calls well be
taken. To start off, we will be focusing in the West Island area in order to test the market. We
have a set schedule where from Monday to Friday, where there are fixed timings to go
clothes shopping, grocery shopping, bank, park or church. In this case, whoever wants to go
clothes shopping, for instance, needs to take the shuttle leaving from their retirement home
on Monday and/or Wednesday at 10 am. This shuttle will pick them up in three hours at 1

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pm and the driver and the assistant will be helping the elderly with their bags and helping
them to their seat. In the shuttle, social interaction will be encouraged between the shuttle
participants as well calm classical music will be played in the background. Finally, the
shuttle will bring the elderly back to their homes. Moreover, our customers can call us, 1
week in advance, to schedule personal appointments not mentioned in our schedule. For
example, if a woman wants to go to her hairdresser on Monday at 10 am, the shuttle will
bring her to the destination and pick her up whenever she finishes. As someone else needs to
head around the same time to a nearby place, we will send the shuttle to bring all of them in
the same one.
Target Market
Our target market is elderly people living in retirement homes. It can range from
Baby Boomers to Traditional Generations. Basically, it is anyone who desires going to a
specific location, without having the necessity to drive. These are independent people who
do not want to rely on family members/friends. Most of their children are either working or
busy with their own lives, therefore lacking the ability and time to constantly drive their
parents around. Therefore, the Freedom Express can help facilitate those people’s lives.

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Schedule
Time Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
8 am
9 am
Church
10 am
Shopping
(Fairview)
10:00 am –
1:00 pm)
Grocery
Store
Shopping
(Fairview)
Grocery
Store
Bank
Park
11 am
12 am
1 pm
2 pm
3 pm
4 pm
5 pm
SDL APPROACH
Co-creation
Freedom Express incorporates an SDL approach as it co-creates value with customers
by providing a happy and loving environment that comforts customers and causes them to
want to spread the joy. Customers do not only use our service to get to the desired location,
rather it is a social experience that allows them to socialize and be in an interactive
environment. Moreover, Freedom Express is co-creating with a taxi service in order to be
able to expand our horizons to individuals who are seeking to be transported from one
location to another but require assistance as well. This will allow us to get our service name
out in the market and hopefully generate positive word-of-mouth.

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Relational Messages
Freedom Express adapts relational messages by interpreting service evidence and
service escapes. These service escapes indicate that Freedom Express cares about their
customers by ensuring our customers feel comfortable and are given extra care through our
employees. This care can be delivered through taking the extra step to put a smile on our
customers’ faces. This is done by greeting them every morning with a smile and showing
them we care to know about how their day was. Other details can be tangible such as offering
extra cushions for those who need extra comfort for the shuttle seat. Moreover, relaxing
classical music would be played in the shuttle in order to give our clients that feeling of
relaxation and comfort.
All of our clients are going to feel important no matter what the circumstances are.
We offer small complementary items such as hand lotion, sanitizer etc. that would satisfy
both genders in order to make everyone feel equally important. Most importantly, we want
our clients to feel that we trust them. In order to deliver that feeling, we will avoid fixing the
seat cushion into the seat so the client feels comfortable enough to move it around and feel
that we trust that he/she will leave it in the shuttle where it is supposed to be. Moreover, we
will trust that the clients will return the amenities offered such as hand lotion etc. to the
assistant before leaving the bus, without asking them to return it. Through establishing the
aspects of care, importance, and trust into the Freedom Express service, we will be able to
deliver a strong relational message with positive emotions, causing our clients to feel only
happiness.

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PURCHASE PHASE
Many elderly people desire going to a specific destination. Relatively, there are many
customers’ perceived values (CPV) before taking the Freedom Express (Appendix A). First,
the person is expecting to go to their location. It can either be the mall, bank, clinique etc. It
is a simple functional value for the service. Second, our customers are expecting a friendly
environment in the shuttle. Many people desire socializing with others in the shuttle. Third,
due to the diminishing health conditions of older people, they are expecting the shuttle to be
comfortable. Fourth, the customers are expecting the shuttle to arrive on time. Fifth, many
customers are expecting to have additional help.
There are a few customers perceived risk (CPR). First, they hope that they do not wait
for a long time before the shuttle comes as older people cannot wait standing up for a long
time. Second, there is the fear of the shuttle not being comfortable. Third, there is an
opportunity risk of taking another mean of transportation such as the bus. Fourth, there is the
risk on how far the shuttle can go. Fifth, as older people are not working, the question of
money is often an issue; therefore they want to pay the lowest amount possible. Lastly, there
is the risk that the assistances and drivers are not trained enough.
Pre-­‐
Purchase
Service
Encounter
Post-­‐
Purchase

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As for the Freedom Express encounter, there are a few CPVs. First, the perceived
value of meeting new people that shares similar interest, as there is always the social aspect
to it. Second, the driver is nice and friendly. Third, the value of the driver being helpful.
Every new driver will have to take special classes in order to drive a shuttle for the Freedom
Express. It is important for us to choose the best drivers with enhanced social skills to
encourage interaction among our customers. Fourth, the shuttle needs to be comfortable, in
order to prevent back problems. Therefore, there will be extra cushions on each seat that will
make their experience more pleasant. Fifth, there is the perceived value that the assistants
helping are friendly and caring, consequently it is crucial for our service that the assistants
are well trained. Similarly to the driver, the assistants well have to take classes in order to
work for Freedom Express. As well, they need to have a medical background, in case any
person is ill.
As with many services, there is some customers’ perceived risk. There is the time risk
of waiting too long for the shuttle, however in order to prevent that, there will be a driver and
an assistant on hold. Also, a shuttle will be available in case of an emergency. Meaning that
if something happens with the shuttle or driver, a backup will be available to help prevent
our customers from waiting too long. In addition, there is the risk that our customer did not
arrive on time. The driver and the assistant(s) will always consider a 20-minute extra time, in
Pre-­‐
Purchase
Service
Encounter
Post-­‐
Purchase

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case something happens. This will help minimize the risk of bringing them late to their
appointments.
There is the risk of not having enough shuttles as well; therefore an extra shuttle will
be available to help eliminate such risk. Moreover, there is the risk of the shuttle having
technical problems. Accordingly, our service will add a different party in order to co-create
with a taxi company. This will also help when only one person wants to go somewhere,
instead of taking the shuttle; they would be able to contact us through a taxi company. In
addition, it will help in case of emergency. For example, if a shuttle arrives late, a taxicab
that incorporates the Freedom Express’ service image can pick them. This will help eliminate
any foreseen problems.
Lastly, customers fear that the driver drives recklessly.
Consequently,
each shuttle will have a system installed inside where the people of the head office can track
the speed to which the driver is driving. This will give management at the head office a good
idea if the driver is speeding or not.
After using the Freedom Express, there are many CPVs. First, there is the functional
value of the shuttle bringing them to their destination. It is part of the core service, which is
bringing our target customers to their desired location. Second, there is the social value of
meeting new people in the shuttle. As people get older, it is hard for them to meet new
people. By taking Freedom Express, it will allow them to socialize with people of similar
Pre-­‐
Purchase
Service
Encounter
Post-­‐
Purchase

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interest, therefore widening their social circle. Third, there is the feeling of independence.
They do not have to rely on family members to bring them to their destination; rather they
can schedule appointments with Freedom Express themselves and enjoy their freedom.
Fourth, there is the functional value of becoming more productive during the day. They can
fix their own schedule, which makes our customers more efficient.
For the post-purchase of Freedom Express, there are a few risks associated to the
service. First, there is the fear of not arriving on time. Second, our customers can spread
negative Word-of-Mouth (WOM) to their friends/families. To help prevent such risk, we will
have a Facebook page. On the Freedom Express page, we will be open to any comments.
When a negative comment appears about our service, we will try to reply back by offering
our apologies. Each comment will be personalized and different, but we will try to minimize
our negative image by improving in certain areas. Third, there is the risk of the customers
having back problems. As mentioned before, the chairs will be covered with comfortable
cushions. Fourth, there is the risk that the customer feels to dependent of the shuttle. This
service allows people to get to their destination without needing to rely on family/friend.

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IMAGE AND COMMUNICATION
Customers have to go through a series of touchpoints to come to a conclusion about a
service such as Freedom Express. Our customers will go through a series of touchpoints that
will lead them to capturing the ideal customer experience (Appendix B). Our service
incorporates a positive image in various aspects. For instance, our image invites all sorts of
cultures to use our service, which stimulates a multi-cultural environment. In addition,
consistency is adapted in terms of delivering the same ideal values to our customers every
time. Consistency will help our customers to be repeatedly happy and satisfied with the
service experience as a whole by tapping into the customer’s mindset. Freedom Express
constantly tries to have a positive image in the eyes of their customers in order to constantly
increase their customer base. We want to incorporate a happy and loving image by
communicating through our employees that they love their job and enjoy making a difference
in the elderly’s life daily.

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The positive and consistent image leads to an optimistic communication in relation to
the Freedom Express service. We ensure that our customers leave the shuttle happy to
generate positive WOM. Moreover, we hope to further tap into social media and generate
positive online reviews through families of the elderly people that have experienced our
service. We understand that our customers induce customer driver influence (CDI), which
can greatly impact our service positively or negatively.
ABOVE AND BEYOND SERVICES
The Service Package
Our shuttle bus gets older people from their retirement homes to their desired
destination. The shuttle will consist of ten seats. As mentioned above, we want to start in the
West Island to test the service and eventually expand throughout Montreal. Also, there will
be a few shuttles (3) for each retirement home. Our core value is to give the elderly people
their freedom back. It is important for us to help give them their independence, without
having them to rely on family members/friends. We want our service to be as friendly and
pleasant as promising, by offering a helpful driver and extra assistance. In addition, we want
to offer very comfortable shuttles. Our service will help them get to their destination as
relaxing as possible.
There are several facilitating services to accomplish our core service. Starting with
the driver in each shuttle. We will have an office that takes the calls of the elderly people and
assign them to specific shuttles according to the desired activity. For instance, if a group of

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people wants to go grocery shopping around the same time, then we will place them in the
same shuttle.
In addition, we are incorporating supporting services to further enhance our service.
There will be additional helpers in case someone needs some extra help. At all time, one
assistant will be present in the shuttle. Nonetheless, extra assistants can be available as well.
For instance, if a woman needs to go buy certain ingredients at the grocery store, we can
offer an assistant to help her with the bags. In other words, the assistant will come in the
shuttle with the woman and help her throughout her shopping experience.
Augmented Service
The augmented service helps make the experience at Freedom Express complete due
to website accessibility, which is convenient to obtain due to their big banner ads display.
The head office is open from 8 am until 5 pm everyday, which resembles feasibility to go
there incase of any inconvenience customer situations. Furthermore, Freedom Express will
offer comfortable seats with cushion based, to make our customers feel cozy and in a perfect
happy, relaxed mood. We will ensure to have a qualified driver and assistance on the bus in
order to enhance customer interaction with the service organization. The driver and the
assistance will be trained to be friendly, caring, and sociable with the customers to portray a
caring, happy environment.

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GAPS AND MEASURES
Gaps
In order to understand the customer's needs and
our service, we took into consideration all 7
gaps. In order to minimize the Knowledge Gap,
we decided to do our own research. We want to
give out questionnaires and interview our customers at their retirement homes in order to
understand what the customers’ needs are and fulfill their expectations. Also, we are only
testing the market in the West Island.
Moreover, we are going to use a good system to reduce
the Standards Gap. By doing so, our service has a Head
Office where the calls are being answered. This will
enable a smooth communication between the customers
and Freedom Express, resulting in high standards of service delivery.
The Delivery Gap will be minimized, as the recruitment for the
employees will be taken seriously. The drivers, assistants and
employees working at the Head Office will be well trained. We
will train them on technical and soft skills. This will result in
consistency and excellency in our service delivery.

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Minimizing the Internal Communications Gap will be
accomplished by having regular meetings with all employees.
These consistent meetings will help create a constant service
image among the employees’ mind set. Therefore, causing
Freedom Express to deliver the best service.
In order to reduce the Perceptions Gap,
employees at the Head Office will call the
customers a day before their appointments. It
will remind them, as some customers may
call weeks in advance and they might forget
to take the shuttle. Also, when we are making
the call, we will let them know about the time the shuttle will pick them up from their
destination. It will give them a good estimate about the time. Finally, as the shuttle drops
them back, we will ask the customers if they are satisfied with our service.
To decrease the Interpretation Gap, we
will pre-test all of the advertising. As
part of the marketing strategy,
brochures will be available in the main
entrance of the retirement homes. It

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will include contact information and a road map. A Facebook page and a Twitter account
will be created. Also, we will have a website giving all the necessary information needed.
Accordingly, we will determine if the advertisement is well interpreted, if not, we will revise
all of them to ensure the ideal target audience interpretation.
Accordingly, the 6 gaps will be taken into consideration, therefore reducing the
ambiguity between the customers and service. This will result in Freedom Express
guaranteeing a reduction in all service gaps.
Measures
Freedom Express adapts the measurement of soft measures as our employees are
trained to form a relationship with the customers. Employees (driver) are encouraged to
smile and ask our customers how their appointment/day was. Moreover, assistance is offered
to enhance the relationship with our customers and allow them to take their time and not rush
them to the shuttle. In addition, the driver and the assistant are encouraged to keep an active
conversation with the customers in the shuttle when needed. Finally, they end the service by
asking the customer how they found the service as they drop them off to their retirement
homes. Through incorporating these soft measures, Freedom Express will be able to detect
any lack of customer satisfaction and instantaneously and take adequate measures to fix it.

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PLAN OF ACTION
Short Term
In terms of short-term goals, Freedom Express will start by targeting areas in the
West Island for 1 – 4 months. Moreover, we will start focusing on three retirement homes to
begin with and focus on enhancing our service accordingly and start building customer
loyalty. This would help us to get out the name of our service, Freedom Express, onto the
market as a niche service to begin with.
Medium Term
In terms of medium term goals we are going to enhance our social media ads and
make sure they communicate the right message we want to get through to our customers. We
will enhance our social networking by sending invitations to retirement homes to use our
service. Moreover, we will send small groups of employees to retirement homes to explain
the service in detail to the customers. In addition, we will monitor our customer retention rate
and analyze any lack in customer satisfaction. This analysis will go through by sitting and
talking with the unsatisfied customers and ask them what could we have done better to
improve their service experience with Freedom Express. This will help us to understand
customer needs and further improve and tailor our service according to their expectations.
Long Term
In the long term, Freedom Express will expand to greater Montreal area, such as
Laval. This expansion will cause us to have more shuttles available in order to maintain
consistency in our positive brand image and customer satisfaction. Moreover, a TV ad will
be filmed and published that will express how our service was found and demonstrate what

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our service is all about. This will help us to increase the recall and recognition rate of the
Freedom Express service in the public’s mindset.
CONCLUSION
Freedom Express tailored its service through incorporating a service dominant logic
strategy. This allowed our service to focus on building a perfect, ideal customer experience
for the elderly people and give them their freedom back. As we accomplish the sense of
freedom again in our customers’ lives, Freedom Express will generate positive WOM and
enhance their customer centric approach. This will allow Freedom Express to develop a
network with customers to induce valuable long-term relationships with joyful customers.

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APPENDICES
Appendix A – CPV/CPR

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Appendix B - Touchpoints
Touchpoints Added Value
Website Functional value
Facebook Social value
Promotional video Emotional value
Head Office / receptionist Functional value
Driver and assistant Functional/emotional/social value
Shuttle bus Functional/social value
Flyers Functional value
Posters Functional value
Newspaper Functional value
Pamphlets Functional value
Retirement homes Social value
Madina Show Social / Emotional value
Classical music Emotional value