For immediate release
Sept. 2, 2003

Dr. Rick Lytle, dean of Abilene Christian University's College of Business Administration, says service is declining in today's consumer environment, and he has set out to research and reintroduce the concept with his students.

Students in Lytle's Marketing Strategies class will learn about customer service from a hands-on perspective Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 2 and 3, as they pump gas, clean windshields, check oil and provide other services for gasoline customers at the Shell gas station at the corner of Judge Ely Blvd. and N. 10th St..

On Tuesday, students will be at the station from 4-8 p.m.  On Wednesday, students will be at the station from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

"We want to educate students on the importance of service and service quality, and we want them to understand how customers feel about the value of service," Lytle said.

 "Service is once again on the decline in the United States. In the kind of economy we're in right now, people are looking for ways to differentiate their product or service. This is a market test to see if this kind of old-fashioned customer service could differentiate, to see if customers would come back for this kind of service."

Lytle's class will use Texaco's former "5-star service" plan, which includes five points of service: greeting customers with a smile, offering to pump gas, wash their windshields, check their oil and check their tires.

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