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Hardball Tactics in Negotiation, Definition & Examples. Top 8 Hardball Tactics in Negotiation are Good cop bad cop, Lowball Highball, Bogey, Nibble, Chicken, Intimidation, Aggressive behavior, and Snow Job.

Hardball Tactics

Hardball Tactics refer to the typical method applied by negotiators to achieve the goal anyhow. Any part of the negotiation can use hardball tactics to gain an advantage. Hardball tactics are the deceptive way to gain the objective. The negotiator usually employs these tactics to get the benefit from the detriment of another party. People use these hardball tactics for personal, social, political, and business purposes. They adopt them to purchase a product, make an agreement, deal with others parties. It is a significant strategy in business communication.

The Most Common Hardball Tactics

Hardball Tactics Examples-The 8 Typical Hardball Tactics in Negotiation — The 8 Typical Hardball Tactics in Negotiation

What are the hardball tactics in negotiation?

The 8 Hardball Tactics in Negotiation are:

Good cop/bad cop
Lowball/Highball
Bogey
The nibble
Chicken
Intimidation
Aggressive Behaviour
Snow Job

1. Good Cop Bad Cop Tactic

A good cop/ bad cop negotiation refers to tactical bargaining between two parties to benefit from the other party’s detriment. It occurs amid two parties’ negotiation when two people in the same party deal with the other party as good and bad.

Good Cop Bad Cop Tactic Example -1

For example, the police want to ask some questions in a police station, but the prisoner would not want to say anything. So, two police officers plan to play a game, and one acts like a rude, devilish person so that he can ask the question fiercely. On the other hand, another police officer interrogates the prisoner politely. After comparing the two policemen, the prisoner decisively told the information and admitted his fault to the gentle policeman.

Good Cop Bad Cop Tactic Example -2

For example, A customer goes to a mask shop where the shop owner and his manager sell products. The customer wants to buy a mask; therefore, he was negotiating with them. The shop owner is persuading the customer, saying that the facemask will protect you and your family from Coronavirus. It would be best if you bought it without focusing on only RM 5 per piece. On the other hand, the manager says to the customer that you have to pay RM 5 if you want to buy or not sell it for less than RM5. The manager also intimidates the customer, saying that you can go now without paying RM 5. However, the owner is still trying to persuade the customer to buy the mask for RM5. The owner is dealing in a friendly manner, whereas the manager is threatening the customer. However, both (owner & manager) want to sell the product. This kind of negotiation is called a good cop/bad cop negotiation.

Good Cop Bad Cop Tactic Example -3

When I was a secondary student, I had violated the school rules for being late to school. The school discipline teacher acted as the “Bad Cop” who commanded on punishing me according to the school rules and regulations. Meanwhile, the counseling teacher held an open-minded talk to understand why I was late and advised me patiently. Finally, I will never be late again in the next five years.

2. Lowball Highball Tactic

The negotiator applies a lowball/highball tactic to get the attention of the other party. They know that they will not be able to achieve it but offering. Actually, the lowball/highball tactic begins with an extremely low or high opening offer to the opposite party. The extreme proposal will stimulate the other party to re-evaluate their opening offer and move closer to or beyond their resistance point.

Lowball Highball Tactic in Negotiation Example-1

For example, your son does not want to go to school by bus because his friends come by private vehicle. Therefore, he decided not going school till buying a private car. You offer him to gift a new personal car by next month to make him happy. You know very well that you will not be able to buy a new private car by next month. It is a ridiculous offer that is called a lowball/highball tactic. Later, you manage to persuade him to go to school by bus for six more months, but you will buy a motorbike for him after six months.

Lowball Highball Tactic in Negotiation Example-2

For example, imagine that you want to buy a woody chair. Them negotiate with the seller, the set price is 100RM, you might think it is unacceptable price, so you say can I buy it in 20 RM, because it does not seem that high price, the seller might shock a while, after that the seller might say” 50RM, take it okay?” Finally, your goal has been achieved.

Lowball Highball Tactic in Negotiation Example-3

For example, my girlfriend (ELA) stopped talking to me because another girl likes my photos uploaded on Facebook. ELA is jealous of girls who like and comment on my Facebook photos. I offered him not to use Facebook anymore to continue our communication. She also knows that It is quite impossible to stop using Facebook. However, this tactic stimulates her to talk to me for bargaining. We argue for an hour to finally agree that I would block the girl from following me on Facebook. Finally, I managed to think that blocking is so much better when it is a bad idea to stop using Facebook due to the girl.

3. Bogey Tactic

Bogey tactics in negotiation are demonstrated when negotiators conceal their interest in front of the other party. Negotiators pretend that the issue is of very little importance to them, the opposite party offering. The issue is significant for them, but they do not want to show their interest in front of the opposing party.

Bogey Negotiation Example-1

For example, you want to buy a new Samsung mobile phone with a face lock feature. Now, the shop owner is showing you the latest Samsung mobile phone and indicting the new feature. You are glad to see the new feature on the phone. However, you are not showing interested in the face lock feature. You are concealing your interest in front of the shop owner. You think that shop owner can increase the price if you show more interest in the new feature. Therefore, you pretend that you have no interest in buying this new phone. Eventually, you buy a phone at a low price that has the new face-lock feature.

Bogey Negotiation Example-2

This tactic is usually applied to the gambling situation. When I play mahjong with my family members, I maintain my poker face even though the mahjong I drew is good, and I win the game. But, I stay calm to distract my opponents’ attention, not to sense my happiness. After that, I pretend that I want mahjong A, but my target is mahjong J. Then, I successfully won the game by misleading the other family members to discover my true intention.

4. Nibble Tactic

The nibble tactic refers to asking for a minor concession to make the deal final. Usually, negotiators use this tactic after a long time of negotiation between them. The negotiator needs to add a small item to complete the deal or agreement.

Nibble Negotiation Example-1

For example, the customer will purchase the secondhand iPhone if the seller provides headphones and a charger and at the same price. It happens at the ending period of the negotiation when any party wants to close the deal.

Nibble Negotiation Example-2

For example, the tenant will rent the house if the owner replaces the old refrigerator with a new one. Finally, the owner agrees to add a new refrigerator to complete the agreement.

5. Chicken Tactic

In a negotiation tactic, the negotiator uses a big bluff with a frightening action to force the other party to fulfill their demands. The negotiator forces another party to close the deal immediately.

Chicken Negotiation Example-1

For example, one party is threatening the other party with, “If you do not sell this phone at RM 1000, I will buy the same phone from the next shop who is interested in selling it at the same price. The owner believed the customer’s bluff and agreed to sell the phone at RM 1000.

Chicken Negotiation Example-2

For example, The customer said he wants the furniture ready on the weekend or to find another shop. The shop owner became agree to deliver furniture before the due date believing the customer’s bluff.

Chicken Negotiation Example-3

For example, after a long negotiation, both sides are not satisfied with each other. Then one side says, “if you really oppose accepting my ideal price, I will find another person who will provide my ideal price.”

6. Intimidation Tactic

Intimidation tactics attempt to force the other party to agree by applying emotional appeal. They use emotion, anger, or fear to agree with the opposite party. The other side may deliberately use anger to show the seriousness of the position.

Intimidation Negotiation Example-1

Calvin is a small employee in a company. David is a well-known violent temper person in the organization. They are bargaining for various issues for a long time. Suddenly, David slapped the table, glared at Calvin, and said: Think about the difficulty of your job. Your wife and children at home are still waiting for dinner. Finally, Calvin accepted the conditions.

Intimidation Negotiation Example-2

For example, if someone bought a television, it did not work when he wants to open it at home. Still, it was nothing wrong when he checked the tv in the store, and then he asked the store to replace one for him, but the store refused to return it because it is available when he checked in the store. Finally, he said if you do not replace it for me today, I will post this on social media; nobody will come afterward.

7. Aggressive Behaviour Tactic

Aggressive behavior refers to the strategy of being aggressive in pushing your position or attacking the other person’s position to gain advantages. It is similar to intimidation tactics, but negotiator uses their position to intimidate other psychologically. It includes asking for further concessions.

Aggressive Behaviour Negotiation Example-1

For example, one customer comes to buy a mobile phone formally and says: Let’s not waste time, what is the maximum price? Here, the customer wants to emphasize that their time is significant, so close the deal soon.

Aggressive Behaviour Negotiation Example-2

For example, a sales manager offers RM 5000 for iPhone 12, but the customer is still negotiating to reduce the price. Instantly, the owner gets angry at the manager and “how can you make such a low offer.” Do you know today I have sold three iPhone 12 at RM5500 within 30 minutes? You are really wasting our time. It stimulates the customer to buy it at RM5000.

Aggressive Behaviour Negotiation Example-3

For example, a customer goes to buy a personal car in the showroom—the salesmen bargains with him regarding the price for a long time. Eventually, the customer brought out his identity card and showed the salesmen said, “I am also marketing manager, so please do not apply the marketing policy on me.” Here, the customer uses his position to win the negotiation.

8. Snow Job Tactic

Snow job tactic is demonstrated when negotiators surprise the other party with huge additional information. These additional make the opposite party confused about figuring out which facts are fundamental and essential. It occurs when negotiators overwhelm the other party with so much information to get distracted.

Snow Job Negotiation Example-1

For example, you want to buy a new mobile phone, and the seller provides you with so much information about the additional factors. They ensure that this phone is eco-friendly. It will not harm you. They also show you how many people are dying due to mobile blasts and so more. The use of many technical terms to confuse anyone who is not familiar with the topic.

Snow Job Negotiation Example-2

The negotiator explains the deal in English, but Ahmad, a non-native English speaker, will see him as educated. Ahmad will say yes without asking many questions to avoid embarrassment because the negotiator seems knowledgeable and more expert than him.

Snow Job Negotiation Example-3

Snow Job tactics are frequently used in government project tendering. When the government starts a new development project, they will publish massive information to hide the accurate worthy information behind the overwhelming information. This tactic is used to prevent the misuse of precious data for any illegal activity.

Conclusion

Top 8 Hardball Negotiation Tactics are Good cop bad cop, Lowball Highball, Bogey, Nibble, Chicken, Intimidation, Aggressive behavior, and Snow Job. These typical tactics are crucial elements for win-win and win-loss negotiation.

Citation For This Article (APA 7th Edition)

Kobiruzzaman, M. M. (2021, August 30). Hardball Tactics in Negotiation- Hardball Tactics Definition & Examples. Newsmoor- Educational Website For Online Learning. https://newsmoor.com/hardball-tactics-examples-example-of-hardball-tactics-in-negotiation/

Gap Model of Service Quality- 5 Gap Model of Service Quality With Examples. Gaps Model. Service Quality Gap Model. Gap Model of Customer Satisfaction.

Gap Model of Service Quality

The gap model of service quality refers to the five gaps model that describes gaps in service quality of the organization’s customer experiences and service quality. In 1985, four scholars, namely A. Parasuraman, Valarie Zeithaml, and Leonard L. Berry, introduced the gap model of service quality in the journal of marketing manuscript titled “A Conceptual Model of Service Quality and Its Implications for Further Research.” It is also known as the service quality gap model.

This model articulates the gap between customers’ expectations and the organization’s service. It assists service-providing companies in identifying customer satisfaction in different stages of the service delivery process. The service quality will be high when the customers’ perception meets the expectation, but the quality is low when the customer’s perception cannot meet the expectation. The five-gap model of service quality ensures the organization’s total quality management thoroughly.

Gap Model of Service Quality- 5 Gap Model of Service Quality With Examples. Gaps Model. Service Quality Gap Model. Service Quality Gaps. Gaps Model. 5 Gaps of Service Quality. Gap Model of Customer Satisfaction. — 5 Gap Model of Service Quality

Servqual Gap Model

SERVQUAL Model evaluates the gaps between clients’ expectations and perceptions of service quality with five major service dimensions: reliability, assurance, tangibles, empathy, and responsiveness. The Servqual model of service quality assesses the customers’ expectations and perceptions; therefore, many scholars call it the Servqual gap model. Hence, many service-providing companies utilize the gaps model to identify and improve clients’ satisfaction. The Servqual gap model or the five gap model of service quality represents a customer-satisfaction framework. However, the Survqual model is also known as the five service quality dimensions.

5 Gap Model of Service Quality

The 5 Gaps in Service Quality are

Knowledge Gap
Policy Gap
Communication Gap
Delivery Gap
Customer Gap

5 Gap Model of Service Quality With Examples

Gap- 1. Knowledge Gap

The knowledge gap in service quality refers to the gap between customers’ expectations of the company and its action of providing that service. It identifies what customers want from the industry and what the company typically offers to the customers. This gap can grow if management doesn’t focus on the customer’s expectations thoroughly.

Many reasons can increase the knowledge gap, for example:

Firstly, the knowledge gap in service quality increases when the industry does not carefully focus on what customers expect. Secondly, the knowledge gap increases due to a lack of upward communication and customer interaction. Thirdly, the preliminary market analysis also raises the knowledge gap.

The additional reasons for increasing the knowledge gap:

Less focus on relationships.
Failure to understand customer complaints.
Lack of interaction between management and customer.

Example of the Knowledge Gap in Service Quality

The user of Netflix wants to see the upcoming movie trailers on the Netflix official website. However, Netflix shows only the movie list on the site without knowing the customer’s expectations. So, Netflix would suffer this gap if it did not provide upcoming movie trailers on the site. Netflix’s change management fulfills the gap between customer perception and expectation to achieve competitive advantages.

Gap 2: Policy Gap

The policy gap is the difference between management perceptions of customer needs and the translation of those perceptions into service delivery policies and standards. This policy gap appears because of the dissimilarity between what the customer wants and what management provides for the customers.

Many reasons can grow the policy gap, for instance:

Firstly, the policy gap in service quality rises when the company is not committed to service quality. Secondly, the lack of task standardization extends the policy gap. Moreover, the lack of goal setting raises this gap.

The additional reasons for increasing the policy gap:

Shortness of customer service standards.
Inadequately described service levels.
Failure to continually update service level standards.

Example of the Policy Gap

Netflix will suffer from the policy gap if it uploads the upcoming movie trailers after releasing the movie. People want to watch the movie trailer before releasing the film. So, Netflix should be more responsive to the customers and commit to uploading the film trailer soon.

Gap 3: Delivery Gap

The delivery gap is the dissimilarity between the standard of the company’s service delivery policies and the service’s actual delivery. The delivery gap in service quality arises when the company cannot maintain the standard of products and services provided to customers. This gap may occur because of the communication gap, poor technology, and inappropriate supervisory on productions in the industry.

This gap occurs because of many reasons in the industry, for example;

Firstly, the lack of teamwork to deliver services or products triggers an increasing delivery gap. Secondly, the employee’s lack of knowledge about the product or service grows the delivery gap. Thirdly, insufficient human resources extend this gap.

The additional reasons for increasing the policy gap:

Role ambiguity and role conflict are unsure of your remit and how it fits others.
Poor employee or technology fit – is the wrong person or system for the job.
Inappropriate supervisory control or lack of perceived control – too much or too little control.

Example of Delivery Gap

Netflix may experience this gap if it uploads a lower video-quality film. Customers prefer to watch movies with high-quality regulations like HDR. However, Netflix streams films with 4K at 2160p, which reduces the delivery gap.

Gap 4: Communication Gap

The communication gap refers to the difference between what the company advertises about the products and what the customer delivers. It occurs when the company cannot provide services or products according to the commitment. It is an essential dimension to maintain because it may lead to customer disappointment.

This communication gap occurs because of many reasons in the industry, including;

Over-commitment.
Lack of integration between communication and production department.
Inadequate communications between the advertising teams and the operations department.

Example of Communication Gap

Netflix may suffer this gap if it cannot telecast the HDR video it promised to offer. So, Netflix should not commit to customers if they cannot stream HDR video on the site.

Gap 5: Customer Gap

The customer gap is the difference between customer expectations and perceptions of the service. This customer gap might appear if customers cannot understand the importance of the services and products. The customer gap also arises when clients misunderstand the service quality. Many organizations are unaware of this gap, losing many customers overnight. Customer gap in Survqual model

Conclusion

The five service quality gap model gaps are Knowledge, Policy, Communication, Delivery, and Customer. The five gaps model of service quality is known as the Gap model. The gap model of service quality analyzes gaps and problems between organizations and their customers. Customer gratification will come out if the industry adopts the gap model diagram, which is a significant factor for continual improvement as well as the business. Therefore, the service provides industries like hospitals, hotels, restaurants, entertainment & recreational companies, and education and tourism agencies focus more on the gap model to improve customer satisfaction. For example, the Global Assistant Education Consultant concentrates on the gap model to gratify prospective and existing customers.