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WANT TO BUY A ROBOT?: MAKING THE SALE44 When Vicki Nguyen reached her office, she had a message from Mike Smith, the regional sales manager, to meet him in his office regarding the Vacation Suites order. Nguyen is a senior sales associate for AI Information Solutions Inc., a firm that markets robot concierge products and services. A robot concierge is a humanlike robot used in service or information-providing settings, like a hotel or an airport, to provide information and answer questions. Robot concierges have also been used in hotels to deliver food to rooms. Although a relatively new product/service, people appear to be receptive to this new technology because they find the robots fascinating and efficient to interact with. For instance, they can be programmed to have their eyes express different emotions like happiness or confusion.45 The Vacation Suites is interested in improving service to its clients by providing better and more timely information at specific touchpoints such as registration. Its order represents a multimillion-dollar contract for AI Information Solutions. Al Information Solutions AI Information Solutions provides robot concierge services to large organizations and has an established track record for delivering an exceptional standard of quality and high levels of customer service. This excellent reputation allows AI Information Solutions to charge a substantial premium, ranging from 10 to 20 percent above the market leader International Information Processors (IIP). The information services market has been dominated for two decades by IIP, but concierge robots are a new business for both firms. Only one other competitor, an aggressive, small, low-price player, holds a significant market share. This provider has made inroads into the market in the past several years through its aggressive sales tactics. AI Information Solutions has just built a new facility and hired 50 new programmers and engineers. Therefore, the company must generate new business to meet its higher financial goals. Even more important in the short run, it must keep the new employees working on interesting projects to retain them. Vacation Suites Vacation Suites is a global hotel chain with headquarters in Denver, Colorado. Its purchasing department negotiates contracts for software and hardware services and coordinates the interface among a variety of members from different departments. Competition between hotel chains is increasingly competitive, leading to tight budgets and higher levels of scrutiny of the value added by customer service improvements.