Designing and Managing Service Processes Chapter 8

Flowcharting Service Delivery Technique for displaying the nature and sequence of the different steps in delivery service to customers Offers way to understand total customer service experience Shows how nature of customer involvement with service organizations varies by type of service: People processing Possession processing Mental Stimulus processing Information processing

People Processing Service

Possession Processing Service

Mental Stimulus Processing Service

Information Processing Service

Service Blueprinting Service Blueprint A tool for simultaneously depicting the service process, the points of customer contact, and the evidence of service from the customer’s point of view. Service Blueprint Process Points of contact Evidence

Service Blueprint What is it? A picture, guide or map that accurately portrays the service system. A service blueprint allows all parties in the service experience to accurately understand and deal with service situations

Service Blueprint Components

Signage

Benefits of Service Blueprinting Identifies fail points in the delivery of a service Take preventative measures Prepare contingency plans Facilitates a top down, bottom up approach Facilitates internal communication between departments and SBUs Helps to define customer and employee roles Identify potential areas of strength Identify bottlenecks.

Key Components of a Service Blueprint Define standards for front-stage activities Specify physical evidence Identify main customer actions Line of interaction (customers and front-stage personnel) Front stage actions by customer-contact personnel Line of visibility (between front stage and backstage) Backstage actions by customer contact personnel Support processes involving other service personnel Support processes involving IT

Customer’s Role in Service Delivery

Levels of Customer Participation Low or minimal participation Consumer presence required during service delivery Moderate participation Consumer inputs required for service creation High involvement Consumer co-creates the service product

Customers as Service Co-creators Customers can be thought of as “partial employees”: Contributing effort, time, or other resources to the production process Customer inputs can affect organization’s productivity and quality of service processes and outputs. How? For the relationship to last, both parties need to cooperate with each other Key issue: Should customers’ roles be expanded or reduced?

Discussion Question #8 Page 260

Customer Participation and Self-Service Technologies Proliferation of New SSTs Customer Usage of SSTs Success with SSTs

Discussion Question #9 Page 260

Self-Service Technologies Benefits SST machines are conveniently located and accessible 24/7—often as close as nearest computer! Obtaining detailed information and completing transactions can be done faster than through face-to-face or telephone contact People in awe of what technology can do for them when it works well Drawbacks SSTs fail – system is down, PIN numbers not accepted, etc Poorly designed technologies that make service processes difficult to understand and use they mess up - forgetting passwords; failing to provide information as requested; simply hitting wrong buttons

Customers as Contributors to Service Quality and Satisfaction Customers can contribute to: their own satisfaction with the service by performing their role(s) effectively by working with the service provider the quality of the service they receive by asking questions by taking responsibility for their own satisfaction by complaining when there is a service failure

Importance of Other (“Fellow”) Customers in Service Delivery Other customers can detract from satisfaction: disruptive behaviours overly demanding behaviours excessive crowding incompatible needs Other customers can enhance satisfaction: mere presence socialization/friendships roles: assistants, teachers, supporters, mentors

Strategies for Enhancing Customer Participation Figure 13.3