1. UNIT I INTRODUCTION Definition Service Economy
Evolution and growth of service sector
Nature and Scope of Services
Unique characteristics of services
Challenges and issues in Services Mark

2. Definition of services
The American Marketing Association (1960): Services are “activities, benefits or satisfactions which are offered for sale or provided in connection with the sale of goods.”
Regan (1963): “Services represent tangibles, yielding satisfaction directly or intangibles, yielding satisfaction jointly when purchased either with commodities or other services “credit delivery.”

3. Lehtinen(1983): “Service product is an activity or a series of activities which take place in interaction with a contact person or a physical machine and which provides consumer satisfaction.”
Kotler, Armstrong, Saunders and Wong (1984):” A service is an activity or benefit that one party can offer to another which is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything. Its production may or may not be tied to a physical product”..

4. Valarie A Zeithmal and Mary Jo Bitner (1996) : “services are deeds, processes and performances”
Adrian Palmer (1998): “Service as an activity which as an element of intangibility associated with it and which involves the service provider’s interaction either with the customers or with the property belonging to the customer. The service activity does not involve the transfer of ownership of the output.”

5. A comprehensive definition of services must include the following elements:
The intangible nature of services
Performed by person or machine or both
Produced by the service provider
In association with the consumer
Combination of a service with the production of goods
Benefit to the receiver
Does not involve the transfer of ownership of the output.

6. CHARACTERISTICS OF SERVICES
Intangibility
Inseparability
Variability
Perishability

7. 1.Intangibility:
Services cannot be seen, tasted, felt, smell or heard before being bought.
products have tangible qualities that provide information to consumers so they can easily compare one product to another.
The potential customer is unable to perceive the service before the service delivery.
Eg: car repair, Heart surgery the customer cannot see what is being done and many indeed are unable to evaluate what has been done.

8. The use of customer testimonials and referrals
Intangibility – challengers
Intangibility presents problems to consumer may experience difficulty in knowing and understanding what is on offer before and even after receipt of service.
The challenge for the service provider is to determine the degree of tangibility and management action to make the service more tangible
For reducing customer uncertainty the service provider has to provide physical evidence ( a computerized representation of hair styles) and by developing strong brands
a brochure to help consumer understand the service.
The use of customer testimonials and referrals
increase customers’ comfort level by explaining your service
If you provide your services at one location (e.g. a doggy daycare) you might consider allowing customer preview visits

9. 2. Inseparability
There is a marked distinction between physical goods and services in terms of the sequence of production and consumption.
A service is consumed by the customer as soon as it is delivered by the employee.
Thus, production and consumption occur simultaneously
Services cannot be inventoried and need to be consumed immediately.
Since the delivery and consumption of a service are inseparable, there has to be interaction between customers and employees of a service organization.
Eg: the interaction between patient and doctor is essential if the patient has to be treated for an illness.
In the case of a hotel, the interaction between a server and a customer is essential for the former to take the order for food and serve it to the customer for consumption.

10. Inseparability – challenges
As a result, customers tend to equate the quality of service offered by the organization with their interaction with its front-line employees.
Therefore, service organizations should take special care in training and motivating employees.
Frontline employees should be trained to be professional in their approach; polite in the way they talk to customers and patient in dealing with queries.
In some cases, it has been possible to separate service production and consumption, especially where there is little need for personal contact.

11. 3. Variability
Production and consumption is variable in performance of a service.
The quality of service may vary depending on who provides it as well as when and how it is provided. Services are highly variable.
It is almost impossible to have the same service from the same seller the second time.
No two customers can have exactly similar service even though they experience it simultaneously.
eg:, the experiences of bus travelers vary with the seats they occupy. The experiences of passengers sitting on the window side, inner side, front rear and rear of the bus will not be similar, though they take the service simultaneously.
A receptionist of a hotel cannot extend the same kind of smile to the customers during all her working hours

12. Variability -Challenges
This characteristic of a service creates problems to the marketer, mainly during market expansion.
Establishing standard procedures (or checklists) can ensure consistent service delivery.
training is essential - Employees .
Automation helps to overcome the issue
banking organizations have introduced the credit card facility, tele banking and ATM to minimize direct buyer-seller interactions and variability.

13. 4.Perishability
Service cannot be stored for later sale or use.
As service is performance they cannot be stored.
Eg: hotel rooms not occupied,
airlines seat not purchased and
college seats not filled cannot be reclaimed.
If demand far exceeds supply it cannot be met as in manufacturing by taking goods from a ware house.

14. Perish ability – challenge
This can be overcome by carefully managing supply and demand.
Eg: A restaurant / amusement park/ beauty saloon might operate with fewer staff during the week and hire additional staff to cover weekends when demand is higher.
This strategy will allow the restaurant to provide the same level of customer service with varying customer demand and improve productivity.
Pricing strategies and promotions to stimulate demand for your service.

15. 5.CUSTOMER PARTICIPATION
Customers are co-producers of service.
The quality of service depends on the ability, skill and performance of the employee as well as the ability and performance of the customer.
Perfection from the organization cannot ensure positive results unless the consumers are involved with the process.
Customization is one of the key strategies the service firms adopt to ensure efficient and effective participation of customers.
Customer participation is active in services such as medical treatment, hairdressing, health clubs, colleges and beauty care centers.

16. 6.NO OWNERSHIP
Consumers can experience services but not ownership because services are intangible and perishable.

17. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOODS & SERVICE
Based on tangibility
Based on ownership
Based on customer involvement
Based on quality control
Based on attribute
Based on distribution
Based on marketing mix
Based on production and sale
Based on Perish ability
Based on demand and supply
Based on quality and consistency

18. COMPARISON OF GOODS AND SERVICES
Characteristics
Physical Goods
Services
Physical shape
Tangible
Intangible
Nature of products
Homogeneous
Heterogeneous
Ownership / Title
Transfer of Ownership
No Transfer of Ownership
Perishable
Can be kept in stock
Cannot be kept in stock
Life
Longer life
Still born
Shelf life
Shelf life- Days to year
Shelf life - Zero
Pricing
Material base
Labour base
Facility location
Near supply
Close to customer

19. Requires physical distribution Works with personal contact
Attributes
Attributes can be determined before the purchase
Difficult to determine the attributes
Marketing mix
Marketing mix consist of 4 P’s- product, price, place, promotion
Marketing mix consist of 7 P’s- product, price, place, promotion, people, process, physical evidence
Demand
Stabilized
Fluctuating
Supply
Flexible
Inflexible
Forecasting
Long term
Short term
Image
Brand
Corporate
Delivery
Separate with Production
Along with production

20. Production and distribution Production, Distribution
and consumption
Production and distribution
are separated from
Consumption
Production, Distribution
and consumption are
Simultaneous process.
Core value
Core value produced in factory
Core value produced in buyer – Seller.
Customer Participation
Customer do not participate in the production process
Customer participate in
the production process
Worker skill
Technical
Interaction skill
Customer involvement
Less
High
Physical presence of customer
Not necessary
Absolutely necessary
Consumer reaction
Delayed
Spontaneous

21. Quality
Standardized
Varies with time and person
Standardization
All over
Only for routine services
Repairs
Common
Impossible
Replacement
Rare
Technology
Hard
Soft
Physical evidence
Not so important
Important

22. GOODS AND SERVICES CONTINUUM

23. Computer installation
Tangible goods
Goods with services
Hybrid (50/50)
Services with goods
Pure service
Groceries
Cosmetics
Detergent
Auto repair
Computer installation
Restaurant
Five star hotel
Crèches
Air travel
Medical
Teaching
Consultancy

24. SERVICES ECONOMY
An economy is called a service economy when the contribution of the service sector to the GDP of the nation is more than 50 per cent.
The first economy declared as a service economy is USA in 1948 with about 53 per cent to its GDP.

25. Services plays a significant role of source of wealth in many ways to the economies.
Economies experienced increase in employment with the growth in service sector, employment in the service sector is rising.
Even in times of economic recession, unlike in the manufacturing sector, the service sector has kept employment up.
All human beings are service producers as well as consumers.
Transportation, education, communication, health care, hospitality, entertainment, banking, information technology, electricity and a host of services have become a part of our lives.

26. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and KPMG says India is currently the second fastest growing services economy in the world
It provides employment to 28% of work force, and it is growing fast.
growth rate 7.5% in up from 4.5% in
It has the largest share in the GDP, accounting for 53.8% in 2005 up from 15% in 1950.
In India's services sector contributed about 61% to India's GDP, growing strongly at approximately 10 % per anum.
Business services like information technology, information technology enabled services, business process outsourcing are among the fastest growing sectors contributing to one third of the total output of services.

27. Qualities of services Search qualities Experience qualities
Credence qualities

28. Search Qualities
attributes a consumer can determine prior to purchase of a product
Experience Qualities
attributes a consumer can determine after purchase (or during consumption) of a product
Credence Qualities
characteristics that may be impossible to evaluate even after purchase and consumption

29. REASONS FOR THE GROWTH OF THE SERVICE ECONOMY
The factors behind the transformation of a service economy and here are the reasons that put forward to explain the growth of the service economy.
The lag in growth in labour productivity in services compared with the rest of the economy.
The growth in intermediate demand from firms
The growth in final demand from consumers.

30. THE FUTURE OF SERVICE SECTOR
There are the likely trends in the service sector for the different kinds of services:
Old services
New services
Complementary services

31. Old services
Demand will continue to fall (e.g. public transport, laundries).
these services have a fairly small share in service consumption and output they will have little influence upon service as a whole.

32. New services
Demand will be fairly close to the trend of output and income in the overall economy (e.g. health, education, tourism):
Private consumer demand for
leisure and recreation- increase faster

33. Complementary services
Demand for these will be influenced by the health of the sectors which use them.
If the fortunes of the manufacturing sector improve then intermediate services will grow (e.g. computing, finance, research).

34. EVOLUTION OF SERVICES MARKETING
Fisk, Brown and Bitner identify the distinct stages in the evolution of Services marketing. They are
- 'Crawling Out' stage which took place prior to 1980;
-'Scurrying About' stage between 1980and1986;
- 'Walking Erect' stage from 1986 to 2000
- Galloping stage- from2000 to till date

35. CRAWLING OUT' STAGE - prior to 1980
In this stage discussion centered on the need for a separate body of literature to deal with the specific problem of the service sector.
marketing theory were examined and found to be insufficient or inappropriate when it came to handling service sector problems and concerns.

36. Donnelly, highlighted the difference between the marketing 'channels' used for services and those used for physical goods and implications for marketing strategy.
Marketing traditionalists argued that service organizations did not need a separate body of theory, and that existing marketing theories could, and should, be applied to service organizations.

37. SCURRYING ABOUT' STAGE 1980and1986;
In the 'scurrying about' stage efforts were made to classify services more clearly and
attention focused heavily on the crucial issue of managing quality in service operations.
Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman developed their pioneering 'gaps model' of service, to assess quality in services.

38. Other topics emerged
'service encounter' (i.e. the interpersonal aspects of the services), 'relationship marketing' and 'internal marketing'.
Booms and Bitner developed their expanded 'marketing mix' for services.
People, Process and Physical evidence.
For the first time textbooks on Services Marketing began to be produced,

39. WALKING ERECT STAGE - 1986 to 2000
the literature has focused on specific marketing problems of service organizations'.
Service Encounters/ moments of truth
Service Design
Perceived Service Quality- real
Customer Satisfaction
Internal marketing and
Relationship Marketing.

40. GALLOPING STAGE
Since 2000, there has been an increase growth of the service sector and services are the main contributors to the GDP of the country.

41. REASONS FOR GROWTH OF SERVICES IN INDIA

42. REASONS FOR GROWTH OF SERVICES IN INDIA
Cultural Changes
Change role of women
Conservation of Natural Resources
IT Revolution
Development of markets
Increased Consciousness of Health Care
Economic Liberalization
Exporting
Migration

43. THE EVOLVING ENVIRONMENT OF SERVICES

44. THE EVOLVING ENVIRONMENT OF SERVICES
Internationalization and globalization:
Changing patterns of government ownership and regulation:
Growth of service chains and franchise networks:
Technological Innovations:
Pressures to improve productivity:
Expansion of leasing and rental businesses:
Manufacturers as service providers:
Pressure on public and nonprofit organizations:
Hiring and promotion of innovative manager:

45. NATURE AND ROLE OF SERVICE AND GOODS MARKETING

46. NATURE AND ROLE OF GOODS MARKETING

47. NATURE & ROLES OF SERVICES MARKETING

48. CLASSIFICATION OF SERVICES
Classification based on the type of End - User
Based on user services can be classified into the following categories
Consumer: Services which are directly provided to consumer for example hair dressing, package holidays, dry cleaning, laundry.
ii) Business to business: Advertising Agencies, printing, accountancy, consultancy, photographic processing, which provide service to business operations.
iii) Industrial: it is based on the contract between organization and service provider.
For example Plant maintenance and repair, installation, project manage­ment.

49. Classification based on the service Tangibility
The degree of tangibility of services can be used to classify services into four
Highly tangible: in this case the customer obtains a tangible product in hand for example Car rentals.
Service linked to tangible goods: some organizations offer warranty period to customers who purchase their product Ex. Domestic appliance repair auto­mobile service to enhance consumer appeal.
Highly intangible: these are services which do not provide any tangible product. Ex; services like consultancy, legal service, psychotherapy, massaging etc.
Major services linked with minor tangible goods services. Some services offer a tangible product along with the service. Ex. Airline services provide food and magazines to passengers.

50. Classification based on Service Options
Services can be labour-intensive (people-based) and equipment-based services. This can also be represented by the degree of contact.
People-based Services: High contact (client's presence) with people.
For example Education, dental care, restaurants, medical services..
ii) Equipment-based-Service: Low contact with- people for
example cinema, vending machine, automatic teller machine.

51. Classification based on Specialization
Based on the expertise and skill of the service provider can be divided into the following categories.
Professional services: These services require the service provider to be formally trained to deliver the service.
For example Medical services, legal services, accountancy, tutoring.
Non-Professional services: These services do not require the service provider to undergo any training to deliver the service.
For example- caretaking, casual labour, etc.

52. Classification based on Profit Orientation
Services can be categorized based on the service provider’s purpose of doing business:
Non-profit Orientation: the main objective of the service provider is to serve society and not to make profits.
For example Educational Institutions like government schools and colleges, universities, cultural organizations like orchestras, zoos, museums, theatre groups, religious institutions like temples, churches, mosques, charitable and welfare groups such as Red Cross, research foundations, old age homes.
Commercial / Profit Orientation: These are services in which the main objective of the service provider is to earn revenues and make profits
Banks, airlines, tour operators, hotel and catering services. In this type of firms the orientation is to earn profit.

53. Classification based on External- Internal Services to Manufacturers
Services can be classified into two based on services to manufacturers.
External Services: Many services are concerned with the distribution, installations, and upkeep of physical objects; they include car repairs, landscape maintenance, computer installation, etc.
Internal Services: Cover a wide range of activities including recruitment, publications, legal services, pay roll administration, office cleaning, internal transport, etc. If the same services are provided by the outside agencies it becomes external services.

54. Classification based on Customer-Employee Presence:
Service can be classified into three on the basis of presence of customer and employee during the service. They are:
Self-Service: In this type of organizations we can find the presence of customer only.
For example ATM, self service restaurants, etc.
Interpersonal Services: In this type of organizations there will be pres­ence of both customer and employee.
For example, educational institu­tions, hair dressing etc.
Remote Service: In this type of organizations there will be presence of only employee.
For example, Insurance Company

55. COMPONENTS OF SERVICE

56. COMPONENTS OF SERVICE Industry Physical product Service Product
Environment
Service Delivery
Auto
The car
Warranty
Loans
Showroom
Grounds
Car lot
Test drive and
sales pitch
Repair time
Negotiation
Hotels
University
Retail store

57. COMPONENTS OF SERVICE Industry Physical product Service Product
Environment
Service Delivery
Auto
The car
Warranty
Loans
Showroom
Grounds
Car lot
Test drive and
sales pitch
Repair time
Negotiation
Hotels
Shampoo,
Food
Message
Wakeup Calls
The room
Pool Lobby
Front desk performance
Room cleaning
Speed of
room service
University
Diploma
Majors
Residence
Placement
Classrooms
Dormitories
Sports fields
Teaching
performance
Interview
Schedules
Retail store
Goods
Assistance
Credit
Inventory
Sales floor
Knowledge
Ability
Friendliness
Speed

58. SIGNIFICANCE OF SERVICE MARKETING
Creation and expansion of job opportunities
An Optimal Utilization of Resources
Increasing the standard of living
Environment-friendly Technology

59. SERVICE MARKET POTENTIALS
Upward in the Disposable Income
Increasing Specialization
Growing Fashion
Professionalism in Education
Information Explosion
Sophistication in Market
Increasing Governmental Activities

60. SERVICE MARKETING MIX Traditional Marketing Mix Product Price Place
Promotion
Expanded Marketing Mix Elements for Services
People
Physical Evidence
Process
Productivity

61. Product
In case of services, the ‘product’ is intangible, heterogeneous and perishable.
its production and consumption are inseparable.
hence, there is scope for customizing the offering as per customer requirements and the actual customer encounter therefore assumes particular significance.
Too much customization would compromise the standard delivery of the service and adversely affect its quality.
Hence particular care has to be taken in designing the service offering.

62. Price
Pricing of service should be competitive.
Customer links the price of a product or service with the quality.
It is the perceived quality of service by customer that influences pricing to a large extent.
Price considerations include levels of prices, discounts allowances and commissions, terms of payment and credit.
Price may also play a part in differentiating one service from another.
Service pricing decision are varied than product pricing decisions. Demand for service tend to be less elastic - as prices rise the consumption of the service will not decrease.

63. The methods of pricing for services can not be scientific as those for products.
Demand oriented method is difficult because of the uncertainty in projecting service demand.
Cost oriented method is more common but this is also difficult to implement because it is hard determine the cost of people based services.
In some cases competitor based pricing may be suitable, where the service is price sensitive, for example pricing airlines .
Whatever the method of price determination, the price of service usually influences image .

64. Place
Place refers to the distribution channel of service.
The place decision refers to the ease of access that potential customers have to a service. 
Closer to the customer means higher probability of purchase.
The location of the service providers and their accessibility are important factors in services marketing.
The simultaneous production and consumption of service indicate the channel of distribution is generally limited.
Franchising of service is growing rapidly especially in the fields of health club, accounting and tax services, restaurants, schools etc.
Franchising lends itself to any service that can be standardized –a major problem with heterogeneous services.

65. Promotion
Promotion is used to communicate information about goods and services to target market audience .
There is a need to make services more tangible by linking them to objects in promotion.
Another important objective of service promotion is to reduce the risk of buying service.
Promotion includes the various methods of communication like advertising, personal selling activities, sales promotion activities and other direct forms of publicity and indirect forms of communication like public relations.

66. People
All human actors play a role in service delivery and thus influence the buyer’s perceptions.
How these people are dressed, their personal appearance their attitudes and behaviors all influence the costumer perceptions of the service.
If the consumer is not happy with the type of service production, the producer will lose the market.
“In service industries everybody is a part time marketer, in that their actions have a much more direct effect on the output received by customers’

67. Physical Evidence
It refers to the environment in which service is delivered or where the firm and customer interact, and the tangible components that facilitate performance or communication of the service.
The physical evidence of service includes all of the tangible representations of the services such as brochures, letterhead, business cards, report formats, signage, and equipment.
Physical evidence cues provide excellent opportunities for the firm to send consistent and, strong messages regarding the organization’s purpose, the intended market segments, and the nature of the service

68. Process:
It refers to the actual procedures, mechanism and flow of activities by which the service is delivered.
The importance of process management is that it assures service availability consistent quality. Without sound process management, balancing service demand with service supply is extremely difficult.
Service cannot be inventoried therefore it becomes essential to find out ways and means to handle peak load to optimize different customer needs with varied expertise levels within the service organization.

69. Productivity
It measures how efficiently a service firm can turn inputs into outputs. Service quality is the extent to which a service meets or exceeds customers.
Productivity and quality were historically seen as issues for operations manager, so companies focused on making internal process improvements that were not necessarily linked to customers' service priorities.
Continuing efforts to understand and improve quality led back to the customer and reinforced the idea: that quality is customer defined. Speed is becoming an increasingly important factor in competitive strategy.
In many instances, firms are building their strategies around what are known as fast-cycle operations. While customers are interested in faster service, firm can benefit too, when faster operations lead to improved productivity and lower Costs.
Technological developments have played a large role in increasing the speed and convenience of service delivery and enhancing productivity.

70. SERVICE QUALITY
It is widely acknowledged that efforts to define and measure the quality tangible products are distinct from services, have proved more successful.
The characteristics of services have made the determination off constitutes quality that much more difficult and thereby its measurement than complete.
To increase our understanding and to enable practical steps to be taken two things need to be present:

71. Specification of the determinants of service quality
Measurable quality standards set.
Achievement in these two areas will vary depending on whether, focus is
A low contact or a high contact service, e.g. a fast-food outlet versus an education course.
Process or output.
Determining the process and output quality of a fast-food restaurant is arguable more straight-forward than an education course.

72. Service quality= (perceived performance/ desired expectation) x 100
Service quality is more difficult to evaluate. The process used by consumers in evaluating services differs from the process used for goods. Services tend to be high in experience and credence quality while goods tend to be high search qualities.

73. Search qualities
These are attributes consumers can evaluate prior to purchase, Texture, color, style of a good such as jeans would be an example, Services tend not to be high in search qualities unless the service is produced through a good, such as a bakery, Cakes and doughnuts would be high in search qualities.

74. Experience qualities
These are attributes that consumers can evaluate only during or after the consumption process, most services fit into this quality. For example e the service quality of restaurants, airline travel, recreational theme parks, etc.

75. Credence qualities
These attributes are difficult to evaluate even after the consumption is complete. Professional and business-to-business services often fall into this category. For example medical service, legal services, consulting services, and accounting services. It is difficult to evaluate the level of service received, because of the lack of expertise of the consumer.

76. APPROACHES TO SERVICE QUALITY
The word 'quality' had different meanings and can be used in different ways. Garvin (1984) identified five categories or approaches to the concept of quality:
The transcendent approach
The manufacturing - based approach
The user - based approach
The product - based approach
The value - based approach

77. 1.The transcendent approach:
Quality means ’'Degree of excellence”.
It reflects the ‘best’.
For example, a five-star hotel would be classed as a quality hotel, as opposed to a one-star, family-run hotel.

78. 2.The manufacturing-based approach
It relates to conformance with design or specification.
A quality service product would be one which was free of errors
an error would be defined as non-compliance with specification.

79. 3.The user-based approach
It adopts the attitude that, if a service/product meets the requirements of the user, it is a quality
is fitness for purpose.
A cheep watch which keeps time accurately and meets the requirements of the wearer would be classified as a quality watch.

80. 4.The product-based approach
This is a quantitatively based approach, and considers measurable characteristics.
A car with acceleration of 60 mph in 6 seconds would be of higher quality than one which took 8 seconds.

81. 5.The value based approach
service is of high quality if it conforms to customs and traditions.

82. DIMENSIONS OF SERVICE QUALITY
Tangibles
Reliability
Responsiveness
Communication
Credibility
Security
Competence
Courtesy
Understanding
Access:

83. Tangibles:
The physical appearance of the facilities, staff, buildings, etc. .
For example does the equipment appear modern? How clean is the waitress's apron?
Reliability :
The ability to reproduce the same level of service again and again
For example is feedback regarding student progress always given?
Are messages always passed on?
is my credit card statement free of errors?

84. Responsiveness:
Willingness to help customers, speed and provide prompt service.
For example. is my stock broker willing to answer my question?
Communication:
The clarity and understandability of the information given to the client
For example Does the doctor take the time to explain in terms the patient can understand,
what is going to happen next? Does the solicitor explain clearly what the legal jargon means?

85. Credibility:
The trustworthiness of the service provider,
for example does the newspaper reporter report all the facts or only those which support his/her argument?
Does the financial adviser present all the options or only those which earn him/her the most commission?
Security:
The physical safety of the customer or privacy of client information
For example Are the medical records of patients kept confidential?
Are the stands in the football ground strong enough to support the weight of all the supporters?

86. Competence:
The actual technical expertise of the service provider,
For example
Is the doctor really qualified to perform heart surgery?
Does the financial adviser have sufficient knowledge of all the relevant tax regulation?
Courtesy:
The attitude of the service provider and manner adopted by the server
For example is the receptionist friendly, helpful and polite?

87. Understanding:
How well the provider of the service understands the client's needs
For example does the bank recognize that most clients cannot get to the bank in working hours?
Access:
How easy is it to reach the service provider, geographically or by phone,
For example is there a car parking facility close to the solicitor's office?
Is the repair service facility conveniently located?

88. THE IMPACT OF SERVICE QUALITY
Service encounter
Service design
Service productivity
Service organization and culture

89. Service encounter
the customer interacts with the service employees and the physical evidence,
e.g., an information sign
How knowledgeable and courteous is the service employee?
How effective is the sign in terms of visibility, information provided, posi­tioning?
How can the customer contribute to the quality of the encounter?

90. Service design
the customer goes through a process to obtain a service.
How well designed is the process?
Is there a blueprint/flowchart of the process?
To what extent is there flexibility in the system?
Does the process require customization of standardization?

91. Service productivity
there is relationship between the quantity and quality of goods or services produced and the quality of resources used to produce them.
What are the possible relationship between changes in quality and changes in quantity?
i.e., if quantity increases (number of patients seen by a general practitioner) what effect could that have on the quality of service?

92. Service organization and culture
the culture of an organization and the way it is organized can affect the quality of service.
How do the various organization cultures (power, role, achievement and support) act as a key to understanding the kind of service produced?
What characteristics/features of an organization enable it to respond positively to customer needs and deliver a quality service?

93. IMPLEMENTING QUALITY SERVICE
Communication
Communication internally may need to be improved to ensure that there are no breakdowns in communication between the elements within the organization which make up a particular service. Communications should be designed to foster co-ordination and integration, enabling employees to be responsive to their internal customers and suppliers. Internal communications can also be a useful tool in engendering a team spirit and in motivating personnel. This can be very important in the drive for service quality. Management should end self that every employee knows what the organization’s objectives are, what desired quality goals have been set and what their individual role is in achieving these targets.

94. Training
Training needs to be undertaken to develop employees’ understanding of how they can deliver service quality. This training might include customer care programmes, and specific technical training to develop expertise in advising customers about the services offered. Training for personal development is also important, as motivation and job satisfaction are key elements in the provision and maintenance of quality service