Session 5 - service processes Flashcards
Service processes
Designed to deliver intangible outputs and focus on customer interactions
Key characteristics of service processes
- Customer centric
- Employee skills and training impact service quality
- Difficult to maintain inventory
- Managing customer variability is essential
Customer contact
The physical presence and interaction of the customer in the service system
High contact services
Examples: Resturants and Hospitals
They are harder to control
Low contact services
Examples: online banking , automated ticketing
can be standardized
Minimal interaction making automation easier
Extent of customer contact
The percentage of time the customer must be in the system relative to service time.
Service system design matrix
Classifies service processes based on customer interaction levels
Services processes types
- Mail contact : fully automated
2.Internet and on site tech: self service kioks..apps
3.Phone contact: customer support
4.Face to face “tight specifications” : standardized interactions - Face to face “loose specifications” : some personalization
- Face to face total customization : completely tailored.
Hybrid services
for instance airlines providing half irl and half online before the flight. etc.
Low customer contact
higher efficiency and standardization
High customer contact
better sales opportunity but
lower efficiency
Different types of variability
- Arrival
-Request
-Capability
-Effort
Subjective preferance
Arrival variability?
Customers arrive unexpectedly causing wait times
Request variability
Diff customers asking for diff services
Capability variability
Differences in customers knowledge/abilities
Effort variability
Some customers contribute less to the service process
EX: Shoppers not returning carts, customers leaving trash
Subjective preferance variability
Different customers preserve the same services diff
Service blue printing
A visual flow chart of a service process
This helps managers observe
-Identify bottlenecks
-Reduce wait times
-Improve customer experiences
Line of visibility
Shows the distinction between high customer contact aspects of the service and service activities that customers do not see.
Above the line visibility: Seen by customers
Below the line visibility: Not seen by customers
Poka yokes
Procedures which prevent a mistake that can become a defect
Originally used in the manufacturing process improvements
