Week 7: Crafting the Service Environment

Question 1

LO1: Explain 4 purposes of well-designed service environment.

Answer 1

1. Engineer the customers’ experience and shape their behaviours.
2. Convey image of firm, support positioning/differentiation strategy.
3. Act as part of the value proposition.
4. Facilitate service encounter, enhance service quality and productivity.

Question 2

LO2: Demonstrate understanding of environmental psychology theories that help understand customer/employee response.

Answer 2

• Environmental Psychology: How people feel in, and respond to different environments
• Helps to understand/manage how people behave
• Mehrabian Russell Stimulus Response Model: Feelings are central to how we respond to the environment’s stimuli
• Russell’s Model of Affect: Focuses on how we can better understand those feelings and their implications for customer response behaviour

Question 3

LO4: Demonstrate an understanding of the service environment, including key ambient conditions and customer impact.

Answer 3

• Major dimensions of service environment include: Ambient conditions, spatial layout and functionality, signs and symbols and people
• Ambient condition (Music): Fast and high-volume music increases arousal levels, customers increase pace. Slow Music kept customers staying longer, and decreased theft
• Ambient condition (Scent): Casinos use artificial scent to boost spending, bake cookies before open house in real estate etc
• Ambient condition (colour): Colours have impact on customers decision making, e.g. red (earthy, warm), orange (warmth, emotions).

Question 4

LO5: Describe the roles of spatial layout and functionality

Answer 4

• Spatial layout: floorplan, machinery, furnishings, and how they are arranged
• Functionality: Ability of these items to facilitate successful customer processing
• Practicality: Ease for customers to move, efficiency for workers to do their jobs
• No goes: Tables too close together in restaurant, awkward car parks at hotels

Question 5

LO6: Explain why designing an effective servicescape has to be done holistically and from the customer’s perspective.

Answer 5

• Servicescape one of the three major aspects of service design
• Proven to influence satisfaction, return customers and even complaints with bad experiences
• Therefore service providers should observe customers behaviours and responses, take feedback, photo audit etc