Service Process Design and Selection

CHAPTER 7
SERVICE PROCESS SELECTION AND DESIGN
Review and Discussion Questions
1. Who is the customer in a jail? A cemetery? A summer camp for children?
From the standpoint of society as a whole, the customer is the outside community. However,
when we say in a jail, then we are talking about the prisoners. The customer in a cemetery is
generally the family or friends of the loved one. For a summer camp for children, the
ostensible customers are the children. However, special efforts are usually made to serve the
best food and provide the best amenities on parents visit day.
2. How have price and variety competition changed McDonalds basic formula for success?
McDonalds originally emphasized quick delivery of a limited menu. In response to
competition, McDonalds has continuously expanded its menu. Some evidence suggests that
service, including quick delivery, has suffered as a result.
3. Could a service firm use production line approach or self-serve design and still keep a high
customer focus (personal attention)? Explain and support your answer with examples.
Yes, this is possible. In many instances, the customer actually desires more technology and
feels that the service will not have as high a quality without it. For example, dental care with
its mechanized X-ray techniques requires far less customer time and less exposure to
radiation. The self-service design can also support customer needs, for example the ATM
provides customer access to funds at a variety of locations and 24 hours a day.
4. Why should a manager of a bank home office be evaluated differently than a manager of a
bank branch?
Since a bank home office typifies low contact quasimanufacturing, while a bank branch
typifies medium contact mixed service, the problems faced by management differ
considerably.
5. Identify the high-contact and low-contact operations of the following services:
a. A dental office.
Dental office high contact includes waiting rooms, receptionists, dentist(s), hygienist(s), xray, etc., while labs would be low contact.
b. An airline.
Airline high contact includes reservations desk, loading concourse, plane with crew and
attendants, etc. Low contact includes maintenance, baggage handling, tower operations, etc.

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c. An accounting office.
In an accounting office, high contact includes reception and CPAs, while low contact includes
records, computer, library, etc.
d. An automobile agency
Automobile agency high contact includes showroom and offices. Low contact includes
maintenance, preparation, records-files, etc.
6. Are there any service businesses that wont be affected by knowledge outsourcing?
Service businesses that require face-to-face contact are least likely to be affected by
knowledge outsourcing. However, as technology improves even medical diagnosis and
treatment might take place at home where the patient would hook their selves up to the right
monitoring system the could be fed directly to a doctor anywhere in the world.
7. Relative to the behavioral science discussion, what practical advice do you have for a hotel
manager to enhance the ending of a guest's stay in the hotel?
How about putting a couple of Starbuck's coffee coupons in the envelope along with the bill
that is slipped under the door in the early morning of check-out day? For guests staying
several days, arrange to have the manager say a personal good bye.
8.

List some occupations or sporting events where the ending is a dominant element in
evaluating success.
Attorney's closing argument at trial; the professor's final lecture in the course; the comedian
saving his best joke for last, the magician saving best trick for last; the "dismount" in all
gymnastic exercises; the entry into the water in diving competitions.

9.

Behavioral scientists suggest that we remember events as snap shots, not movies. How
would you apply this to designing a service?
What this means is that not all parts of the service are of equal impact in one's memory, and
therefore place your resources on those areas that give you the most bang for the "memory
buck." That is, think about which snap shots you want to clearly "frame" in the customer's
memory-- these might be thought of as the sweet spots of the service. You might even want
to create them. For example, a Lexus dealership in Los Angeles hands out a long stemmed
rose when a customer comes to the service counter to pay for car servicing. While
the general car servicing process involves mainly inconvenience, the "movie" experience was
dominated by a positive snap shot of receiving a rose. Another example: At Splash Mountain
at Disneyland, photographers regularly take pictures of people coming to the end of their ride.
These become the keepsakes long after the details of the day are forgotten.

10.

Some suggest that customer expectation is the key to service success. Give an example
from your own experience to support or refute this assertion.
Most responses will probably support rather than refute this assertion.

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Service Process Design and Selection

11.

Where would you place a drive-in church, a campus food vending machine, and a bars
automatic mixed drink machine on the service-system design matrix?
Referring to the exhibit, the most logical placement would appear to be on-site technology.

12. Can a manufacturer have a service guarantee in addition to a product guarantee?

Certainly, with some makes of automobiles, a rental car is guaranteed if the product fails.
Many products are sold with warranties promising free and prompt service
13.

Suppose you were the manager of a restaurant and you were told honestly that a couple
eating dinner had just seen a mouse. What would you say to them? How would you recover
from this service crisis?
The only thing you can do is to try to overcompensate for the event. Make dinner free.
Promise to contract with an exterminator. Offer them another free dinner after a cooling off
period. The Tylenol response is a good model to following in this situation.

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Problems
Type of Problem
Servicesystem
design
matrix
Yes
Yes

Problem
1
2
3
4
5

3-Ts of
service

System
Design

Yes
Yes
Yes

New
Problem

Difficulty

Check Figure
in Appendix
A

Modified
Problem

Easy
Easy
Moderate
Difficult
Easy

1.

Degree of customer/service contact

Permeable system
(some)

Buffered Core
(none)

Reactive system
(much)
Low

High
Cosmetics

Apparel

Sales
Opportunity

Production
efficiency

Stationery

Phone
order

Mail order
(catalog)

Customer service
(complaints)

Low

High

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Service Process Design and Selection

2.
Degree of customer/service contact

Permeable system
(some)

Buffered Core
(none)

Reactive system
(much)
Low

High
Physician/Patient

Nurse/Patient
Diagnostic test
(X-Rays)

Production
efficiency

Sales
Opportunity
Admissions

Lab tests

Medical records

Billing

Low

High

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3. Here is a form that the students could use.

Task:

Treatment

Tangible Features:
(environment, layout, and
appearance)

Rating:

(1) poor

(3) average

(5) excellent

The following is what a completed form might look like.

Buy a shirt

Checkout

Task:

No salesperson
available
Treatment

Professional, efficient, but

not extremely friendly

Layout was efficient, Layout was logical, time

appearance was excellent in line was average
Tangible Features:
(environment, layout, and
appearance)

Rating:

(1) poor

(3) average

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(5) excellent

Service Process Design and Selection

4.
a. The important aspects of the service package are rapid delivery of a uniform, high-quality
mix of prepared foods in an environment of obvious cleanliness, order, and cheerful
courtesy.
b. Most of the skills needed by employees are easily obtained through training. Probably
one of the most important aspects is the employees attitude. They should be willing to
provide efficient service with cheerful courtesy.
c. Customer demand can be altered through promotions, such as discount for off-peak
period. Also, extra services could be offered during off-peak periods to encourage
customers. These could include having an employee walk through the facility offering
free refills on drinks
d. An example of a service blueprint for McDonalds.
Fail point: order
improperly taken

Fail point: order

assembled
incorrectly

Fail point: special

order not requested

Customer
receives order

Customer enters
and places order

Order is taken

Special orders are

requested

Orders are
assembled

Customer eats or
departs

Order given to
customer
Line of visibility

Cook receives
order to cook food

Cook prepares
foodSpecial

Food transferred
to warmers

Fail point: special

order cooked
incorrectly

Empty spots in
warmers initiate
order to restock

Fail point: warmers

out of food

e. The customer/provider interface could be changed to include more technology by having

the customer place the order himself on a display screen (this would also be more selfservice). Many fast food restaurants have the customers get their on drinks.
f.

One measure currently used is the average time to receive your order. Many times this is
visible to the customer on the cash register. Other measures could include cleanliness of
grounds, interior, restrooms, and counter; friendliness of employees, and sales.

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5. What are the differences between high and low customer contact service (CCS) businesses, in
general, for the dimensions listed below? {Example - Facility Layout: in a high CCS, the facility
would be designed to enhance the feelings and comfort of the customer while in a low CCS, the
facility would be designed for efficient processing.}

Low CCS Businesses

High CCS Businesses

Worker Skill

Low

High

Capacity
Utilization

High

Low

Level of
Automation

High

Low

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