Servuction Model Servuction model is a model used to illustrate the factors that inuen inuence ce the servic service e exper experien ience, ce, includ including ing those those that that are are visible to the consumer and those that are not. In general this model consists of four factors that directly inuenc ence customers’ service experiences: experiences:
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Servicescape It refer efers s to the the us use e of phys physic ical al evid eviden ence ce to desi design gn servi ervice ce env environ ironm ments ents.. Due to the the in inta tan ngi gibi bili litty of services, customers often have trouble evaluating the quality of service obectively. !s a result, consumers rely on the physical evidence that surrounds the service to help them from their evaluations. "ence, the servicescape consists of follo#ing factors: a. Ambient Con Conditio tions: such as room temperature and music$ b. Inanimate Objects: that assist the %rm in com compl plet etin ing g its its tas& tas&s, s, su suc ch as furn urnish ishin ing gs and and business equipment$ and c. Ot Oth her Ph Physic sical Ev Evide idence nce: such as signs, symbols, and personal artifacts such as family pictures and personal collections. 'he use of physical evidence varies by the type of servi service ce %rm. %rm. Servic Service e %rms %rms such such as hospi hospital tals, s, resorts esorts,, and and chil childc dcar are e cent center ers s ofte often n us use e phys physic ical al evid eviden ence ce extensively as they design facilities and other tangibles associated #ith the service. In contrast, service operations such as express mail drop(o) locations use limited physical evidence. *egardless of the variation in usage, all service %rms need to recogni+e the importance of managing the servicescape, because of its role in: -ac&aging the service acilitating acilitati ng the service delivery process Sociali+ing customers and employees Di)erentiating Di)erentiating the %rm from its competitors Contact Personnel!Service Personnel!Service providers !nother !nother importan importantt aspect aspect of the customer’ customer’s s experien experience ce involv involves es the contac contactt person personnel nel and servic service e provi provider ders s that directly interact #ith customer.
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Contact personnel 'echnically spea&ing, contact personnel are employees/other than the primary service provider/#ho briey interact #ith the customer. 'ypical examples of contact personnel are par&ing attendants, receptionists, and hosts and hostesses. b. Service providers: 'hey are the primary providers of the core service, such as a #aiter or #aitress, dentist, physician, or college instructor. 0nli&e the consumption of goods, the consumption of services often ta&es place #here the service is produced 1e.g., dentist’s o2ce, restaurant, and hairstylist3 or #here the service is provided at the consumer’s residence or #or&place 1e.g., la#n care, house painter, anitorial service3. *egardless of the service delivery location, interactions bet#een consumers and contact personnel4service providers are commonplace. !s a result, service providers have a dramatic impact on the service experience. Service personnel perform the dual functions of interacting #ith customers and reporting bac& to the internal organi+ation. Strategically, service personnel are an important source of product di)erentiation. It is often challenging for a service organi+ation to di)erentiate itself from other similar organi+ations in terms of the bene%t bundle it o)ers or its delivery system. or example, many airlines o)er similar bundles of bene%ts and y the same types of aircraft from the same airports to the same destinations. 'herefore, their only hope of a competitive advantage is from the service level/the #ay things are done. "ence, the factor that often distinguishes one airline from another is the poise and attitude of its service providers. Singapore !irlines, for example, enoys an excellent reputation due in large part to the beauty and grace of its ight attendants. 5ther %rms that hold a di)erential advantage over competitors based on personnel include the *it+ 6arlton, I78, and Disney 9nterprises. Other Customers 0ltimately, the success of many service encounters depends on ho# e)ectively the service %rm manages its clientele. ! #ide range of service establishments such as restaurants, hotels, airlines, and physicians’ o2ces
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serve multiple customers simultaneously. "ence, other customers can have a profound impact on an individual’s service experience. 5ther customers are the customers that share the primary customer’s service experience. 'he presence of other customers can enhance or detract from an individual’s service experience. 'he inuence of other customers can be active or passive . 9xamples of other customers actively detracting from one’s service experience include unruly customers in a restaurant or a night club, children crying during a church service, or theatergoers carrying on a conversation during a play. Some passive examples include customers #ho sho# up late for appointments, thereby delaying each subsequent appointment$ an exceptionally tall individual #ho sits directly in front of another customer at a movie theater$ or the impact of being part of a cro#d, #hich increases the #aiting time for everyone in the group. 'hough many customer actions that enhance or detract from the service experience are di2cult to predict, service organi+ations can attempt to manage the behavior of customers so that they coexist peacefully. or example, %rms can manage #aiting times so that customers #ho arrive earlier than others get %rst priority, clearly target speci%c age segments to minimi+e potential conicts bet#een younger and older customers, and provide separate dining facilities for smo&ers and customers #ith children. Or$ani%ations and Systems 5rgani+ation and systems are invisible. 'hey are that parts of a %rm that reect the rules, regulations, and processes upon #hich the organi+ation is based. !s a result, although rules, regulations, and processes are invisible to the customer, they have a very profound e)ect on the consumer’s service experience. 'he invisible organi+ation and systems determine factors such as information forms to be completed by customers, the number of employees #or&ing in the %rm at any given time, and the policies of the organi+ation regarding countless decisions that may range from the substitution of menu items to #hether
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the %rm accepts identi%cation cards for senior citi+ens’ discounts.
