Service Process Explained (Including Service Blueprint)

Understanding Service Process
Process refers to the procedures, mechanisms and flow of activities through which a service is delivered.
In addition, it involves, tasks, schedules, and routines by which a product or service is delivered to the customer.
Services are actions performed for or with customers and typically involve a sequence of steps and activities.
The combination of these steps constitutes a service process which is evaluated by the customers.

Designing Service Process
Customer Participation
For most service systems, the customer is present when the service is being performed.
Instead of being a passive bystander, the customer represents productive labor just at the moment it is needed.
Opportunities exist for increasing productivity by shifting some of the service activities on to the customer furthermore customer participation can increase the degree of customization.
Involving the customers in the service process can support a competitive strategy of cost leadership with limited customization, if focused on a self serve customer market.

Degree of Customer Contact
Customer contact refers to the physical presences of the customers in the system.
Degree of customers contact can be measured by the percentage of time the customer is in the system relative to the total service time.
In the high contact services the customers determines the timing of demand and the nature of the services by direct participation in the process.
Customers have no direct influence on the production process of low contact systems because they are not present.

Degree of Divergence
A standardized service (low divergence) is designed for high volumes with a narrowly defined and focused service.
The tasks are routine and require a workforce with relatively low levels of technical skills.
Due to the repetitive nature of the service, opportunities for the substitution of automation for labor abound (e.g.. The use of vending machines, automatic car wash) reducing the discretion of service workers.
For customized services (high divergence) more flexibility and judgement are required to perform the service tasks.
In addition more information is exchanged between the customer and the service worker.
These characteristics of customized services require high levels of technical and analytical skill because the service process is unprogrammed and not well defined (e.g.. Counselling, landscaping).
To achieve customer satisfaction decision making is delegated to service workers.
Service workers in this case are like walking billboards

Location of services delivery
Should the service delivery process be located at the service provider’s premises or should the process be carried out at the customer’s place.
For some services like painting, carpet cleaning, lawn care etc.
The service has to be delivered at home. Services that generally require the customer to come to the supplier have a greater opportunity to control the delivery experience. (e.g.. Dry cleaning, legal, medical etc.)
However, increasingly many services are being delivered without the customer and suppliers meeting e.g.. Telephone banking, ATMs etc.
Complexity of Service
Complexity reflects the number of steps involved in delivering the service.
Whether the service is high or low in complexity and in divergence can be readily determined by looking at its blueprint.
For e.g.. A physician’s service is high in both complexity and divergence.
Hotel services are high in complexity but low in divergence.

What is a Service Blueprint?
Process refers to the procedures, mechanisms and flow of activities by which the service is delivered
Involves procedures, tasks, schedules, mechanisms and routines by which a service is delivered to the customer
Service firms use “service blueprinting” to better manage the service encounter and to allow clearer visualization of the service process

Service Blueprint – Components
FRONT STAGE
PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
• Tangibles that customers are exposed to that can influence their
quality perceptions
CUSTOMER ACTION
Include all the steps that customers take part in as part of the service delivery process

ONSTAGE EMPLOYEE ACTION
Those actions of frontline contact employees that occur as part of a
service encounter

BACK STAGE
BACKSTAGE EMPLOYEE ACTION
Invisible contact employees, below the line of visibility.

SUPPORT SYSTEM
Activities carried out by individuals and units within the company who are not contact employees, but need to happen for the service to be delivered.

This video is on Understanding Service Processes and it has the following
sub-topics.

Time Stamps

0:00 What are Service Processes?
1:09 Designing Service Process
1:10 Process Example – MasterCard
1:51 Designing Service Process
5:05 What is a Service Blueprint?
5:28 Service Blueprint – Components