Service

Quality &
Productivity
Module-3
Service • The productivity of an operation is related to how
effectively input resources in a process

Productivi (manufacturing process, service process) are

transformed into value for customers. As a

ty consequence of high productivity, a favourable

profit impact should be achieved.
• Productivity can be considered as a concept which
is used for the purpose of measuring the efficiency
of the manufacturing process. In manufacturing
processes, the term productivity refers to the degree
of efficiency in which the input resources are
transformed into outputs.
• The concept of productivity in services becomes complicated as the creation of services is
an open system where the consumers too are active participants of the service creation.
Managing productivity in services, thus, is a mutual learning experience in which the
service seller and the service consumer constantly align their resources and understanding
of the process to gain mutual benefits.

• Further, in services a changed configuration of the inputs may lead to a varied perception
of service quality amongst different customers on both the dimensions of technical quality
or functional quality. Hence, even when the service organization brings about some
changes in the service inputs for better results, there is no guarantee that the changes will
lead to positively perceived service quality.
• For Instance:….
Approaches  Increased use of technology

to improve Training and development

Service  Universal beliefs
Productivity
 Recruitment planning

Reducing service level

 Increase or diversify service offerings

Changes in demand and supply

 • Understanding Capacity Constraints:
Managing • In business operations, capacity constraints refer to the
limitations that restrict the amount of production or service
service demand delivery a company can achieve. These constraints can stem from

and capacity various factors such as physical space, machinery, labor

availability, or even financial resources.
• Capacity Constraints are the factors that limit the quantity and
speed at which products or services can be produced. They can
impact a business's efficiency and profitability.

Types of Capacity Constraints

ØPhysical Constraints
ØHuman Constraints
ØFinancial Constraints
ØPolicy Constraints
 When Service organisation have fixed
capacity may be faced one of the following
four conditions.
Excess Demand
Understanding Demand Exceed the optimum capacity
Demand level
Patterns Demand & Supply are balanced at the
optimum capacity
Excess Capacity

Demand Patterns
 Predictable Demand variation
 Random Demand Fluctuations
STRATEGIES
• The strategies to be adopted can be
FOR • broadly divided into two categories:
• 1) Changing demand to fit supply (capacity) –
MATCHING marketing mix strategies
• 2) Changing supply (capacity) to fit demand –
CAPACITY input scheduling strategies

AND DEMAND
Strategies for a) Product

b) Pricing

Managing c) Place (Distribution)

d) Promotion
Demand e) Physical Evidence

f) People

g) Process
Strategies for
Using Part-time Employees
Managing Capacity
Employees Working Overtime

Cross Training Employees

Scheduling
Service • In 1984, Lynn Shostack, a banking
executive in 1982 in the Harvard
Blueprint Business Review First introduced
Service blueprint diagram visually map
out the steps in a service process making
it easier to design new process or to
document and improve an existing one.
• Service blueprints are diagrams that
visualize organizational processes in
order to optimize how a business
delivers a user experience.
Compone • Physical Evidence
• Customer Action (Line of
nts of Interaction)
Service • "Onstage" Contact Employee

blueprint Actions (Line of Visibility)

• "Backstage" Contact Actions
(Line of Internal Actions)
• Invisible Support Actions
• Physical Evidence: What customers (and even employees)
come in contact with. Though first in line, its usually the last
element added.
Example: this category includes location, like a physical
store or the company website, but also any signage,
receipts, notification or confirmation emails etc.

• Customer Actions: What customers do during the service

experience.
Example: Customer might visit the website, talk to an
employee (in person or online), make a purchase, place an
order, or receive something.
• Frontage or visible employee actions: What customer see
& who they interact with. For tech heavy-businesses add in or
replace this category with the technology that interact with the
customer.
Example: employee might greet the customer visiting a
physical location, respond to questions through chat, send
emails, take an order, or provide status information.
• Backstage or Invisible contact employees: All other
employee's actions, preparation or responsibilities customer
don’t see but that make the service possible.
Example: Employee might write content for the
website/emails etc., provide approval, complete a review
process, make preparations, package an order etc.
 • Internal/ Additional activities that support
the employees providing service.
Support• Examples: Third party vendors who
Process deliver supply a carrier service,
equipment or software used, delivery or
es payment system, etc.
Lanes of • Use the different line of interaction to keep each
category in its own clearly marked lane and illustrate the
responsibilit ways different actors interact during service process:

y & Action: • Line of interaction: where the customer interacts with

the service and employees.
• Line of Visibility: this line separates all service
activities that are visible to the customers from those are
not visible.
• Line of Internal action: Where partners or employees
who don’t contact with the customer step in to support
the service.
Service
blueprint
fine
dining
Restaura
nt
 PHYSICAL
EVIDENCE
• Physical evidence is to a service what the product package is
to a product. Physical evidence is everything that a company
physically exhibits to the customer. It includes the physical
environment of the service outlet, the exterior, the interior, all
tangibles such as machinery, vehicles, stationery, service
personnel and so on. It is often referred to as environment
that facilitates the communication of the service. (K. Rama
MohanaRao)

• Customers often rely on tangible cues or physical evidence to

evaluate the service before its purchase and to assess their
satisfaction with service and after consumption. (Valarie A.
Zeithaml)
Servicesc • A servicescape is the physical and social environment where a
service is delivered, and it can impact how customers and
ape employees behave. The term was developed in the 1980s and is
used to describe the built environment that surrounds a service,
including the tangible commodities that facilitate communication
and performance.
• Here are some examples of how servicescapes can be used:
• Hospitality
• The servicescape in hospitality includes the physical spaces where
accommodation, food and beverage, and travel and tourism take place.
• Restaurants and salons
• The servicescape in these businesses can help customers create
expectations and build an impression of the service before they enter the
physical space.
• Servicescapes are designed to create an atmosphere that
enhances the customer experience and ultimately impacts their
behavior. Businesses can use servicescapes to differentiate
themselves from competitors. For example, the color of a
Thank You