Chapter 4

The Service
Concept

 Shostacks Atomistic Model

Parasuraman et al.s Model
Batesons Model

SHOSTACKS ATOMISTIC
MODEL
Definition:
- Shostacks molecular model is one of the
earliest models that discussed on the
product and service offering.
- Shostack argues that, as in chemical
formulations, a change in one element may
completely change the nature of the entity.
- Shostacks model is a metaphorical analogy
to help marketers to visualize and manage
(what she termed) total market entity.

 This reflects the real situation in an example for

developing a new degree program.
When essential evidence changes for example, if a
degree changes its offering mode from face-to-face to
online this will affect the offer of the whole program in
term of budget and development time and may delay
the launch of the new program
Shostack wants to determine which service elements
are tangible and which are intangible in order to help
formulate product policy and communication program.

Figure:
Shostacks Molecular
Model: Passenger
Airline Service

Distribution
Price

Service
Frequency

Vehicle

Transport
Pre- &
Postflight
Service

In-flight
Service

Food &
Drink
Key
Tangible Elements

Marketing Positioning

Intangible Elements
Source: Shostack

Service Blueprinting
A customer-focused approach for service
innovation and service improvement
Service blueprints are customer-focused, allowing
firms to visualize the service processes, points of
customer contact, and the physical evidence
associated with their services from their customers
perspective.
Blueprints also illuminate and connect the
underlying support processes throughout the
organization that drive and support customerfocused service execution

Components of Service
Blueprints
There are five components of a typical
service blueprint
1. Customer
Actions

2. Onstage/Visible
Contact Employee
Actions

4. Support
Processes

3.
Backstage/Invisible
Contact Employee
Actions

5. Physical
Evidence

 When building a blueprint, the first step is to

clearly articulate the service process or subprocess to be blueprinted.
Because companies often modify service
processes to fit the needs and wants of
different target customers, it is important to
specify which segment of customers is the
focus of the blueprint.
Once this has been decided, the actions of
customers should be defined first because
this component serves as the foundation for
all other elements of the blueprint.

 After that has been established, the contact

employee actions, both onstage and backstage,
can be defined, followed by support processes.
At this point, links can be added that connect
the customer to contact employee activities and
to needed support functions.
Physical evidence is typically the last
component added to the blueprint.
Blueprints are ideally developed by crossfunctional teams, possibly even involving
customers.

Real Estate
Services Blueprint

Parasuraman et al.s Model or

SERVQUAL Model
The SERVQUAL service quality model was developed
by a group of American authors, 'Parsu'
Parasuraman, Valarie Zeithaml and Len Berry, in
1985.
It highlights the main components of high quality
service.
The SERVQUAL authors originally identified ten
elements of service quality, but in later work, these
were collapsed into five factors - reliability, assurance,
tangibles, empathy and responsiveness - that create
the acronym RATER.

 Businesses using SERVQUAL to measure and

manage service quality deploy a questionnaire that
measures both the customer expectations of service
quality in terms of these five dimensions, and their
perceptions of the service they receive.
When customer expectations are greater than their
perceptions of received delivery, service quality is
deemed low.
In additional to being a measurement model,
SERVQUAL is also a management model.
The SERVQUAL authors identified five gaps that may
cause customers to experience poor service quality.

DIMENSION OF SERVQUAL:
Reliability, Assurance, Tangibles, Empathy And
Responsiveness (RATER)
1) Reliability

Ability to perform the promised service

dependably and accurately
Ability to provide what was promised
e.g. of customer questions: Does my lawyer
call back when promised?
e.g. of customer questions: Is my Astro Bill
free from error?

2) Assurance: Including competence, courtesy, credibility and security

Knowledge and courtesy of employees and ability to convey trust
Competence: Possession of
skills and knowledge required to
perform the service
e.g. of customer questions: Is
my travel agent able to obtain
the information I need when I
call?
e.g. of customer questions: Does
the surgeon appear to be
competent

Credibility: Trustworthiness,
believability, honesty of the
service provider
e.g. of customer questions: Does
the hospital have a good
reputation?
e.g. of customer questions: Does
the repair firm guarantee its
work?

Security: Freedom from danger,

risk or doubt
e.g. of customer questions: Is it
safe for me to use the bank ATM
machine at night?
e.g. of customer questions: Is
my credit card protected against
unauthorized use

3) Tangibles
Appearance of physical
facilities, equipment,
personnel,
communication
materials
e.g. of customer
questions: Are the hotels
facilities attractive?
e.g. of customer
questions: Are the
hospital staff uniform
attractive to the
patient?
e.g. of customer
questions: Is my bank
statement easy to
understand?

4) Empathy: Including access, communication,

understanding the customer

Access: Approachability and ease of

contact
e.g. of customer questions: How
easy is it for me to talk to a
supervisor when I have a problem?
e.g. of customer questions: Does the
airline have a 24 hour toll-free phone
number?

Communication: Listening to
customers and keeping them
informed in a language they can
understand
e.g. of customer questions: When I
have a complaint, is the manager
willing to listen to me?
e.g. of customer questions: Does my
doctor avoid using technical jargon?

Understanding the customer: Making

the effort to know customers and
their needs
e.g. of customer questions: Does
someone in the restaurant recognize
me as regular customer?
e.g. of customer questions: Does my
doctor willing to accommodate my
schedule?

5) Responsiveness

Willingness to help customers and

provide prompt service
e.g. of customer questions: when
there is a problem, does the firm
resolve it quickly?
e.g. of customer questions: Is the
telecommunication company
willing to give me a specific time
when the installer will show up?

Gaps Model: The SERVQUAL authors identified five gaps

that may cause customers to experience poor service
quality.

Gap 1- The Knowledge Gap

not knowing what the customers

expects

Key factors influencing

Inadequate research
Lack of organizational
communication
Insufficient relationship
marketing

Prescription: learn about

customer
Research and action
Direct interaction
Reduced organization level

Gap 2 The Standards/Policy Gap

Not selecting the right service
standards and design
Key factors influencing
Absence of appropriate
standard
Inadequate service
leadership
Poor service design
Prescription: quality
standards
Management
commitment
Innovation and
standardization
Goals, monitoring and
rewards

Gap 3- The Delivery Gap

Not delivering to service
standards
Key factors influencing
Human resource
policies
Supply and demand
management
Customers not
educated
Prescription: quality
standards
Role
definition/conflict
Aptitude and
training
Team-building and
empowerment

Gap 4 The Communication Gap

Not matching performance to
promises
Key factors influencing
Over-promising in
marketing
communication
Poor management of
expectation
Inadequate
organizational
communication

Prescription: quality
standards
Internal marketing
Educating customers
Alternative levels and
pricing

Gap 5- The Perception Gap

Differences between
what is, in fact,
delivered to the
customer and what
customers perceived they
have received (because
they are sometimes
unable to accurately
evaluate service quality)

Batesons Model
The production process of services has been called
the servuction process (Bateson)
It refers to the simultaneous production and
consumption of services.
The customer is present when the service is
produced

The customer plays a role in the servuction and the

delivery process

Invisible and Visible: Has at its core line of visibility that separates
the interactive part of the experience from the support part

Servicescape
s
Invisible
Organization
& Systems

CUSTOMER

Contact Personnel/
Service Provider

Other
Customer
VISIBLE

INVISIBLE

Invisible Organization & System

Visible components have to be completed with invisible
components.
Reflect the rules, regulations and processes upon which
the organization is based.
Have a very profound effect on the customers service
experience.
Implication: demonstrates that consumers are an integral
part of the service process.

Servicescape
Developed by Booms & Bitner
Emphasize impact of environment in which the
service takes place
The environment in which the service is
assembled and in which seller and customer
interact, combined with tangible commodities
that facilate performance or communication of
the service

Contact Personnel/Service
Provider
Visible component of servuction model

Contact personnel are the employees other than

primary service provider who briefly interact with
the customer (receptionist, secretary, hotel
concierge)
Service provider are the primary providers of the
core service (doctors, lawyers, restaurants, spa)

Other Customer
Other consumers are identified as the service audience
The presence of other consumers in the same service
environment during an encounter can affect the service
experience of a consumer in a negative or positive way

When consumers receive social support from other

consumers, consumer-to consumer interactions might
enhance their service experience, build loyalty, and
therefore increase the profits of the service firm

Tutorial (Past Years Question)