Differences in Employee Management of Service and Product Industries
In order to critically reflect on the statement “Management of the employee/ customer interaction presents a challenge to the manager of a service operation that is absent in the field of production/manufacturing” (Yeoman, 2004)” it is necessary to understand what customer interaction is.
Heskett, Sasser and Hart (1990) define how at the heart of the service is the service exchange – when the customer comes in direct contact with the business employees and whilst Muhlemann, Oakland and Lockyer (1992) agree with the statement, they continue to refer to the presence of customers as a “mixed blessing” as they are highly unpredictable, but without them there would be no business.
Generally, the main difference between the Leisure industry and the Manufacturing industry is how they sell their products. Whilst the leisure industry tends to sell directly to the customer, manufacturing will often use a 3rd party / selling on mass. This means that the leisure industry employees will have to deal with a larger and broader range of custom and therefore must be trained for all eventualities. It is the duty of the manger of the leisure industry business to ensure that all staff are trained appropriately; whereas the manufacturing industry managers will not be presented with this customer interaction challenge.
Kotler, (1996) defines a product as “anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a want or need. It includes physical objects, services, organizations and ideas.” Therefore, all industries provide a product to sell, however, the leisure industry is unique and unlike any other. Instead of providing a physical product to sell, it provides a service. This service is heterogeneous, meaning it is unique to every individual, whereas, in contrast, the manufacturing industry is standardized as it is selling the same physical item(s).
As the product that the leisure industry offer is actually a service, the
Heskett, Sasser and Hart (1990) define how at the heart of the service is the service exchange – when the customer comes in direct contact with the business employees and whilst Muhlemann, Oakland and Lockyer (1992) agree with the statement, they continue to refer to the presence of customers as a “mixed blessing” as they are highly unpredictable, but without them there would be no business.
Generally, the main difference between the Leisure industry and the Manufacturing industry is how they sell their products. Whilst the leisure industry tends to sell directly to the customer, manufacturing will often use a 3rd party / selling on mass. This means that the leisure industry employees will have to deal with a larger and broader range of custom and therefore must be trained for all eventualities. It is the duty of the manger of the leisure industry business to ensure that all staff are trained appropriately; whereas the manufacturing industry managers will not be presented with this customer interaction challenge.
Kotler, (1996) defines a product as “anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a want or need. It includes physical objects, services, organizations and ideas.” Therefore, all industries provide a product to sell, however, the leisure industry is unique and unlike any other. Instead of providing a physical product to sell, it provides a service. This service is heterogeneous, meaning it is unique to every individual, whereas, in contrast, the manufacturing industry is standardized as it is selling the same physical item(s).
As the product that the leisure industry offer is actually a service, the
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