Service Environment Analysis
The dimensions of the service environment
The main dimensions in the service environment the following:
• The ambient conditions
• Music
• Scent
• Color
• Spatial layout and functionality
• Signs, symbols and artifacts
• People
The ambient conditions
The ambience is what the five senses experience – namely, the sights and the visual appeal, the sound, the smells, the texture and it even includes attitudes and behaviour. The many design elements and detail that must resonate with each other to create the atmosphere of the service environment which must impact on the customer. Ambient conditions can be experienced in isolation or holistically taken into account the lighting, the colour, the noise levels, the temperature. These conditions will …show more content…
These signs may assist customers in providing the direction they must move towards; it can also be a sign to say that all cell phones must be switched off – especially in banks.
It is sometimes difficult for the service designers to guide the customer by using, signs, symbols and artifacts to guide the customer through the service delivery process and it is equally difficult to teach the service script to the in an intuitive manner. This is especially so when customers do not use the service frequently or where it is a self-service.
When signals and symbols are not clear, customers experience a degree of anxiety and uncertainty about how to get the service. They start getting frustrated and angry. Already this is a negative experience. One of the first aspects customers look for is where they should park their cars.
People as part of the service environment
The presence of both service employees and customers contributes to the service experience which the environment …show more content…
Therefore certain designers focus on exclusively on a particular aspect of the service environment. For example there are designers that only create the hotel lobbies. Others focus on bathrooms or restaurants.
Design from a customer’s perspective
Sometimes designers focus so intensely on the aesthetics that they forget about the customers that will be using the service environment.
For example in an airport lounge a colourful glass panel was suspended from a ceiling at a busy Asian airport. When a customer slightly brushed against it, the panel shook and several panels came undone. Fortunately nothing broke, but an airline employee said that this happened all the time. Clearly here the designer did not pay heed to the purpose the panel would serve or the inconvenience it could cause.
Ron Kaufman, the founder of Up your service college said that it is easy for a designer to get caught up in designing service environments that are ‘cool’. But they have to keep the customer in mind or else an investment they make will no longer be an investment but a liability.
Alain d’ Astous examined environments that annoyed customers and highlighted the following
The main dimensions in the service environment the following:
• The ambient conditions
• Music
• Scent
• Color
• Spatial layout and functionality
• Signs, symbols and artifacts
• People
The ambient conditions
The ambience is what the five senses experience – namely, the sights and the visual appeal, the sound, the smells, the texture and it even includes attitudes and behaviour. The many design elements and detail that must resonate with each other to create the atmosphere of the service environment which must impact on the customer. Ambient conditions can be experienced in isolation or holistically taken into account the lighting, the colour, the noise levels, the temperature. These conditions will …show more content…
These signs may assist customers in providing the direction they must move towards; it can also be a sign to say that all cell phones must be switched off – especially in banks.
It is sometimes difficult for the service designers to guide the customer by using, signs, symbols and artifacts to guide the customer through the service delivery process and it is equally difficult to teach the service script to the in an intuitive manner. This is especially so when customers do not use the service frequently or where it is a self-service.
When signals and symbols are not clear, customers experience a degree of anxiety and uncertainty about how to get the service. They start getting frustrated and angry. Already this is a negative experience. One of the first aspects customers look for is where they should park their cars.
People as part of the service environment
The presence of both service employees and customers contributes to the service experience which the environment …show more content…
Therefore certain designers focus on exclusively on a particular aspect of the service environment. For example there are designers that only create the hotel lobbies. Others focus on bathrooms or restaurants.
Design from a customer’s perspective
Sometimes designers focus so intensely on the aesthetics that they forget about the customers that will be using the service environment.
For example in an airport lounge a colourful glass panel was suspended from a ceiling at a busy Asian airport. When a customer slightly brushed against it, the panel shook and several panels came undone. Fortunately nothing broke, but an airline employee said that this happened all the time. Clearly here the designer did not pay heed to the purpose the panel would serve or the inconvenience it could cause.
Ron Kaufman, the founder of Up your service college said that it is easy for a designer to get caught up in designing service environments that are ‘cool’. But they have to keep the customer in mind or else an investment they make will no longer be an investment but a liability.
Alain d’ Astous examined environments that annoyed customers and highlighted the following