7.6 What is a service?
Activity 7.3
What is a service? Stop for a moment of think about your answer.
How many service industries can you think of? Note down your answer.
It is likely that you considered this question to be basic - until you went to write down your response. Actually, service is something that is very subjective and difficult to define. Did your answer take into consideration that whilst a customer might be purchasing a tangible product there was an intangible contact between the customer and the organisation that might have had a more dramatic impact?
There are many definitions of a "service". Generally, goods are produced: services are performed. A good is an object, a device and a service is a deed, a performance. Some definitions of service are very broad such as that by the Economist (Anonymous, 1987, p. 67) that defines services as "those fruits of economic activity which you cannot drop on your toe; anything from banking to butchery ... to accountancy".
Services can be understood without having a precise definition. As you may have realised while attempting the last activity, the term has a variety of meanings in different circumstances. For example:
- helping and assisting
- providing expertise
- giving advice
- solving problems
- doing tasks on behalf of another
- following through on an earlier action
- providing satisfaction.
You may have been able to add some more to the list? Service includes what you do . For example, answering the telephone or packaging up a customer's order is service. There is also the way in which you do it. Your attitude and the manner in which you talk on the telephone or the care and diligence with which you undertake your duties are all part of the service.
This next extract outlines some barriers that can impede excellent service:
Barriers to Excellent Customer Service
Numerous obstacles stand in the way of delivering excellent customer service. Some of the common barriers include management philosophy; making it difficult for customers with a problem to contact a company or the person who can really help; unreliable equipment; restrictive company policies; difficult-to-understand warranties or owner's manuals; out-of-date procedures; or a lack of understanding of the value of service. These barriers are, in most cases, beyond the control of the customer service provider and, unfortunately, a common part of doing the job.
Some barriers to excellent customer service are within the control of the customer service provider. These are challenges that can be overcome through diligent effort, allowing the customer service provider to do their best possible job. Some of these barriers that can be overcome are:
- Laziness
- Poor communication skills
- Poor time management
- Attitude
- Moodiness
- Lack of adequate training
- Inability to handle stress
- Insufficient authority
- Serving customers "on autopilot"
- Inadequate staffing
Customer service providers must perform periodic self-evaluations to assess their effectiveness and to identify areas in need of improvement. When that assessment is made, individuals must take the initiative to change and then monitor themselves so that they don't slip into their old habits.
Harris, 2000, p. 14.
Activity 7.4
Write down two examples of good service and two examples of poor service that you have experienced. What made the "good" service special? What could have been done to improve the "poor" service?
It is likely that you found it easier to recall the poor experiences than the good ones. This exercise may have given you some insight as to how to improve your service. It may have also reinforced the idea that poor service is often remembered more readily than good service!
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