Dimensions in service environment

Answer 1

· Ambient conditions

· Space/functionality

· Signs, symbols, artifacts.

Customers tend to view these holistically and hence the key to effective design is how well each individual dimension fits together with everything else.

There are customer and employee response moderators (Cognitive, emotional and psychological). This means that the same service environment can have different effects on different customers, depending on what they like. It is now recognized that productivity of frontline personnel and quality of service they deliver is also affected by the environment.

Internal customer and employee responses can be categorized into cognitive responses ( eg quality perceptions and beliefs), emotional responses( e.g. feelings and moods) and psychological responses (pain and comfort). These internal responses lead to overt behavioral responses such as avoiding a crowded store or responding positively to a relaxed environment by spending more time and extra money on impulse purchases. It is important to understand that the behavioral responses of customers and employees must be shaped in ways that facilitate production and purchase of high - quality services. Obviously, relaxed and happy frontline service staff would behave very differently from agitated and stressed front-liners.

Ambient conditions

Ambient conditions are characteristics of the service environment that pertain to our 5 senses. Even when they are not consciously noted, they impact upon people's emotional well - being, perceptions and even attitudes and behaviors. Ambient environment or Atmosphere is composed of literally hundreds of design elements and details that have to work together to create the desired service environment. The resulting atmosphere creates a mood that is perceived and interpreted by the customer.

Include :

Lighting and colour schemes

Size and shape perceptions

Sounds

Temperature

Scents

Clever design of these can elicit desired behavioral responses.

Music

· Even barely audible music can have powerful effect on perceptions and behaviors in service settings. Tempo, volume, harmony are perceived holistically and their effect on different age groups differs widely.

· Fast tempo music and high volume music

· increases arousal levels and causes people to walk faster and talk and eat more quickly in restaurants. People tend to adjust their pace voluntarily or involuntarily to match the music.

Scent

An ambient smell is one which pervades an environment, may or may not be consciously perceived by a customer and is not related to any particular product.

Power of smell: Freshly baked Croissants smelt before you pass a Barista coffee shop makes you aware of your hunger and the solution: Enter Barista and get some food. Same is true of bakeries, cafes, pizzerias.

Presence of scent

Can have a strong impact on mood, affective and even evaluative responses and even purchase intentions and in - store behaviors. Service marketers realize the importance of using scent to make you hungry and thirsty in a restaurant, relax you in a dentist's waiting room, and energize you to work out harder in a gym, makes gamblers gamble more and so on.

Spatial layout and Functionality

Spatial layout refers to how furnishings, counters, machinery and equipment are etc are arranged. Functionality refers to their ability to facilitate the performance of service transactions. Both affect buying behavior, customer satisfaction and hence the business performance of the service facility.

Signs, symbols and artifacts

Customers automatically try to draw meanings from them. They also draw cues from them to help them form expectations about the type and level of service that is being offered. They use them to guide them through the service environment and service process.

Customers get angry and frustrated if they cannot get clear signals from a services cape. They must be used appropriately by the service marketer to guide customers through the service delivery process. Where service staff to guide are few this becomes even more important.

People as a part of environment

The appearance and behavior of both service staff and customers can reinforce or detract from the impression created by the service environment. Marketing communications may seek to attract customers who will not only appreciate the ambience created by the service provider but also actively enhance it by their behavior and appearance.