Good and Service Experience

Model and explain the Servuction Model as a service encounter framework. Relevance for fast food market and what is the role of customer B in the model? The Service encounter is defined as a period of time during which a consumer directly interacts with a service. Service encounters occur where it is necessary for consumer and producer to meet in order for the former to receive the benefits that the latter has the resources to provide. This definition includes all aspects of the service firm with which a consumer may interact, including its personnel and hysical assets.

Servuction concentrates on consumers’ perceptions of the service encounter. The Servuction model is a simple but powerful model that illustrates factors influencing the service experience of a customer when enjoying a service. It concentrates on consumers’ perceptions of the service encounter. The framework, developed by Eigher and Langeard emphasizes experiential aspects of service consumption and is based on the idea of organizations providing consumers with complex bundles of benefits.

The elements of the service experience are divided into wo parts- visible and invisible. The visible part consists of the inanimate environment within which the service experience occurs, the service providers or contact personnel who interact with the consumer during the service experience. The visible part of the organization is is supported by the invisible part, comprising the support infrastructure, which enable the visible part of the organization to function. The invisible part refers to the rules, regulations and processes upon which the organization is based.

Although they are invisible to customers they have very rofound effect on the consumers service experience. The model is completed by the introduction of other customers, with whom each consumer may interact within the system. This is important because the actions of fellow consumers can contribute greatly to the overall encounter. Everyone and everything that comes into contact with the consumer is effectively delivering the service. There is often large number of contacts between the service provider and the customers which makes it difficult in identifying the servuction system.

Only consumers can define the service encounter hat matters to them and essentially create their own bundle of benefits from the contributory elements of the service offer. Therefore the service encounter is defined by customers , rather than producer-led definitions. Relevance for fast-food market: The servuction model for a fast-food market is used for understanding consumer experiences: consisting of visible service, contact personnel , other customers and home delivery and Wi-fl connection free for customer. The contact personnel of the fast-food market would include a waiter/ branch manager, counter employees and a ecurity guard.

The other customers would be customer B. The invisible organization and systems could be a very fast delivery within 5 minutes, a good setup with approximately 10 staff and a good music system in the restaurant. Role of Customer B: Customer B represents all other customers who are part of customer A’s experience. Consumption of service are “shared experience” because it often occurs in the presence of other customers. As in the case with the other visible components of the Servuction model, other customers can impact customer A’s experience.