Service Process Blueprinting

Ultimately, one thing really matters in service encounters – the

customer’s perceptions of what occurred.

~ Richard B. Chase and Sriram Dasu

“Service Script” for Haircut• Recognize need for hair cut• Make appointment• Arrive at salon/beauty parlour• Enter salon/parlour doors• Greeting by receptionist• Possible wait time (hair magazines available)• Greeting by hair stylist• Questions about desired hair cut• (Optional) go to hair wash station• Go to hair cutting chair• Hair is cut/styled/permed• Casual conversation occurs• Hair is dried• Mirror is provided to evaluate haircut (chair spin)• Stylist escorts you to cashier• Tip is given• Pay for services• Gather belongings, say good-bye to all• Exit store• Get comments from relatives/friends

What is a Service Blueprint?• A picture or map that accurately portrays the

service system so that the different people involved in providing it can understand and deal with it objectively regardless of their roles or their individual points of view

• It visually displays the service by simultaneously depicting the service process, the points of customer contact, and the evidence of service from the customer’s point of view

Blueprint Components

• Physical Evidence

• Customer Actions

• Onstage Contact Employee Actions

• Backstage Contact Employee Actions

• Support Processes

Service Blueprint Components

Customer Actions

• Covers the steps, choices, activities, and interactions that the customer performs in the process of purchasing, consuming, and evaluating the service

Onstage Contact Employee Actions

• The steps and activities that the contact employee performs that are visible to the customer

Backstage Contact Employee Actions

• Those contact employee actions that occur behind the scenes to support the onstage activities

Support Processes

• Covers the internal services, steps and interactions that take place to support the contact employees in delivering the service

Line of Interaction

• Direct interactions between the customer and the organization

Line of Visibility

• This line separates all service activities that are visible to the customer from those that are not visible

Line of Internal Interaction

• Separates contact employee activities from those of other service support activities and people

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PHYS

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Benefits & Purposes of Building Blueprint

• Clarification of the concept

• Development of a shared service vision

• Recognition of complexities and intricacies of the service that are not initially apparent

• Delineation of roles and responsibilities

Building a Blueprint

• Identify the Service Process to be Blueprinted

• Identify the Customer or Customer Segment Experiencing the Service

• Map the Service Process from the Customer’s point of view

Step 1

Identify the process to be blue-printed.

Step 2

Identify the customer or customer segment.

Step 3

Map the process from the customer’s point of view.

Step 4

Map contact employee actions, onstage and back-stage.

Step 5

Link customerand contact person activities to needed support functions.

Step 6

Add evidence of service at each customer action step.

Building a Service Blueprint

Activity

• Create a Service Process Blueprint for a Gymnasium

• What are the service encounters / moments of truth in this service?