Service blueprint of a restaurant

By: Sritapa Dash

Service Blueprint: The service blueprint is a technique used for service
innovation.
The service blueprint consists of 5 components:
1. Customer Actions
2. Onstage / Visible Contact Employee Actions
3. Backstage / Invisible Contact Employee Actions
4. Support Processes
5. Physical Evidence

1. Customer Actions
This component contains all of the steps that customers take as part of the service
delivery process. This element is always on top of the service blueprint.
2. Onstage / Visible Contact Employee Actions
this element is separated from the customer actions by a line of interaction.
These actions are face-to-face actions between employees and customers.

3. Backstage / Invisible Contact Employee Actions

The line of visibility separates the Onstage from the Backstage actions.
Everything that appears above the line of visibility can be seen by the
customers, while everything under the line of visibility is invisible for the
customers. A very good example of an action in this element, is a telephone
call; these is an action between an employee and a customer, but they dont
see each other.

4. Support Processes
the internal line of interaction separates the contact employees from the
support processes. These are all the activities carried out by individuals and
units within the company who are not contact employees. These activities

need to happen in order for the service to be delivered.

5. Physical evidence
For each customer action, and every moment of truth, the physical evidence
that customers come in contact with is described at the very top of the
service blueprint. These are all the tangibles that customers are exposed to
that can influence their quality perceptions.

Now, we can see the service blueprint of a restaurant which includes all these 5 components.

Here, the physical evidence component includes:

Parking lots, waiting area, Dining area, and menu,
serving trays, dishes, foods & Bill.
The customer actions includes: entering into the
restaurant, giving their name to the hostess, go to
the table, review the menu, place order, receive
food, eat, pay cash/cheque, receive change &
leave the restaurant.
The onstage employee actions include: greet party,
show party to table, provide menu, take order,
serve beverages, serve meal, clear dishes, take
cash and bring change.
The backstage employee actions include: to check
table availability, to place order in kitchen, to pick
up the order, and to process the payment.
The support process includes: preparing meal,
informing waiter etc.