Ch-10 - Service Environment

Chapter-10
Service Environment
Service Environments
• Service environments (i.e., servicescapes) relate to
• style and appearance of
CRAFTING THE SERVICE ENVIRONMENT
• physical surroundings and other experiential elements

• encountered by customers at service delivery sites
• Designing service environment is an art;

• involves time and effort, and
• can be expensive to implement.
Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.

Purpose of Service Environment

Purpose of service environments
• Physical surroundings help shape appropriate feelings and reactions in
customers and employees.
• Servicescapes form a core part of the value proposition.
• Each servicescape here clearly communicates and reinforces its hotel’s

respective positioning and sets service expectations as guests arrive.

The Theory Behind Consumer Responses to Service
Environments
The Mehrabian-Russell
Stimulus-Response
Two models to Model
understand consumer
responses to service
environments:
The Russell Model of
Affect

The Mehrabian-Russell Stimulus-Response Model
• Feelings are a key driver of customer responses to service environments
Conscious and
unconscious
perception, and
interpretation of
the environment
influences how
people feel in that
setting.
People’s feeling in
turn drive their
responses to that
environment.

• Fundamental model of how people respond to environments
• The environment, its conscious and unconscious perceptions and

interpretation influence how people feel in that environment
• Feelings, rather than perceptions/thoughts, drive behaviour
• Typical outcome variable is ‘approach’ or ‘avoidance’ of an

environment, but other possible outcomes can be added to model

The Russell Model of Affect
Emotion of anger about a
service failure is modelled as
high arousal and high
displeasure

• Emotional responses to environments can be described along two main
dimensions
o Pleasure: direct, subjective, depending on how much individual likes or dislikes

environment
o Arousal: how stimulated individual feels, depends largely on information rate or load of
an environment
• Advantage: simplicity, allows a direct assessment of how customers feel

o Firms can set targets for affective states they want their customers to be in.

The integrative servicescape model: Bitner’s Servicescape Model

Dimensions Of Service Environment
— Effect Of Ambient Conditions
• Ambient conditions refer to characteristics of environment that
pertain to the five senses.
• Composed of hundreds of design elements and details that work

together to create desired service environment.
• Ambient conditions are perceived both separately and holistically,
and include
• music,
• sounds and noise,
• scents and smells,
• color schemes and lighting, and
• temperature and air movement.

Impact of Music
• In service settings, music can have powerful effect on perceptions and behaviours,
even if played at barely audible levels.
o Fast tempo music and high volume music increase arousal levels
o People tend to adjust their pace, either voluntarily or involuntarily, to match tempo of music
• Careful selection of music can deter wrong type of customers.
• In situations that require waiting for service, effective use of music may shorten
perceived waiting time and increase customer satisfaction.
• Pleasant music has even been proved to enhance customers’ perceptions of the
service personnel.

Impact of Scent
May or may not be consciously perceived by customers.

Scents have distinct characteristics and can be used to obtain emotional, physiological,
and behavioural responses.
In service settings, research has shown that scents can have significant effect on
customer perceptions, attitudes, and behaviours
Presence of scent can have a strong impact on mood, feelings, and

evaluations, and even purchase intentions and in-store behaviors.
Scents have special characteristics and can be used to solicit certain

emotional, physiological, and behavioral responses.

Aromatherapy
The Effects of Selected Fragrances on People


Impact of Color
• Colours have a strong impact on people’s feelings
• Research has shown that in service environments, despite differing

colour preferences, people are generally drawn to warm colour

environments.
• Warm colours encourage fast decision making and are good for low-
involvement decisions or impulse buys
• Cool colours are preferred for high-involvement decisions


Common Associations and Human Responses to Colors

Spatial Layout and Functionality
• Spatial Layout
o Floorplan;
o Size and shape of furnishings, counters, machinery, equipment, and how they are
arranged
• Functionality
o The ability of those items to make the performance of the service easier

Signs, Symbols, and Artifacts
• Communicates the firm’s image
• Explicit signals include signs used

1. as labels,
2. for giving directions,
3. for communicating the service script, and
4. for reminders about behavioral rules
• Unclear signals from a servicescape can result in anxiety and

uncertainty about how to proceed and obtain the desired service

People are part of the service environment
• Appearance and behaviour of both service personnel and customers can strengthen
impression created by service environment or weaken it
• For employees, once they are dressed up, they must perform their parts
• For customers, marketing communication may seek to attract those who appreciate the
service environment and are also able to enhance it by their appearance and behaviour
• In hospitality and retail settings, newcomers often look at existing customers before
deciding whether to patronize the service firm

Putting It All Together
Selection of Environmental Design Elements
Design with a holistic view
o Servicescapes have to be seen holistically: No dimension of design can be optimized in

isolation, because everything depends on everything else
o Holistic characteristic of environments makes designing service environment an art
• Design should be from a customer’s perspective

• Environmental aspects that irritate shoppers
o Ambient conditions
o Environmental design variables

Aspects That Irritate Shoppers
Ambient conditions:
• Store is not clean.
• Too hot inside the store or the shopping center.
• Music inside the store is too loud.

• The store smells bad.
Environmental design variables:
• No mirror in the dressing room.
• Unable to find what one needs.
• Directions within the store are inadequate.
• Arrangement of store items has been changed in a way that confuses customers.
• Store is too small.
• Losing one’s way in a large shopping center.

Tools To Guide Servicescape Design
• Keen observation of customers’ behavior and responses
• Feedback and ideas from frontline staff and customers using a
variety of research tools

• Photo audit
• Ask customers (or mystery shoppers) to take photos of their service
experience
• Field experiments to manipulate specific dimensions in an
environment for certain effects to be observed
• Blueprinting or flowcharting


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Chapter-10

• physical surroundings and other experiential elements

• Designing service environment is an art;

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.

• Servicescapes form a core part of the value proposition.

• Each servicescape here clearly communicates and reinforces its hotel’s

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.

• The environment, its conscious and unconscious perceptions and

• Feelings, rather than perceptions/thoughts, drive behaviour

• Typical outcome variable is ‘approach’ or ‘avoidance’ of an

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.

o Pleasure: direct, subjective, depending on how much individual likes or dislikes

• Advantage: simplicity, allows a direct assessment of how customers feel

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.

• Composed of hundreds of design elements and details that work

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.

• Careful selection of music can deter wrong type of customers.

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.

May or may not be consciously perceived by customers.

Presence of scent can have a strong impact on mood, feelings, and

Scents have special characteristics and can be used to solicit certain

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.

• Research has shown that in service environments, despite differing

colour preferences, people are generally drawn to warm colour

• Cool colours are preferred for high-involvement decisions

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.

• Explicit signals include signs used

2. for giving directions,

3. for communicating the service script, and

4. for reminders about behavioral rules

• Unclear signals from a servicescape can result in anxiety and

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.

o Servicescapes have to be seen holistically: No dimension of design can be optimized in

o Holistic characteristic of environments makes designing service environment an art

• Design should be from a customer’s perspective

o Environmental design variables

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.

• Music inside the store is too loud.

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.

variety of research tools

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.

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