Page 17 - Design for Six Sigma for Service (Six SIGMA Operational Methods)

Six Sigma in Service Organizations 3

Of course, there are many other types of service organizations. Some service
organizations are one-shop organizations. Others, such as Amazon.com,
interact with customers mostly via the Internet. For these organizations, the
service process is centralized and the customers are everywhere in the world.
It is a “one shop for the whole world” organization. Based on the classi-
fication by Schmenner (1994), and Harrell and Tumay (1995), there are
10 kinds of service processes as follows:
1. Office
2. Service factory
3. Pure service shop
4. Retail service store
5. Professional service
6. Telephone service
7. Project shop
8. Transportation service
9. Logistics and distribution
10. Purchasing and supply chain
However, no matter what type of service organizations you look at, there are
three aspects of services that are detrimental to service quality and customer
satisfaction (Ramaswamy 1996). These are
Service Product Service product refers to the service output attributes to
the customers, or the service items provided to the customers. For example,
in restaurant service, the service product includes the meals; use of dining
utensils, tables, and chairs; and music played if needed. In health-care
service, the service product includes diagnosis, treatment, and care items.
Service Delivery Process Service delivery process refers to the
process that delivers service products to customers or maintains the
service products. For example, in a car rental center, the service process
includes all steps needed to rent a car to a customer. These steps include
collect driver’s license and credit card, check car availability, fill and
print contract, obtain customer signature, deliver car key and contract
to customer, and locate the car.
Customer-Provider Interaction In service process, there is also a
human interaction aspect, that is, the interaction between customers
and service providers. The quality of this interaction will greatly
influence customer satisfaction. For example, in the car rental business,
the representative should greet customers politely, ask customers their
car preference, and patiently explain all the options.

Table 1.1 gives a comprehensive summary of the features of service
products, service delivery process, and customer-provider interaction for