Chapter 6 Glossary

Glossary

customer contact
the physical or virtual presence of the customer in the service-delivery-system during a service
experience

customer-contact requirements
measurable performance levels or expectations that define the quality of customer contact with
representatives of an organization

Design for Environment (DfE)

the explicit consideration of environmental concerns during the design of goods, services, and
processes and includes such practices as designing for recycling and disassembly

design for manufacturing (DFM)

the process of designing a product for efficient production at the highest level of quality

elaborate servicescape environments

provide service using more complicated designs and service systems (for example, hospitals, airports,
and universities)

empowerment
giving people authority to make decisions based on what they feel is right, to have control over their
work, to take risks and learn from mistakes, and to promote change

high-contact systems
systems in which the percentage of customer contact is high

lean servicescape environments

provide service using simple designs (for example, Ticketron outlets or FedEx kiosks)

low-contact systems
systems in which the percentage of customer contact is low

product simplification
the process of trying to simplify designs to reduce complexity and costs and thus improve
productivity, quality, flexibility, and customer satisfaction

prototype testing
the process by which a model (real or simulated) is constructed to test the product's performance
under actual operating conditions, as well as consumer reactions to the prototypes

quality function deployment (QFD)

an approach to guide the design, creation, and marketing of goods and services by integrating the
voice of the customer into all decisions
reliability
the probability that a manufactured good, piece of equipment, or system performs its intended
function for a stated period of time under specified operating conditions

service guarantee
a promise to reward and compensate a customer if a service upset occurs during the service
experience

service process design

the activity of developing an efficient sequence of activities to satisfy both internal and external
customer requirements

service recovery
the process of correcting a service upset and satisfying the customer

service upset
any problem a customer has—real or perceived—with the service-delivery system

service-delivery system design

includes facility location and layout, the servicescape, service process and job design, technology and
information support systems, and organizational structure

service-encounter design
focuses on the interaction, directly or indirectly, between the service provider(s) and the customer

servicescape
all the physical evidence a customer might use to form an impression and provides the behavioral
setting where service encounters take place

voice of the customer

customer requirements, as expressed in the customer's own words