There is another key factor, and that is the trust that’s implicit in the question “I know you can do this for me, but can you get it done?”. This is important because customers suffer the consequences of a job nearly done or poorly done. There are two aspects of trust. One is simply dependability,…
Read MoreCredit card transactions
Credit card transactions convert the creditworthiness or income potential of a customer into cash available for making a purchase. Money is available at the point-of-sale in the exact amount needed for the purchase, and in the form of a payment authorization. Merchants are willing to pay a transaction fee not only to increase the probability…
Read MoreJoint experience
Indeed, many services are poorly designed because, in their eagerness or anxiety to reduce costs, the service provider pushes some of that effort and pain to the customer and user who are often unaware of this shift in burden and are often unwilling or unprepared to take it on. That’s why many services require the…
Read MoreResults and evidence
In services, outcomes are the goods. Experience is the packaging in which the goods are delivered. It is critical that customers are able to walk away with outcomes they pay for, and own them, just as easily they’re able to walk away with a bag full of goods from a retail store. In services, the…
Read MoreWhat can we learn from computer science and biology?
Reuse of components implies reusability of their design. But design may not be readily reusable across markets, economies and societies which vary by type of government, social norms, and culture. This is true of manufactured goods, which is why models of cars are often specific to certain countries or regional blocs. It matters as much…
Read MoreBYOB: Bring Your Own Barium
The difference between capabilities and resources is something hard to discern, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there. There are design implications because failures may be due to either aspect of the service asset. Capabilities are invisible assets and are exposed to customers only through a resource. The presence of the capability aspect may not…
Read MoreE for Experience
You cannot go very far in a discussion about services without talking about experience. What does experience really mean? Books have been written about how to navigate, dominate, and co-create in the experience economy? Where did this economy come from? Where is it going? How is it different from the services economy? Do people really…
Read More