Putting the Service into Service Design

This article is a summary of AssistKD CEO Debra Paul’s talk at the 2024 BCT Conference.??

Anyone who watched the show ‘Succession’ – about the political machinations within a family business empire – will be familiar with their constant talk about ‘The Optics’.??

Sometimes we think about what we deliver… but are we thinking about how it is received and perceived? First there is whether the product or service meets requirements, but then there is the dimension of customer experience which is the focus of the new discipline of Service Design.? The Service Engagement matrix provides a start point for thinking about the customer, their experience and whether they are likely to engage with an organisation again.??

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The red and green areas are where the customer experience is clear (it’s good, or it’s bad) but the amber areas are where it is more complicated. What if the product or service meets the requirements, but the customer service is so poor it detracts from them? In such a case a customer wants to give feedback and to feel listened to – but how often is ‘feedback’ ignored (politely of course). The other amber is where the product or service doesn’t meet the requirements but the customer has received a good customer experience. This customer may return to try other products or services in the future.?

My ‘Journey of Woe’?

Most of us have a ‘Journey of Woe’ regarding customer experience. Debbie’s concerned her car dealer who texted, emailed and called to say her car was due a service – despite the lack of any prompt from the car dashboard software (which is supposed to issue a service reminder).??

This was the start of a journey of woeful touchpoints where nothing went well, as explained by Debbie:?

• I rang the garage to query the message stalking and was told: “Your service is overdue, and you will have to come in at 8am because all of the other slots are gone.”??
• I took the car in at 7.55 for my 8am appointment to find the garage was locked. The doors only opened at 8am!?
• Having checked in the car and then found a seat in the waiting area, the service member of staff came over and said: “We don’t understand why you booked a service as your dashboard software hasn’t said this is needed.”.? A moment of frustration and annoyance! Apparently, it was ‘the system’s fault’ but we dealt with the ‘system blaming’ and they did the service. The service itself was fine but the customer experience was poor.??
• The next day the garage called for ‘feedback’ on my experience, which I would have been pleased to provide. However, I was asked “Can you confirm you had a five-star service?”? and when I started to explain my perception of the experience, the caller wasn’t interested, being more concerned with whether I considered it a ‘five-star service’. Beyond that, she didn’t seem interested in any comments.??
• To my surprise (and initial delight) I received another phone call the next day. I was expecting this to be to discuss my feedback. However, this was not the case – instead it was a sales call!??
• All in all, a most frustrating experience throughout the entire journey.?

Debbie summarised this customer journey with a series of RAG-rated touchpoints. She made the point that there were several opportunities to resolve the issues but there was no joined up (holistic) thinking despite the small group of people involved. From a CX analysis perspective, this tale highlighted the importance of thinking about every individual touchpoint and considering the entire customer journey.??

Customer Journeys Matter?

Customer journeys matter and this one was terrible. However, poor quality service seems to be everywhere at the moment. A recent Sunday times article about poor customer service in the UK quoted a UK customer satisfaction index from the Institute of Customer Service.??

• The UKCSI is 76/100: its lowest level since 2015. All five dimensions have declined.?
• Each of the 13 UKCSI sectors reported lower customer satisfaction than last year.?
• 28% of customers buy more from highly regarded organisations.?
• 21% of customers with a poor experience trust other organisations less.?
• 45% avoid organisations where they experience poor use of technology.?

According to Rocio Concha (Which? Magazine Director of Policy and Advocacy):?

“Too many people are experiencing shockingly poor customer service - whether that means struggling to get through at all, deficient chatbots or poorly trained staff that only seem to make the problem worse.??

“Our research has found shoddy customer service in a number of sectors – with the energy industry performing particularly poorly.??

“Any companies falling short on customer service need to up their game. Everyone should be able to get the answers they need without long waits or endless loops, be kept informed and treated fairly, with empathy and as an individual.”?

The Value Fallacy?

In too many businesses and organisations there is a focus on design and delivery – the product mindset. This assumes that the recipient perceives that value is automatically achieved on delivery. However, this is an assumption that we need to challenge. Debbie calls this the Value Fallacy, asking if the following statements can be substantiated:?

• Our solutions deliver value.?
• We deliver value every day.?
• Agile delivers value early.?
• Our team adds value.?

Companies can lose a lot of customers if they assume that these statements are correct and what they have delivered translates directly to customer satisfaction.??

The Service Design Mindset and Service World View?

In a recent interview, the businessman James Timpson said that customers are at the heart of his business and that it is a privilege to offer customer service.??

The service mindset recognises that value is realised when a product or service is used, and it is the customer who determines if value has been achieved. The CRAVO acronym clarifies the Service World View.?

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However, customer experience is not just about the product or service, it is about how we feel when engaging with an organisation. The gaps model can analyse the sources of customer experiences.?

The Service Design Gaps Model?

The Gaps model (Parasuraman et al, 1985, adapted with permission) offers a basis for a Service Design Gaps Model.?

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This model looks at the Customer Viewpoint first. The ‘gap’ is where the customer experience does not match the customer expectations. We need to explore the question: Why???

If you see a gap, you can delve into it. You might look at the analysis gap between the customer requirements and the defined requirements. Then you might look at the design gap, which is where the designed service does not meet the defined requirements.??

There can also be a communication gap between the designed service and the communicated service. Is the organisation over promising ‘your call is important to us’? Do the messages that have been communicated about the service match the service experienced? This contributes to the service perception gap.??

There can also be a gap between the way the service was designed and the delivery of the service. Did the delivery fail to meet the design intentions??

Key Service Insights?

Organisations need to engage with their customers, and with how their customers feel. They need to listen to their feedback and consider the entire customer journey, at every touchpoint. The Service Design Gaps model allows us to look for these gaps, where the organisation is not meeting customer expectations, and to take steps to do better – which benefits the customer… and the organisation.???

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