Page 280 - DMGT510_SERVICES_MARKETING

Unit 14: Service Strategies

Notes

Task Contact some of the service providers in your locality (salons, restaurants, coaching
classes, cable network providers, etc.) and find out what they do to manage demand and
supply.
Managing productivity is a difficult task due to the multifunctional nature of service jobs.

Example: In fast food outlets, the personnel perform various tasks like preparing food,
delivering the food to customers; giving them all possible facilities to make the visit memorable
and enjoyable and accepting payment form the customers.
Stock management and cleaning and maintenance work may also be a part of the work of
personnel in some service firms. The multifunctional nature of the tasks allotted to service
personnel makes it difficult to measure, monitor and improve the performance. So it is a complex
task.
Self Assessment

Fill in the blanks:
9. can be defined as the ability of a service organization to meet its demand
and the extent to which it can do it.

10. A courier service may not be able to deliver couriers to a specific location due to lack of
distribution service. This is a constraint related to
11. A bank’s branch cannot handle two credit card customers at a time because they have only
one employee handling that division. This is a constraint related to
12. If an educational institute employ visiting/part time faculties from outside to take classes,
they are altering to match

14.4 Managing Waiting Lines

The queuing system consists primarily of the waiting line(s) and the available number of servers.
Factors to consider with waiting lines include the line length, number of lines, and queue
discipline.
Length: In a practical sense, an infinite line is simply one that is very long in terms of the capacity
of the service system.

Example: Infinite potential length is a line of vehicles backed up for miles at a bridge
crossing and customers who must form a line around the block as they wait to purchase tickets
at a theatre.

Gas stations, loading docks, and parking lots have limited line capacity caused by legal restrictions
or physical space characteristics. This complicates the waiting line problem not only in service
system utilization and waiting line computations but also in the shape of the actual arrival
distribution. The arrival denied entry into the line because of lack of space may rejoin the
population for a later try or may seek service elsewhere. Either action makes an obvious difference
in the finite population case.
Number of Lines: The term multiple lines refer to the single lines that form in front of two or
more servers or to single lines that converge at some central redistribution point. The

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