21.3 Service
21.3.1 Service
Definitions of “service” include:
(1) “A service is an activity or series of activities of more or less intangible nature
that normally, but not necessarily, take place in interactions between the
customer and the service employee and/or physical resources or goods and/or
systems of the service provider, which are provided as solutions to customer
problems.” (Gronroos 2001)
(2) “A service is any act or performance that one party can offer to another that is
essentially intangible and does not result in ownership of anything. Its production may or may not be linked to a physical product.” (Kotler 1996).
While Goonroos (2001) mentions that a service is a process that entails a result
during partly simultaneous production processes and consumption processes, Harms
(2002) states that services could be divided into two categories:
(a) simple services which are very limited or not, linked to goods and
(b) services which are linked with products.
These distinct definitions point towards services being quite different in nature
from a physical object. In fact, the terms usually employed (e.g. manufacturing
method, productivity, or even consumption) are manufacturing-oriented concepts
that are not always compatible with the nature of services.
21.3.2 Quality
Different writers have provided different definitions of quality, but the most appropriate here, from the perspective of the consumer/user of infrastructure services
should be: “Quality must be in the conformity with the customers’ requirements or
needs and as such quality should be considered as ongoing process where the user is
a key determinant”. (Thapisa and Gamini 1996)
Quality is clearly a function of how the client perceives or views the service he
gets. It is not an absolute that operations or manufacturing can or must determine.
Variables influencing quality are: expectations of the client and the real service or
product/s received.
21.3.3 Service Quality
The definitions of “service quality” include:
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21 Quality of Infrastructure Service Delivery
21.3.1 Service
Definitions of “service” include:
(1) “A service is an activity or series of activities of more or less intangible nature
that normally, but not necessarily, take place in interactions between the
customer and the service employee and/or physical resources or goods and/or
systems of the service provider, which are provided as solutions to customer
problems.” (Gronroos 2001)
(2) “A service is any act or performance that one party can offer to another that is
essentially intangible and does not result in ownership of anything. Its production may or may not be linked to a physical product.” (Kotler 1996).
While Goonroos (2001) mentions that a service is a process that entails a result
during partly simultaneous production processes and consumption processes, Harms
(2002) states that services could be divided into two categories:
(a) simple services which are very limited or not, linked to goods and
(b) services which are linked with products.
These distinct definitions point towards services being quite different in nature
from a physical object. In fact, the terms usually employed (e.g. manufacturing
method, productivity, or even consumption) are manufacturing-oriented concepts
that are not always compatible with the nature of services.
21.3.2 Quality
Different writers have provided different definitions of quality, but the most appropriate here, from the perspective of the consumer/user of infrastructure services
should be: “Quality must be in the conformity with the customers’ requirements or
needs and as such quality should be considered as ongoing process where the user is
a key determinant”. (Thapisa and Gamini 1996)
Quality is clearly a function of how the client perceives or views the service he
gets. It is not an absolute that operations or manufacturing can or must determine.
Variables influencing quality are: expectations of the client and the real service or
product/s received.
21.3.3 Service Quality
The definitions of “service quality” include:
602
21 Quality of Infrastructure Service Delivery