Service Science: The Foundations of Service Engineering and Management

Chapter 3

The Need for the Science of Service

A wireless communication service provider usually offers a variety of service plans. Wireless service plans, such as a 2-year contract with 600-min monthly usage individual cell phone plan, a 2-year contract with 1000-min monthly usage family cell phone plan, limited or unlimited data and messaging plans, a global positioning system (GPS) navigation plan, and different bundle plans, are popular ones in the United States. A service product does not create any utilitarian and/or sociopsychological benefit until it is consumed. For instance, a customer chooses a competitive 2-year plan with a cellular phone the customer likes. The value cocreation process that defines a service starts at the point when the customer calls a representative, browses the service provider's website, or visits a provider's retailing store to sign up the plan. If the service can meet the needs of customer's daily communications, the customer will be most likely satisfied with the service. Of course, the service provider makes a corresponding profit until the customer terminates the signed service contract.

In the above-discussed example, if the customer experience is outstanding in all aspects with respect to today's highly competitive wireless communication services, the customer most likely becomes a loyal customer and will continue to choose a service product from the service provider in the future. The customer's word of mouth, including posts, blogs, ...