Service Blueprint Assignment
Garison Mathis
June 30, 2018
Introduction
Blue Ridge Hydraulics is a full service industrial hydraulic cylinder repair service in
Birmingham, Alabama. Blue Ridge Hydraulics services clients all other the southeast. From
Tennessee to Florida and Louisiana to Georgia. This includes everything from quoting new
cylinders to breaking down existing cylinders, inspecting, machining new parts, replacing seals,
and rebuilding the cylinder. Blue Ridge Hydraulics targets the large industrial market. This
includes steel mills, paper mills, automotive manufacturing facilities and power plants. The
company strictly targets these places because of the types of cylinders they are using. I chose to
use Blue Ridge Hydraulics as my service provider for many reasons. I love the industry and what
the company does. Industrial work has always interested me since I was starting high school. I
believe in Blue Ridge Hydraulics and the service they provide to the industrial market.
Customer Actions
The four key customer actions are the call to Blue Ridge Hydraulics, giving the cylinder
to the salesman, accepting the quote, and receiving the new or repaired cylinder. The first and
most important action is making the call to Blue Ridge Hydraulics. This initiates the repair
process and involves Blue Ridge Hydraulics. The next action is also important. When the
customer gives the cylinder to the salesman, he can then bring it into the shop for inspection.
Once the cylinder has been inspected, it can now be quoted for what it will take to fix it. This is
the next customer action. This is very important and critical to a successful service experience.
The customer has to accept the quote before moving on with the rebuild process. The fourth
customer action is receiving the new or repaired cylinder ready for service. A functioning and
repaired cylinder is vital or successful service experiences.
Onstage Employee Action
Blue Ridge Hydraulics has four main onstage employee actions with the customer. The
first is the interaction with the customer and salesman. The salesman is the face of the company
and is very important to a successful service experience. The next employee action is the
delivery and pick up man going to a location to pick up the cylinder. Having someone from Blue
Ridge Hydraulics come to the customers’ location and pick up their cylinder makes the process
so much easier for the customer. The third employee onstage action is when Robby, the shop
manager, gets in contact with the customer to let them know exactly what needs to be done with
their cylinder, how they are going to do it, and how much it is going to cost. Being open and
honest with the customer throughout the process is critical to a successful service experience.
The fourth onstage employee action is returning the cylinder back to the customer. The customer
never has to handle the cylinder at all. Blue Ridge Hydraulics comes to pick it up, and return it,
free of charge. This makes a huge impact on customers and adds vital elements to a successful
service experience.
Backstage Employee Actions
The backstage employee actions are critical to a successful service experience. These
employees are the ones who are do what needs to be done behind the scenes. The first is
backstage employee action is all the paperwork the salesman must have in order for a successful
service experience. Keeping the seal kit room fully stocked at all times is another example of
backstage employee action. Having this room stocked and ready for any customer at any given
time is critical in turn-around time and how fast Blue Ridge Hydraulics can get the cylinder back
to the customer. The customer may have a rush job and cannot wait until a seal is ordered. The
third backstage employee action is the use of the phone. Blue Ridge Hydraulics is very open and
the customer can contact them at any time day or night. This is very important to a successful
service experience. Having the ability for the customer to get in contact with the company has a
positive appearance to the company. The fourth backstage action is the secretary that handles all
the information from the customer. She is the one who files the information correctly and allows
the company easy access to the information.
Support Processes
Blue Ridge Hydraulics has many employees that never interact with the customer. The
support process employees are the ones who break down the cylinder to inspect it for what has
broken or why it is not functioning properly. These employees allow the company to tell the
customer why their cylinder stopped functioning. Once this has taken place and the customer
agrees to the quote, the next support process action can begin. These are the employees in the
machining department that can mill metal into correct sized parts for the cylinders. Without these
parts the cylinder will be useless. After the parts are made, the cylinder moves to the next set of
employees to rebuild the cylinder. These employees are the ones that precisely assemble these
cylinders to the thousandth inch. Once the cylinder has been rebuilt, the cylinder goes to the
employees that test the newly rebuilt cylinder. This is the fourth support process action in the
service process. These employees take the newly built cylinder and connect them to a hydraulic
pump. They test these cylinders at 500 psi (pounds per square inch) for ten strokes and then
move the pressure gradually up to its rated psi to test for correct performance.
Key Elements of Physical Evidence
There are many elements of physical evidence with Blue Ridge Hydraulics. This first
element is the salesman. They are the face of the company. The salesmen are required to wear
business casual attire to present themselves in a proper manner to the customer. It is important
for a successful service experience to be well dressed and present the company. The next element
is the salesman vehicle. The salesmen are required to keep their company issued vehicle
showroom clean. Keeping a clean vehicle shows the customer they care enough to keep their
vehicle clean, they will care about the customer. Another key element is the shop. The shop must
remain a clean environment due to the preciseness of the cylinders. A clean environment also is
appealing to the customer. The fourth key element is the office. It is decorated with wood floors
and beautiful paint. All of these are great first impressions to the customer.
Potential Bottlenecks
Two potential bottlenecks are going to be the break down and building processes. These
are the only two areas that could slow up the process for making a successful service experience.
If the employees that are breaking down move to fast, the employees building cannot catch up
and the cylinders start to pile up waiting to be built.
Possible Solutions
I think one possible solution to prevent this type of bottlenecking would be to move some
employees around as needed for different types of jobs. If the building employees are getting to
far ahead, Blue Ridge Hydraulics could move a builder to a break down position to keep up with
the work. Blue Ridge could also move a break down employee to the building side to help the
employees catch up on work.
BluePrint Use
A service blueprint can be used by any organization to make important business
decisions. The blueprint breaks down what the company is doing in relation to the customer. The
company can make decisions based off what the blue print shows. The blueprint can help the
marketers in the company make decisions that will ultimately move the company towards its
goal. It can also help in the human resource management. The department can look at potential
bottlenecks and see if adding employees or moving employees would help the issue. Operations
can benefit the most in my opinion. They can determine exactly who is interacting and how with
the customer and how they can make the process more effective.
Customers Negative Experiences
The problems that make customers have a negative experience is generally preventable.
Most customers are unhappy when a company does not do what they have said they will do and
are wasting the customers’ time. In this service industry, time is money and the customer wants
the product fast and to work properly so they can continue on with their operation. Being
somewhere when the company says they are is very helpful for the customer. The company
never wants to waste the customers’ time and resources. Testing the cylinders as Blue Ridge
Hydraulics does ensures that the cylinder properly functions before the customer ever sees the
cylinder. There are always preventive measures to take, but some customers will never be
pleased. In this case the company must do what it can and move on.
Conclusion
This assignment has taught me a lot regarding how much goes into customer satisfaction.
From the onstage employees to the backstage employees, they all determine a successful service
experience with the company. A blueprint can be applied to any service business. This displays
how the company interacts with the customer. Once the company can see all interactions with the
customer, they can better the process to ensure successful customer experiences.
Service Blueprint
Physical
Evidence
salesman
Customer
Actions
Vehicle
Call Blue
Ridge
Give
Cylinder to
Blue Ridge
Salesman
Delivery
Employee
Paperwork
The shop
The office
Accept
Quote
Receive
Cylinder
Shop
Manager
Returning
cylinder
Stock seals
Phone calls
secretary
Machine
parts
Rebuild
Cylinder
Test
cylinders
Line of Interaction
Onstage/
Visible Contact
Employee/SST
Actions
Line of Visibility
Backstage/
Invisible Contact
Employee/SST
Actions
Line of Internal Interaction
Support
Processes
Break down
cylinders
Failpoints and Bottlenecks
= Failpoint 1 is the break down process that can
move to fast and set the rebuild to be behind on
schedule
= Bottleneck 1 is the rebuild being backed up and
cannot catch up on the work
Jessica Hursey
Due: 7/1/2018
Service Blueprint Assignment
1. Introduce the organization, describe the service(s) that you blueprinted, the
target market for that service, and why you selected it.
The organization is Sylvan Learning Center. While not directly affiliated with
academic institutions, the Center specializes in academic tutoring. The most
common subjects are reading and math, but the company offers all core classes
along with test prepping and a few ‘trade’ skills.
2. Describe the four key customer actions depicted in the blueprint and discuss
why you believe each is critical to a successful service experience.
Set up meeting, pay for services, attend session, and review firm are all listed under
customer actions. These are the four most important steps in the process because they
directly relate to what type of experience the customer has. The meeting is the first
impression of the company, the customer learns what programs are offered and what is
required to sign up. The payment of services is the second most important as it includes
the signing of a contract and stands as the official request for services, despite the high
prices normally associated with this provider (as shown on Failpoint 1). Attending the
session is important because it is the actual service. The session itself can either go
very good, with the student learning a lot, or very badly, with the student not catching on
to much of what the tutor is trying to teach them. This leads to the review of the firm.
Depending on the experience received during the session, the student/parent may leave
positive or negative feedback that will affect how prospective clients will see the
company in the future.
3. Describe the four onstage employee/SST actions depicted in the blueprint and
discuss why you believe each is critical to a successful service experience.
The introduction call is important because it provides a first impression of the
company. This is to schedule the meeting to discuss options/plans in more detail.
The tone of the person answering the call may make the customer feel invited or
uneasy. Presenting of services lets the customer know what the company has to
offer them. This shows whether the company is able to cater to specific needs. In
this case, it shows how Sylvan is able to cater to individual goals rather than offer a
‘one-size-fits-all’ training program. Receiving payment is the acknowledgement of
requested services. This is the ‘go-ahead’ to begin creating schedules and lesson
plans and buying necessary supplies for the sessions. Providing lessons is the last
and most important part of this section. Customers wants to enhance their
knowledge of certain subjects, and everything leading up to this point affects the
outcome of whether this is a good or bad session.
4. Describe the four backstage employee/SST actions depicted in the blueprint
and discuss why you believe each is critical to a successful service
experience.
Backstage employee actions is the prep work for the sessions. In this case, the
employee must tailor the meeting documents before meeting with the parent/student
to ensure the company is able to meet the needs of the student. Once signed up, the
company must review the schedules to see when the student may fit in and what
sessions may work best for him/her. Once the student commits, the lesson planning
beings. This will vary depending upon each individual student. Each person has
different goals in different subjects, the tutor must identify how the student learns
best and adapt a program that works best for him/her. After each lesson the tutor
must review the students work to determine if the method they are using is working
or if it needs to be adjusted to make the material easier for the student to
understand.
5. Describe the four distinct support processes depicted in the blueprint and
discuss why you believe each is critical to a successful service experience.
Support processes are the ‘behind the scenes’ work that is not directly related to the
actual session itself. In this case printing of general forms to ensure the company is
not short when walk-ins occur or during meetings if incorrect information is entered.
Purchasing of supplies is important because it ensures the company has everything
needed to serve the students’ needs. After each session, the office must be cleaned
and organized so that no supplies are lost and to ensure everything is ready the
following day. The last important task is to generate review e-mails. Once students
have attended several sessions and have a better idea of how the tutoring is
affecting their grades, e-mails/letters are sent requesting feedback on what the
company can do to improve the services and asking what the student likes/dislikes
about the sessions/atmosphere.
6. Describe the key elements of physical evidence depicted in the blueprint and
discuss why you believe each is critical to a successful service experience.
During the meeting and phone call, the company is setting the first impression for a
potential client. Everything from the Parking lot to the building must be presentable.
The signs must also be grammatically correct and visually appealing to attract the
interest of potential students. In the classroom, having books, pencils, paper, etc.
shows the company is ready for any task or assignment. The company is prepared
in advance rather than having to purchase supplies on a ‘just-in-time’ basis.
7. Identify, number, and describe the two potential bottlenecks and/or failpoints;
Failpoint 1 is related to the high prices. The cost of tutoring is expensive considering
the need to pay the staff, purchase supplies, and run the brick-and-mortar site.
Bottleneck 1 refers to the tight scheduling. There are many students seeking tutoring
and it’s often hard trying to fit the suggested amount of sessions into each person’s
schedule.
8. Propose possible solutions/alternatives to address each bottleneck and/or
failpoint
For Failpoint 1, the prices could be lowered by offering bulk discounts. If a consumer
promises to X amount of sessions, the company knows they will be a returning
customer and can reward them with loyalty discounts. Also allowing them to bring
their own supplies for projects would cut down on necessary spending costs for the
company. For Bottleneck 1, a reasonable option would be to allow multiple students
to work under one tutor. This eliminates the need to hire more people and raise the
pricing. If two students in the same subject worked under one tutor, they could all
work together and possibly even help each other out more.
9. Discuss how a service blueprint might be used by an organization to make
decisions with regard to marketing, human resource management, and
operations;
When lining out the processes and procedures, it’s easier to tell exactly what steps
go into achieving a successful day. If there are many steps, it helps HR understand
that new-hires need to be very detail-oriented. It also helps a company recognize
where most time and money is being spent and possibly help make corrections to
those areas. For example, a blueprint may draw attention to a certain area being
short staffed by showing exactly how much that position is utilized.
10. Think about your service process beyond your specific organization. Discuss
what generally creates customers’ most negative experiences (for example:
emotional hot spots, irritations, frustrations, time wasted, delays, etc.) for this
service process.
Failed promises and drug-out actions create some of the most irritated customers.
What customers see as a two step process may actually require ten steps before
being complete. Blueprinting reminds us that customers do not always see or know
what we do, and how important it is to keep them in the loop throughout the entire
process.
11. Discuss what was learned in doing this assignment and how it could be
applied in the business world.
This lesson taught me how to read and understand blueprints. I see that they can
actually be pretty useful in the corporate world. Working in a call center, my
company has very specific expectations. Instead of filling up each employees
Outlook inbox with updates as to how to handle situations (where to send certain
requests or who to contact in certain situations) a blueprint would be a quick and
easy way for people to map out how to direct questions. Plus, it would not take much
to make updates to the sheet and resend as necessary, vs. having to archive yet
another e-mail.
Parking
Building
Signs
Physical
Evidence
Customer
Actions
Call
firm
Service Blueprint
Meeting
Pay for
services
Attend
session
Introduction
call
Present
services
Receive
payment
Tailor
meeting
documents
Create
Schedules
Review
firm
D
A
Line of Interaction
Onstage/
Visible Contact
Employee/SST
Actions
Books
Pencils
Paper
Calculator
Provide
lesson
Line of Visibility
Backstage/
Invisible Contact
Employee/SST
Actions
Lesson
planning
Review
Students
Work
Line of Internal Interaction
Support
Processes
Print
General
Forms
Purchase
supplies
Clean
office
Generate
review
e-mails
Failpoints and Bottlenecks
A
B
= Failpoint 1 is the ……. High prices
= Bottleneck 1 is the ……. Tight schedules
Service Blueprint Assignment Instructions
Objective:
To develop a thorough understanding of service blueprinting by analyzing the service process for a given
service organization and capturing the process visually.
Directions:
Each student’s assignment is to develop a service blueprint. The assignment should focus on the specific
organization and service you are using for your Service Marketing Journal.
Students should use the information in Chapter 8 and the article below to create the service blueprint.
Mary Jo Bitner, Amy L. Ostrom, and Felicia N. Morgan (2007), “Service Blueprinting: A
Practical Technique for Service Innovation,” Center for Services Leadership, Arizona State
University - Working Paper. http://files.g51studio.com/parsons/ServiceBlueprinting.pdf
The intent of the project is to construct a thorough, detailed service blueprint for the service provider.
Requirements:
There are three parts to the final Service Blueprint Assignment: (Part 1) a graphical part and (Part 2) a
written part. Instructions regarding each part are outlined below.
(Part 1) The Graphical Part of Service Blueprint Assignment
This assignment allows students to demonstrate an understanding of the blueprint concepts as
well as an ability to illustrate them in the context of a specific service. A blueprint should include
the components indicated below. Arrows should be included in your blueprint to indicate the
sequence of activities and how they are related to each other.
A blueprint should depict at least four key customer actions, four onstage employee/SST actions,
four backstage employee/SST actions, four distinct support processes, and four elements of
physical evidence. At least two potential bottlenecks (points in the process where backups or
slow delivery may occur) or failpoints (points in the process where problems may occur) in the
service delivery process should be identified and included.
Blueprints must be created using PowerPoint. A template is provided.
(Part 2) The Written Part of the Service Blueprint Assignment
In addition to the actual blueprint, each student is to write a short paper (4-5 pages) that addresses
each of the following topics:
(1) Introduce the organization, describe the service(s) that you blueprinted, the target market
for that service, and why you selected it;
(2) Describe the four key customer actions depicted in the blueprint and discuss why you
believe each is critical to a successful service experience*;
(3) Describe the four onstage employee/SST actions depicted in the blueprint and discuss
why you believe each is critical to a successful service experience*;
(4) Describe the four backstage employee/SST actions depicted in the blueprint and discuss
why you believe each is critical to a successful service experience*;
(5) Describe the four distinct support processes depicted in the blueprint and discuss why you
believe each is critical to a successful service experience*;
(6) Describe the key elements of physical evidence depicted in the blueprint and discuss why
you believe each is critical to a successful service experience*;
(7) Identify, number, and describe the two potential bottlenecks and/or failpoints;
(8) Propose possible solutions/alternatives to address each bottleneck and/or failpoint;
(9) Discuss how a service blueprint might be used by an organization to make decisions with
regard to marketing, human resource management, and operations;
(10) Think about your service process beyond your specific organization. Discuss what
generally creates customers’ most negative experiences (for example: emotional hot spots,
irritations, frustrations, time wasted, delays, etc.) for this service process.
(11) Discuss what was learned in doing this assignment and how it could be applied in the
business world.
For (2), (3), (4), and (5), if your service blueprint has more than four actions or processes,
select the most important ones.
* Note: For “critical to a successful service experience” think of how that activity potentially
contributes to customer satisfaction. A question to ask yourself is, “If this employee action,
support process, or physical evidence wasn’t present, how might the quality of the service
provision be diminished?”
Format:
Your written document should be typed, double-spaced and have 1” margins. Submissions should use a
12-point font and be free of spelling and grammatical errors. Assignments should include your name, the
date, and the title of the assignment. Submissions will be made in Canvas.
Use paragraphs and headings (and subheadings) to clearly organize your work. A topic/response format
is good for your paper, with bold font for the 11 topics and regular font for your responses.
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