The Service Providing System

A service providing process can be seen as a joint activity of the service provider and the client, with delivering an achievement that caters to the client’s needs as goal. This process occurs within a service providing system that is made up out of two components: the front- and back-office.

The Front-Office

The front-office is the whole of elements of the service providing process that is visible to the client, such as the contact personnel, the visible environment, the client himself/herself and other clients.

• Contact personnel: This is the staff that is in direct contact with the clients. This could be receptionists, porters, advisors, representatives, cleaning staff, and so on.
• Visible environment: This is both the space and the means that are used to provide a certain service. A space can be, for example, the reception room in an office, dining room in a restaurant or the cabin of a plain. Tangible means that are used in providing a service could be furniture, a computer terminal and even pen and paper.
• The client: Insofar the client finds him or herself within the service providing system, he or she fulfils the role of co-producer. For example, someone who is wasting time at a bank will influence the process, or a manager who gives a bad briefing will influence the quality of the process.
• Other clients: Possible other clients present can also influence the process or the experience hereof for other clients.

The Back-Office

The back-office is this part of the service providing process that is not visible to the client. Elements of the back-office could be:

• Other personnel: Examples of staff that is normally not seen by clients are administrative staff, kitchen staff, managers, and so on. Nevertheless, it should be noted that a lot of staff members occasionally go outside (to make a telephone-call or to have a smoke, for example). At those moments they are actually to be considered contact personnel.
• Non-visible environment: Examples of this are the administrative department, the workspace of an advisor, the cockpit in a plane, the kitchen in a restaurant, and so forth. These, along with the equipment in those rooms can be considered the non-visible environment of the service providing system.

An Open System

Every service providing system knows a little co-production by the client. This makes it an ‘open system’, in contrast to many industrial production processes which are considered to be ‘closed systems’. An open system is harder to manage since the client is also a production factor.