I recently read Thinking in Services from Majid Iqbal. I was told that it is not a book to skim through, but one to delve into with curiosity and imagination. I was not disappointed. Iqbal developed a whole new language to talk about services beyond the obvious service design blueprint.
Here are a few ways on how Iqbal changed my thinking about services.
Users, agents, customers, service providers
A typical service blueprint would represent a process in terms of a front stage and a backstage. A user appears with a need on the front stage and an agent at the backstage provides an outcome for the user. Iqbal illustrates how a user is not necessarily the customer, i.e. the one who pays for the service. At the same time, the agent is often part of a larger entity that organizes the service.
If I go for a business lunch (which rarely happens), I may be the user, but my company is the actual customer. At the same time, the chef is an agent when s/he is not owning the place. Of course, I could be self-employed and the chef can be the owner, but our motivation for the service can be different depending on our role.
Performances and affordances
Usually, a service is seen as something that someone does. That’s a performance. But, that’s only half of the service equation, according to Iqbal. There is also something like affordances, in the meaning of offering, providing, allowing, supplying etc.
Building on the example of the restaurant, you can consider the serving of a meal as a performance. Part of the service I am offered a seat, a table and cutlery (unless you are using a McDonald’s drive-in, but that’s a different service). The meal and the restaurant infrastructure go hand in hand, otherwise there is no such thing as a business lunch.
Promises
Users, agents, customers and service providers all make different promises to each other. Iqbal calls these promises also arrangements. An arrangement means that you understand what users, agents, customers and service providers are supposed to do, how they do it and why they do it.
Regardless whether arrangements are formalized or not, there needs to be some level of trust between all parties, or no performances and affordances will take place. Service design is essentially articulating these arrangements. That was one of my aha moments.
So when I am enjoying my business lunch, I have expectations (pricing, taste, atmosphere), but the same goes for my company (not exceeding maximum price, only when appropriate), the chef (make a living, expression of creativity) and the owner (have a good return on investment). All of these need to be in balance with each other, or it leads to tensions.
Tensions
Good arrangements ensure that everyone will be happy during and after the delivery of the service, but that is not guaranteed. Tensions may arise because the customers are not satisfied with the outcomes and experience, or the price may be too high. At the same time, service providers should make enough money to keep their service sustainable.
Basically, everyone’s expectations need to be met after my business lunch, not just my gastronomic wishes. (Did I already share that I love duck?) If not, I will longer visit the restaurant, the chef may quite his job or the restaurant may go bankrupt. For strategic design, you need to optimize the quality of the outcome, the quality of the price, the quality of the experience and an acceptable net value for both parties.
And more
I could go on for a while, but if you are in a service business or curious about service design, I can whole wholeheartedly recommend this book. You can find it on Amazon or in a local book store. You also follow Majid Iqbal on Twitter.
