In recent times, the role of service has become a critical differentiator between companies that are merely ordinary and those that are truly exceptional. Companies can create and maintain a competitive advantage and can keep loyal customers returning for life by consistently delivering a level of service that delights customers. To do this, exceptional quality needs to be designed into the service when it is first created, and maintained through the life of the service. This book, intended for managers in both manufacturing and service industries, shows you how to design customer delighting service by applying well known Total Quality Development (TQD) and Total Quality Management (TQM) principles. The book is a detailed, step-by-step guide that describes the state-of-the art tools and methods such as Quality Function Deployment, Functional Analysis, Experimental Design and Simulation that you need to create, implement, manage and improve the processes by which service is provided so that you can consistently exceed your customers' expectations and keep your firm competitive in your industry.In this book, through numerous examples and a single, large-scale case study, you will learn how to determine customers' expectations for the service, how to develop design specifications based on a quantitative assessment of the impact of meeting these expectations on customer satisfaction, how to generate and evaluate different service design solutions based on these specifications to select the solutions that deliver the highest performance at the most reasonable cost, and how to monitor and continually improve your designed services. At every point, the book offers concrete and specific recommendations that can be immediately applied to your business for real improvements in service quality and customer satisfaction. 0201633833B04062001

Table of Contents:
I. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW. 1. Designing Services - an Introduction. Competing Through Service Quality - a Fictional Case Study. Competing Through Service Quality - Three Industry Examples. Relationship Between Products and Services. Creating High-Quality Service - Service Design and Delivery. Total Service Design. Conclusion. 2. The Service Design and Management Model - A Methodological Overview. Basic Concepts: Vacation Planning Example. The Service Design and Management Model. Overview of Model Stages. Organization of Chapters. Using This Book to Manage and Improve Existing Services. Introducing the "Service Edge" Restaurant. Conclusion. II. DESIGN. 3. Developing Design Specifications - Part 1: Defining Design Attributes. Introduction to Quality Function Deployment. Identifying Customer Needs - HOQ Room 1. Generating Design Characteristics - HOQ Rooms 2 and 3. Determining Importance of Attributes - HOQ Rooms 6 and 7. Conclusion. 4. Developing Design Specifications - Part 2: Setting Design Performance Standards. Design Performance Standards. Measuring the Desired Performance Level. Customer and Technical Benchmarks - HOQ Rooms 4 and 5. The Performance/Satisfaction Function. Setting Design Performance Standards - HOQ Room 8. Estimating the Performance/Satisfaction Relationship. Experimental Designs with Attributes at Two Levels. Analyzing Profiles with Attributes at Three Levels. Conclusion. 5. Generating and Evaluating Design Concepts. Functional Analysis. Defining and Documenting Processes. Concept Generation. Evaluating and Selecting Concepts - Description of the Pugh Method. Using the Pugh Method to Evaluate Restaurant Concepts. Conclusion. 6. Performing Detailed Process Design - Part 1: Generating Design Alternatives. Partitioning the Design Concept - Detailed Design Activity 1. Generating Design Alternatives - Detailed Design Activity 2. Predicting Design Alternative Performance - Detailed Design Activity 3. Performance Functions - Detailed Design Activity 3. Specifying Variability Using Distributions - Detailed Design Activity 3. Properties of a Good Design. Conclusion. 7. Performing Detailed Process Design - Part 2: Evaluating and Testing Alternatives. Evaluating Design Alternatives - Detailed Design Activity 4. Introduction to Simulation Models. Service Edge Restaurant Simulation Models Inputs - Detailed Design Activity 5. Service Edge Simulation Model Structure - Detailed Design Activity 5. Service Edge Simulation Model Outputs - Detaileddesign Activity 5. Analyzing and Modifying Designs - Detailed Design Activity 6. Functional Design - Detailed Design Activity 7. III. MANAGEMENT AND IMPROVEMENT. 8. Implementing the Design. Design Implementation Plan. Service Construction Plan. Testing Plan. Communications Plan. Rollout and Transition Plans. Service Management Plan. Conclusion. 9. Measuring Performance. Performance Monitoring and Stabilization Procedure. Service Performance Metrics. Collecting the Right Data for Service Management. Data Analysis and Reporting. Monitoring Service Performance - Service Edge Restaurant Example. Conclusion. 10. Assessing Customer Satisfaction. Effect of Market and Customer Changes on Satisfaction. Defining Customer Satisfaction - Disconfirmation Model. Expectations. Other Models of Satisfaction. Satisfaction and Value. Measuring Satisfaction. Conclusion. 11. Improving Service Performance. Evaluating the Financial Impact of Customer Satisfaction - Step 1. Setting Strategic Improvement Targets - Step 2. Evaluating the Impact of Service Performance on Satisfaction - Step 3. Selecting Attributes for Improvement - Step 4. Specifying Improvements at the Process Level - Step 5 and Step 6. Developing an Optimal Process Improvement Strategy - Step 7. Conclusion. 12. Conclusion. Closing the Loop - Restarting the Design Cycle. Integrated Design of Service Features, Facilities, and Processes. Good-Bye. Glossary. Bibliography. Index.