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SERVICE BLUEPRINT .

Meaning of Blueprinting
The service encounter is difficult to describe with accuracy and therefore there is a lot of
subjective in its analysis. This inconsistency (variability) prevents quality measurement. This has
given rise to many methodologies in service encounter analysis and measurements which seek
to “map” the service process. With such a “map” and “scripts”, it is possible to be systematic in
the encounter analysis. This process is called “blueprinting”. Blueprinting has given rise to other
methodologies like “servuction” and “servicescapes”.To facilitate maximum satisfaction to the
customers, more inputs were added to the service delivery. Service evolved from very simple
steps to complex processes, and there arose a need for the marketer to get a “bird’s eye view”
of the whole process. Blueprinting is the flowcharting of a service operation. This methodology
was devised by Lyn Shostack in 1984, to help out new service firms in mapping the sequence
before the beginning of service delivery or any other encounter. This would help the service
manager in identifying areas of potential failures, and weak service delivery points – and
identifying solutions to overcome them.This would prevent the manager from learning by costly
trial and error. Blueprinting also enables marketing managers to understand the parts of the
operating system that are visible to the consumer and hence parts of the servuction system.

In the servuction system, it is very difficult to identify components of an individual firm. Worse,
firms underestimate the sensitivity of points of contact. For example, many banks, schools,
travel agencies fail to understand the importance of the first enquiry telephone call. If the
telephone rings for too long, without any response, the potential customer has already formed
an opinion of an uncaring organization. If the first encounter itself is not pleasant, the customer
is not going to come back. Service firms are now starting to realize the importance of the first
call and its potential for generating revenues. They are setting up ‘24x7x365’ call centres to b
manned by efficient and alert call handlers. The providers are adequately enabled by training,
and computer facilities for all enquiry data access and customer and product details. The
service providers are trained to pick up the phone on the first ring.

A customer blueprint has three core elements:

 Identification of all those functions that are essential to deliver a service along with the
appropriate personnel with requisite responsibility, authority and accountability.
  The relationships amongst different functions of service components are explained by
graphics and charts. The relationship is based on time and sequence with each other.
For a hotel, the sequence of housekeeping in relation to reception and registration has
to be elaborated with a specific time interval.
 Setting up of each function with tolerance levels and variance from standards. These
tolerances for variance should not adversely affect the service quality adversely.

Evolution of Service Blueprinting:

Service blueprinting was initially introduced as a process control technique for services that
offered several advantages: it was more precise than verbal definitions; it could help solve
problems preemptively; and it was able to identify failure points in a service operation. Just as
firms have evolved to become more customer-focused, so has service blueprinting. One early
adaptation was the clarification of service blueprinting as a process for plotting the customer
process against organizational structure. Service blueprinting was further developed to
distinguish between onstage and backstage activities. These key components still form the basis
of the technique and its most important feature, that of illuminating the customer’s role in the
service process. In addition, it provides an overview so that employees and internal units can
relate what they do to the entire, integrated service system. Blueprints also help to reinforce a
customer-orientation among employees as well as clarify interfaces across departmental lines.
Service blueprinting shares similarities with other process modeling approaches in that it
1) It is a visual notation for depicting business processes via symbols that represent actors and
activities,
2) It can be used to represent high-level overviews of conceptual processes or details of
particular support or sub-processes, and
3) It will accommodate links to parallel and sub-process documents and diagrams via other
more internally-focused process modeling tools and languages such as BPMN (Business Process
Modeling Notation) and UML (Unified Modeling Language). However, service blueprinting is not
as complex or as formal as some business process modeling tools such as UML. Service
blueprints are relatively simple and their graphical representations are easy for all stakeholders
involved – customers, managers, front-line employees – to learn, use, and even modify to meet
a particular innovation’s requirements. Service blueprinting upholds the focus of a service
innovation on the human-to-human and human-to-technology interfaces at the firm
boundaries, rather than at the software engine level, allowing service designers to drill down
into the firm without losing the connection to customer actions and process.
For over a decade, we have worked with companies to teach and develop the service
blueprinting
Technique, evolving its contributions and applications to the levels we describe here. We have
assisted companies in realizing significant results through service blueprinting including
developing brand new services, improving existing services, and facilitating cross-functional
communication in support of customer-focused solutions.
Components of Service Blueprints

There are five components of a typical service blueprint:

• Customer Actions,
• Onstage/Visible Contact Employee Actions,
• Backstage/Invisible Contact Employee Actions,
• Support Processes, and
• Physical Evidence.

1) “Customer actions” include all of the steps that customers take as part of the service
delivery process. Customer actions are depicted chronologically across the top of the
blueprint. What makes blueprinting different from other flowcharting approaches is that
the actions of the customer are central to the creation of the blueprint, and as such they
are typically laid out first so that all other activities can be seen as supporting the value
proposition offered to or co-created with the customer.
2) The next critical component is the “onstage/visible contact employee actions”,
separated from the customer by the line of interaction. Those actions of frontline
contact employees that occur as part of a face-to-face encounter are depicted as
onstage contact employee actions. Every time the line of interaction is crossed via a link
from the customer to a contact employee (or company self-service technology, etc.), a
moment of truth has occurred.
3) The next significant component of the blueprint is the “backstage/invisible contact
employee actions,” separated from the onstage actions by the very important line of
visibility. Everything that appears above the line of visibility is seen by the customer,
while everything below it is invisible. Below the line of visibility, all of the other contact
employee actions are described, both those that involve nonvisible interaction with
customers (e.g., telephone calls) as well as any other activities that contact employees
do in order to prepare to serve customers or that are part of their role responsibilities.
4) The fourth critical component of the blueprint is “support processes” separated from
contact employees by the internal line of interaction. These are all of the activities
carried out by individuals and units within the company who are not contact employees
but that need to happen in order for the service to be delivered. Vertical lines from the
support area connecting with other areas of the blueprint show the inter-functional
connections and support that are essential to delivering the service to the final
customer.
Finally, for each customer action, and every moment of truth, the physical evidence that
customers come in contact with is described at the very top of the blueprint. These are all the
tangibles that customers are exposed to that can influence their quality perceptions

Service mapping v/s Blueprinting.

Flowcharts or service maps are used to map a service delivery process. Flowcharts are graphical
representatations of a process. It is a type of diagram that represents a service process showing
the steps as boxes of various kinds and their order by connecting these with arrows. The data is
represented in these boxes and the arrows connecting them show the flow of direction. Service
mapping is just like a river its direction can be upstream or downstream. These service maps
are used in analysing, documenting or managing a process. However, there is a difference
between service mapping and service blueprinting.

 Flowcharting or service mapping portraits an existing situation of how the service

delivery process functions whereas a blueprint is used to plan a new or revised process
and prescribing how it ought to function.
 A blueprint is a precise definition of the service delivery system that allows the
management to test the service concept before finalising the service process. It heps to
identify the potential point of failures and design “foolproof” procedures to ensure they
do not occur again.
 A service map is a step-by-step picture of the process for analysis, discussion or
communication and standardize new ways to improve the overall service delivery
process .
 Thus we can conclude that blue printing is a method used to plan a new service or
restructure the existing service whereas service mapping is a method to portrait a step
by step picture of the existing service process and find new ways to improve it.

Blueprints are used by managers to assist in the decision making activities associated
with strategy setting, allocation of resources, integration of service functions and overall
evaluation of performance. It is also used to shift the new servics from R & D into
routine operation; the marketing managers can use detailed blueprints in order to
communicate operational details.
Flowcharting or service mapping is useful for depicting the set of activities experienced
by customers while ordering, using or paying for a specific service. Flowchart helps the
manager to understand what the customer wants in each step of the service process
and the customers own involvement in a service environment. In this way a manger can
find new ways to improve the service and cater to customer expectations.

Profile.

China is a land of diverse culture. It's a land shrouded in mystical trance. It's a land
of sensitivity and of spiritualism. And all of these reflect in the diverse and exotic
cuisine that the land offers. India is no stranger to Chinese cuisine. The
mushrooming of Chinese eateries all across bears testimony to the tremendous
popularity that the Far Eastern cuisine enjoys in this part of the world. In this
process, however, something was lost. Lost was the actual essence of Chinese
cuisine. Lost was the authenticity of the food from the mystic land. What were
offered in the innumerable restaurants were cheap Indianized versions of the great
cuisine with a blatant disregard for the authenticity.

This kindled a desire. A desire to restore the splendor of Chinese Cuisine. A desire to
present Chinese food the way it should be. A desire to offer the most authentic of
Chinese Cuisine. A desire to offer five star value at non-five star prices.

And it was this desire that led to the opening of the first Mainland China outlet in
Mumbai in the year 1995. The philosophy was to propagate the wonders of various
cuisines from all major provinces of China. Be it Hubei or Yunan, Cantonese or
Sichuan, the idea was to have a comprehensive representation.

And it didn't take much time for people to realize the difference. The difference in
what they used to and what the restaurant offered. The distinctive difference in
taste of Indianized Chinese as against authentic Chinese. And people came to swear
by it. The restaurant was able to garner tremendous respect among the discerning
Mumbaikars within a short span of time. Following this success, Mainland China
soon entered the cities of Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, Chennai, Delhi,
Gurgaon, Guwahati, Nasik, Ahmedabad, Baroda and Chandigarh. Wherever
Mainland China opened, it was received with the standing ovation. Over the years,
people have come and recognized the quality of food and services that the name
Mainland China represents.

Today, Mainland China is the largest chain of fine dining eateries in the country.
And it enjoys an Equity that is enjoyed by no other stand-alone restaurant chain.
 

Mission and values.

  To consistently provide world class cuisine and experience at a rational
price.

 To create a dining experience whose uniqueness lies in its elegance and

refinement which is brought alive by caring and personalized service in a
warm and vibrant environment.

 To provide a unique dining experience at a rational price and to continually

improve our food products, services and business processes in anticipation
of the ever changing and evolving guest expectations and thereby ensuring
their continued satisfaction.

We shall ensure high standards of safety and hygiene at all times.

............................................................................................................................

 Our passion for food

We are driven by passion - a passion for good food. Hence, we never make
compromises, be it the quality of ingredients, authenticity of the cuisine or
the skill of the Chef. We always ensure the best.

 Our business understanding

Our brands are a testimonial to our understanding of the business. With a
turnover of more than 100 Crores, the Group is currently going through
hectic expansion plans.

 Our team
Be it kitchen or operations, marketing or customer service, we have some of
the leading experts in the country. Professionals, with hands on experience
in frontline service institutions have joined hands to forge the group ahead.

 Our commitment to hygiene

At all our restaurants, hygiene comes first and we leave no stone unturned
to achieve the best, be it ingredients or process related.

 Our Focus
Customer feedback is of paramount importance to us. The menu planning,
the service standards, systems and procedures are constantly being
enhanced to match customer expectations on a day to day basis.

 Our experience
Serving more than 2 million people each year at our 41 outlets throughout
the country, has given us the experience and along with it, the confidence to
grow.
  Our range of cuisine
Chinese cuisine brought alive from Sichuan to Hunan, Canton to Beijing -our
range is as diverse as the country. And remember, its as authentic as you can
get, with master craftsmen dishing out the sumptuous delicacies day in and
day out.

Awards and achievements.

 

This high esteem that people have for Mainland China was achieved through a consistent eye for detail.
Whether it is the import of ingredients from China or the training of personnel, whether it is the artifacts for
the décor or the master Chef's culinary trips to China, no stone is left unturned to upheld authenticity. "And
thus, in this quest for excellence the recognitions have been coming our way since 1999; the last one being
‘HT City 2008 Award for the Best Chinese restaurant in Delhi and NCR’ and the ‘Coca Cola Golden Spoon
award’".
 
Blueprint of Mainland China restaurant.
 Interpretation of the blueprint.

The figure above is the service blueprint of Mainland China restaurant. This blueprint is
prepared considering all the components of a service blueprint which are the
customers, on-stage or visible employee’s actions, invisible or backstage employees and
the support process. A restaurant is a service which is high in experience quality and is
positioned right in the middle of the goods service continuum. Thus, the quality of the
service can be judged not only on the basis of intangible elements such as the foods
taste and aroma, ambience, etc but also the tangible elements such as the interior and
exterior of the restaurant, furniture, menu card Parking lot etc.
  On top of the blueprint are the tangible components of the service delivery
process are mentioned such as the menu cards, foods and beverages, furniture
etc which act as the physical evidence to the customer.

 The three lines that are visible in the blueprint are the lines of external
interaction, lines of visibility which is further divided into on-stage and backstage
actions and the last which is the line of internal interaction.

 The internal arrows connecting the boxes represent the service encounters in
the service delivery process and the moment of truth where the service provider
and the customer come face to face.

 The circular designs between the boxes are the bottlenecks or the potential
point of failures which can occur if the service is inefficient or poor.

The delivery process

1. The service delivery process starts right from the point the customer arrives at mainland
china restaurant and enters the restaurant.

2. He is greeted by the host, if there is place then he is guided to a vacant table and if there
is no place then the host puts his name on the wait list and leads him to the waiting
area. This could be a potential point of failure if the customer has to wait for too long.
3. After a table gets vacant the host calls the name of the customer and leads him to the
table.

4. The customer then goes through the menu and orders for the food he likes. The waiter
takes the order and passes it to the kitchen department where the chef prepares the
order. This is a backstage activity which is beyond the visibility of the customer.

5. The waiter then picks the order from the kitchen and serves it to the customer. This is
an on-stage activity and is visible to the customer. Here, there is another possibility of
failure which could be poor service and unsatisfactory food.

6. The customer consumes the meal and asks for the bill. The bill is bought by the waiter,
the customer pays the bill and leaves the restaurant.

7. The bill is then registered with the restaurant staff.

8. The host who takes the customers names on the waiting list and the kitchen department
acts as the support team in the whole delivery process.