Characteristics of customer service Bitter, Fish and Brown (1993) suggest that the major output from the services marketing literature up to 1980 was the delineation of four services characteristics: intangibility, inseparability, heterogeneity and permissibility. These characteristics underpinned the case for services marketing and made services a field of marketing that was distinct from the marketing of products. The literature highlights Intangibility as one of the key characteristics of services.
Reagan (1963) Introduced the Idea of services being “activities, benefits or satisfactions which are offered for sale, or are provided In connection with the sale of goods”. The degree of intangibility has been proposed as a means of distinguishing between products and services (Levity, 1981 Dairy and Karri (1973) and Chatham (1981) highlight the fact that the degree of tangibility has implications for the ease with which consumers can evaluate services and products.
Other studies suggest that intangibility cannot be used to distinguish clearly between all products and services. Bowen (1990) and Hacksaw, Fitzroy and Amanda (1975) suggest that the Intangible- tangible concept is difficult for people to grasp. Bowen (1990) provides empirical evidence to support this view. Knives and Shaw (1991 ) feel that the importance of intangibility is over-emphasized.
They believe that the service provider’s offer is their “productive capacity” and not the (in) tangible nature of the offer Inseparability of Services Inseparability Is taken to reflect the simultaneous delivery and consumption of services (Reagan 1963; hacksaw et al 1975; Donnelly 1 976; Gross 1978: Chatham 1981; Carmen and Language 1980; Chatham et al 1985; Bowen 1990 and Knives and Shaw 1991) and it is believed to enable consumers to affect or shape the reference and quality of the service (GarГ¶morons, 1978; Chatham, 1981).
Heterogeneity of services Heterogeneity reflects the potential for high variability in service delivery (Chatham et al 1985). This is a particular problem for services with a high labor content, as the service performance is delivered by different people and the performance of people can vary from day to day (Earthmen, 1966; Carmen and Language, 1980; Chatham, 1985; Nonviolent and Shaw, 1991). Knives and Shaw (1 991 ) consider heterogeneity to offer the opportunity to provide a degree of flexibility and customization of the service.
Hacksaw et al (1975) suggest that heterogeneity can be introduced as a benefit and point of differentiation. Permissibility of Services The fourth characteristic of services highlighted in the literature Is permissibility. In general, services cannot be stored and carried forward to a future time period suggest that services are “time dependent” and “time important” which make them very perishable. Hartman and Lingered claim that the “issue of permissibility is primarily the concern of the service producer” and that the consumer only becomes aware of the issue when there is insufficient supply and they have to wait for the service.
