service mapping blueprinting

1. McGraw-Hill/Irwin ©2003. The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights Reserved
Service Mapping/Blueprinting
• A tool for simultaneously depicting the service
process, the points of customer contact, and the
evidence of service from the customer’s point of
view.
Service
Mappin
g
Process
Points of Contact
Evidence

2. McGraw-Hill/Irwin ©2003. The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights Reserved
Application of Service Blueprints
• New Service Development
• concept development
• market testing
• Supporting a “Zero Defects” Culture
• managing reliability
• identifying empowerment issues
• Service Recovery Strategies
• identifying service problems
• conducting root cause analysis
• modifying processes

3. McGraw-Hill/Irwin ©2003. The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights Reserved
Service Blueprint Components
CUSTOMER ACTIONS
line of interaction
“ONSTAGE” CONTACT EMPLOYEE ACTIONS
line of visibility
“BACKSTAGE” CONTACT EMPLOYEE ACTIONS
line of internal interaction
SUPPORT PROCESSES

4. McGraw-Hill/Irwin ©2003. The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights Reserved
Service Blueprint Components

5. Driver
Picks
Up Pkg.
Dispatch
Driver
Airport
Receives
& Loads
Sort
Packages
Load on
Airplane
Fly to
Destinatio
n
Unload
&
Sort
Load
On
Truck
Express Mail Delivery ServiceSUPPORT
PROCESS
CONTACTPERSON
(BackStage)(OnStage)
CUSTOME
R
PHYSICAL
EVIDENCE
Customer
Calls
Customer
Gives
Package
Truck
Packaging
Forms
Hand-held
Computer
Uniform
Receive
Package
Truck
Packaging
Forms
Hand-held
Computer
Uniform
Deliver
Package
Customer
Service
Order
Fly to
Sort
Center

6. McGraw-Hill/Irwin ©2003. The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights Reserved
Overnight Hotel StaySUPPORTPROCESS
CONTACTPERSON
(BackStage)(OnStage)CUSTOMER
Hotel
Exterior
Parking
Cart for
Bags
Desk
Registration
Papers
Lobby
Key
Elevators
Hallways
Room
Cart for
Bags
Room
Amenities
Bath
Menu Delivery
Tray
Food
Appearance
Food
Bill
Desk
Lobby
Hotel
Exterior
Parking
Arrive
at
Hotel
Give Bags
to
Bellperson
Check in
Go to
Room
Receive
Bags
Sleep
Shower
Call
Room
Service
Receive
Food
Eat
Check out
and
Leave
Greet and
Take
Bags
Process
Registration
Deliver
Bags
Deliver
Food
Process
Check Out
Take Bags
to Room
Take
Food
Order
Registration
System
Prepare
Food
Registration
System
PHYSICAL
EVIDENCE

7. McGraw-Hill/Irwin ©2003. The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights Reserved
Step 1
Identify the
process to
be blue-
printed.
Step 1
Identify the
process to
be blue-
printed.
Step 2
Identify the
customer or
customer
segment.
Step 2
Identify the
customer or
customer
segment.
Step 3
Map the
process from
the
customer’s
point of view.
Step 3
Map the
process from
the
customer’s
point of view.
Step 4
Map contact
employee
actions,
onstage and
back-stage.
Step 4
Map contact
employee
actions,
onstage and
back-stage.
Step 5
Link customer
and contact
person
activities to
needed
support
functions.
Step 5
Link customer
and contact
person
activities to
needed
support
functions.
Step 6
Add
evidence of
service at
each
customer
action step.
Step 6
Add
evidence of
service at
each
customer
action step.
Building a Service Blueprint

8. McGraw-Hill/Irwin ©2003. The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights Reserved
Example of Service Blueprinting
Brush
shoes
Apply
polish
Fail
point
Buff
Collect
payment
Clean
shoes Materials
(e.g., polish, cloth)
Select and
purchase
supplies
Standard
execution time
2 minutes
Total acceptable
execution time
5 minutes
30
secs
30
secs
45
secs
15
secs
Wrong
color wax
Seen by
customer 45
secs
Line of
visibility
Not seen by
customer but
necessary to
performance

9. McGraw-Hill/Irwin ©2003. The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights Reserved
Service Blueprinting Steps
1. Identify processes
2. Isolate fail points
3. Establish a time frame
4. Analyze profitability 

10. McGraw-Hill/Irwin ©2003. The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights Reserved
Blueprints Can Be Used By:
• Service Marketers
– creating realistic customer
expectations
• service system design
• promotion
• Operations Management
– rendering the service as
promised
• managing fail points
• training systems
• quality control
• Human Resources
– empowering the human
element
• job descriptions
• selection criteria
• appraisal systems
• System Technology
– providing necessary tools:
• system specifications
• personal preference
databases