Service Package

Sometimes service managers refer to service packages. The service package is a way of understanding what a service offering is made up of. A service package can be made up of both tangible elements and intangible elements. Sometimes these are divided into five elements:

1. Supporting Facility:  The physical resources that must be in place before a service can be sold.  Examples are a golf course, ski lift, hospital, airplane.
2. Facilitating Goods:  The material purchased or consumed by the buyer or items provided by the consumer.  Examples are food items, auto parts, legal documents, golf clubs.
3. Explicit Services:  Benefits readily observable by the senses.  The essential or intrinsic features.  Examples are quality of meal, attitude of the waiter, on-time departure.
4. Implicit Services:  Psychological benefits or extrinsic features which the consumer may sense only vaguely. Examples are the privacy of loan office, the security of a well-lighted parking lot.
5. Information. 

The service package concept can help managers focus on managing quality. Managers can go through each of the elements of the package concept and decide how to ensure quality service provision across all the elements involved. Then a simple checklist can be created so that quality can be managed.

An example of a checklist for a hotel is below. You can see a mixture of the five elements above made describable in the checklist so they can be assured.