2.2 Comments about Customer Service Levels
Perhaps the most important aspect of customer or client service, in terms of delivery of a product or service, is that it should be available when and where the customer wants it. If this is not the case, an immediate sale may well be lost. More importantly, long-term sales may also have been lost if the customer is forced to change to another brand, and then decides to stay with that brand.原文请+QQ3249,114优.文^论,文'网
The percentage availability is described as the ‘service level’. It might seem that the simple answer would be to achieve 100 per cent availability, but the cost of achieving this rises very steeply as the service level approaches 100 per cent. There is a very clear trade-off here between customer service (level) and cost. Fortunately the indications are that, in terms of demand generated customers are not significantly affected by minor variations if there are generally high levels of availability. The usual ‘S’ shaped curve probably applies.
2.2.1 Lead Time
However, there are other elements of customer service level, one of which relates to the time it takes to meet an order (where the product is not delivered ‘ex-stock’). This is called the ‘lead time’ (or sometimes the ‘order cycle time’). And we all know clearly that, the shorter the lead time, the better the service.
On the other hand, it is frequently the case that it is the ‘reliability’ of the lead time that is more important. A customer who has to arrange a number of other activities to mesh in with the delivery of the product will often prefer that the delivery date is certain — even if it is later than it might have been — rather than face uncertainty. Another important element is the response time: how long it takes a customer to find out what is actually happening to the order.
In the specific context of queues associated with provision of a service, David Maister lists a number of ‘proportions’: (Turban, 2006)毕业论文http://www.youerw.com/
① Unoccupied time feels longer than occupied time ...
② Preprocess waits feel longer than in-process waits ...
③ Anxiety makes waits seem longer ...
④ Uncertain waits are longer than known, finite waits ...
⑤ Unexplained waits are longer than explained waits ...
⑥ Unfair waits are longer than equitable waits ...
⑦ The more valuable the service the longer the customer will wait ...
⑧ Solo waits feel longer than group waits ...