Expanded Mix for Services Because services are usually produced and consumed simultaneously, customers are often present in the firm’s factory, interact directly with the firm’s personnel, and are actually part of the service production process. Also, because services are intangible, customers will often be looking for any tangible cue to help them understand the nature of the service experience. For example, in the hotel industry the design and decor of the hotel as well as the appearance and attitudes of its employees will influence customer perceptions and experiences. Acknowledgment of the importance of these additional variables has led services marketers to adopt the concept of an expanded marketing mix for services shown in the three remaining columns in Table 1.4.35 In addition to the traditional four Ps, the services marketing mix includes people, physical evidence, and process. People All human actors who play a part in service delivery and thus influence the buyer’s perceptions: namely, the firm’s personnel, the customer, and other customers in the service environment. All the human actors participating in the delivery of a service provide cues to the customer regarding the nature of the service itself. How these people are dressed, their personal appearance, and their attitudes and behaviours all influence the customer’s perceptions of the service. The service provider or contact person can be very important. In fact, for some services, such as consulting, counselling, teaching, and other professional relationship-based services, the provider is the service. In other cases the contact person may play what appears to be a relatively small part in service delivery—for instance, a telephone installer, an airline baggage handler, or an equipment delivery dispatcher. Yet research suggests that even these providers may be the focal point of service encounters that can prove critical for the organization. In many service situations, customers themselves can also influence service delivery, thus affecting service quality and their own satisfaction. For example, health care patients greatly affect the quality of service they receive when they either comply or don’t comply with health regimens prescribed by the provider. Customers not only influence their own service outcomes, but they can influence other customers as well. In a theater, at a ball game, or in a classroom, customers can influence the quality of service received by others—either enhancing or detracting from other customers’ experiences. Physical evidence The environment in which the service is delivered and where the firm and customer interact, and any tangible components that facilitate performance or communication of the service. The physical evidence of service includes all the tangible representations of the service such as brochures, signage, and equipment. In some cases it includes the physical facility where the service is offered—the “servicescape”—for example, the retail bank branch facility. In other cases, such as telecommunication services, the physical facility may be irrelevant. In this case other tangibles such as billing statements and appearance of the repair truck may be important indicators of quality. Physical evidence cues provide