Identify problems related to service delivery in your chosen company

Assignment Brief

Submission requirements:

The deliverable of this assignment is a 1,000-word (+/- 10%) written report.

The report is due on Monday 18^th March at 23.59.

This assessment is an individual report (weighting 50%) that requires you to develop a report analysing the service delivery and service quality of a company of your choice.

 The Brief:

• Identify problems related to service delivery in your chosen company. You are free to pick your favourite firm. You may want to choose a company from a particular industry that you are interested in.
• You act as a consultant to the firm to design a service blueprint to help them improve their service delivery and deliver quality services. 

Further reading for the report

In order to gather enough relevant knowledge and expertise to develop the report, you are recommended to undertake further research and exploration to draw on the insight and to fully grasp the business context and environment.

Report Structure

You will be expected to create a professional cover page with title and to organize your report in four major sections:

• Company profile - Create a short profile of the company that provides the reader with enough information to fully understand the nature of the firm you selected as well as the key services provided. Use of appropriate tables and diagrams to condense information is encouraged.
• Identification of problems and evaluation of the firm’s service delivery and strategy - Develop a well laid out analysis of the company’s service delivery including their strategy where you explicitly identify the problems and strategy pursued by the company in relations to services. Use the theoretical frameworks and concepts learned in class to structure your analysis. Support your arguments with carefully selected examples, data or cases. If a firm deals with many services/markets and/or many brands, you might want to single out a particular service to provide a detailed analysis (rather than including a generic description of all brands/services/markets).

Design the service blueprint - Identify activities, sequence of activities and linkages between activities. Activities include:

1. Physical evidence
2. Customer Actions
3. Onstage/visible contact employee actions
4. Backstage/invisible contact employee actions
5. Support processes

Specify timeframes. Show average timing or minimum tolerable customer expectations for each step and indicate responsible personnel. Identify and note fail points and excessive waits (optional).

• Summary – Provide a concise conclusion to your report, highlighting some key and interesting insights you gained about the company. Provide a critical discussion and draw a conclusion based on your analysis and design of the service blueprint. Be specific.

Sample Answer

Improving Service Delivery at Starbucks: A Service Blueprint Approach

Company Profile

Starbucks is one of the world’s leading coffeehouse chains, founded in 1971 in Seattle, USA. The company operates in more than 80 countries with over 38,000 stores worldwide (Starbucks, 2024). Its main service is the preparation and sale of coffee, tea, snacks, and other beverages, but the brand is also known for providing customers with a comfortable space to work, relax, or socialise.

The company positions itself as a “third place” between home and work, focusing on delivering premium customer service and product quality. Key services include in-store purchases, drive-through, mobile app orders, and home delivery through partnerships. Starbucks invests heavily in customer experience, with staff training and digital innovation being central to its strategy.

Identification of Problems and Evaluation of Service Delivery

Current Service Strategy

Starbucks follows a differentiation strategy by offering high-quality products, personalisation (customers’ names on cups), and premium store design. It also invests in digitalisation (Starbucks Rewards App, mobile ordering) to strengthen convenience and loyalty.

The company focuses on the SERVQUAL dimensions of service quality:

• Tangibles – pleasant store design, branded cups, staff uniforms.

• Reliability – consistent taste and order fulfilment.

• Responsiveness – staff trained to serve quickly and politely.

• Assurance – baristas trained to provide expertise in coffee preparation.

• Empathy – personal interactions and customisation of drinks.

Problems in Service Delivery

Despite its strengths, Starbucks faces notable service delivery challenges:

1. Long waiting times – At peak hours, queues become long, and mobile orders sometimes take longer than expected, reducing customer satisfaction.

2. Inconsistent service quality – Different branches deliver varying levels of customer service. Some stores provide warm and personalised interactions, while others feel rushed.

3. Errors in orders – With complex customised drinks, mistakes in preparation are common, leading to rework and customer frustration.

4. Digital challenges – The mobile app sometimes faces glitches or delays in reflecting rewards or processing payments.

5. Employee burnout – High workloads during peak times reduce staff motivation, leading to poor customer experience.

These issues reveal a gap between customer expectations and actual service delivery, as explained in the GAP model of service quality. Particularly, Gap 3 (service delivery gap) occurs when staff cannot consistently deliver service standards, and Gap 5 (perceived service gap) emerges when customer expectations exceed their experience.

Continued...