I was catching up with a friend over coffee yesterday afternoon and we were discussing about the 7Ps of service marketing.
He was asked to write a short working paper by his bosses and he was seeking some advice on the definition of physical evidence and it's role as one of the 7Ps.
Interestingly, we were having coffee at a cafe located in an upscale shopping mall along the Orchard Shopping belt which I happened to be having dinner at one of its many dining outlets about three weeks ago. At that time, I'd made 2 interesting observations while window-shopping in the mall.
The first observation came from this outlet specializing in premium chocolate. The outlet was beautifully designed and has a small area where customers could have their indulgence with their selection of fine chocolates. However, as you can see from the pic below, which was taken from the outside, there is a potential fire safety concern with the placement of the fire extinguisher.
Imagine if a fire were to really break out, how would the service staff be able to put his/her hands easily through the sharp glass edges and retrieve the fire extinguisher in time to put out the fire? From my view, the fire extinguisher would not be able to squeeze through easily in between the two glass displays and critical time would be lost probably in trying to hoist the extinguisher upwards. That's not factoring in seemingly not-so ergonomically layout and placement of the extinguisher which would most likely cause some physical discomfort to the staff for his/her efforts.
As a potential customer, I would be very concerned at the possible lack of safety planning and possible breach of fire safety regulations.
The second observation came from the same mall at another dining outlet. From the pic below, you might not be able to make out there is an exit to the right of the outlet signage. I certainly didn't until I was standing in line at the ATM machines located near to where the pic was taken and was surprised when a staff of the dining outlet came out from the exit and slammed the door on the lighting located just below the piping.
Imagine what will happen if patrons are asked to leave via this exit and unknowingly opened the door with such a strong force that when the door hits the lighting above, it unhinges and come down on unsuspecting patrons either standing outside or passing by? There should also be a sign warning of an out-swinging door placed prominently at strategic location(s).
In service marketing, the 3 additional Ps, People, Process and Physical Evidence are important in the marketing planning stage and while Physical Evidence in an implicit factor in service delivery, it is still an important aspect of marketing planning and it's impact must never be underestimated.
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