Question

Explain the main characteristics of services.

Answer 1

The main features of services are as follows:

1. Intangibility: Services are intangible because they cannot be seen or touched, have no physical shape, and are invisible.
2. Perishability: Services cannot be stored for future use. For example, if a bus having 45 seats is carrying 35 passengers, the 10 vacant seats cannot be utilised in future.
3. Inseparability: Services are produced and consumed at the same time. The service cannot be separated from the service provider. For example, the bus driver and conductor must be on the bus whenever the bus provides service to passengers.
4. Variability: Services can rarely be standardised or made uniform. For example, the quality of service which a waiter provides in a hotel or restaurant may differ from customer to customer or from one time period to another.