Bridging the "Front Stage" and "Back Stage" in Service System Design

Service management and design has thus far primarily focused on the interactions between employees and customers. This perspective holds that the quality of the "service experience" is determined by the customer during this final "service encounter" that takes place in the "front stage." This emphasis discounts the contribution of the activities in the "back stage" of the service value chain where materials or information needed by the front stage are processed.