Servicescape in Hospitality
Experience forms a memory that affects the growth and development of the brain and its behavior in the future. Interestingly, many studies say humans remember bad experiences more than good ones because of human evolutionary roots: survival in dire circumstances (Caren 2018). This basic knowledge is useful in the business realm. The theory of experience economy promoted by Pine and Gillmore explains that experience will affect customer’s purchase decisions, including signifying a differentiator for products and services offered in the market. Entreprises must design experience strategically to stay in line with the needs of employees and customers. Among them on designing a physical appearance. Nevertheless, appearance solely is not enough. Providing a memorable hospitality experience must be blended with good management with attention to intensify the quality of hospitality.
The servicescape is the physical environment in which transactions for service occur.Servicescape facilitates the customer experience and affects their first impression before entering the store or interacting with a staff member. The servicescape concept is not new. Back in ancient times, religious places were built with such a magnificent design to worship their god. As an illustration, the architecture at Medieval builds a very soaring cathedral church. Further, from ancient China, feng shui claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment (Wikipedia Contributors 2019)
In addition, over time, people will improve the condition of their place so that they feel more comfortable working, for example, making air vents in a factory or changing an assembly line into a lean concept so that the work is completed faster. Servicescape design could help to increase the productivity level of the company’s performance. It is essential for retail business models because the customer buys the tangible product and the total product, including advertising, price, packaging, warranties, and everything else. For retail businesses, the place is a very significant element for consumers. Not infrequently, the atmosphere becomes the main reason for a person to determine their choice. Back in the day, eating out was not necessary until the French Revolution; people chose to dine out to experience a new atmosphere that they could not find at home. For this reason, we are entering into the experiential economy era where servicescape has become one of the leading destinations for people in making their choices.
Furthermore, servicescape communicates through the design. A brand could choose the vibes they want to deliver. It becomes a place of socialization and a restorative facilitator for consumers’ well-being; new ambient can give a feeling of escape and relaxation from the realms of work and home. Servicescape is a marketing tool to build a brand image that can differentiate in furious competition. Like the innovations made by luxury fashion brands such as Gucci. They collaborated with a top Michelin star chef Massimo Bottura and opened a restaurant called Café Osteria. Gucci chose a deep Italian themed, supported by an intimate and cozy design in the style of Florence, iconic Gucci’s star forms on the mosaic floor and covered with Gucci’s original pattern in the wallpapers, creating a vintage riviera vibe. The selection of foods designed directly by Massimo Bottura is very inline and shows consistency in color and design (Appendix 1). The atmosphere can also help consumers to remember the taste experience in the place.
Servicescape also includes a good layout, signage, lighting, and music to make customers comfortable. Eataly is another example of a successful innovative business model that delivers an experience through the servicescape. They combines eat, shop, and learn through retail and gastronomy experience (Edwards 2015). Eataly introduced an Italian-themed market and provided a curated Italian produced so that people could experience Italy in their country.
