One of the ways that service marketers try to understand, manage, and control the service encounter experience is to use flowcharts (they're also called blueprints). In services flowcharts, there is a delineation between what a customer sees (e.g., a car valet) and what the company needs to do to make that part of the service encounter as flawless as possible (e.g., it needs to have a sufficient number of valets who are well trained to be polite and good drivers, plentiful nearby parking).

Each part of the service encounter is described in steps that unfold or flow over time to simulate the process of the customer experience. It's important for the customer service team to understand that the customer is evaluating the brand every step of the way.

Each step along the customer journey is described in layers?some are visible to the customer, or are actions that occur "on stage," and other services and actions occur "behind the scenes." The figure depicts the steps, left to right, and the layers, top to bottom, for a customer going to a hotel (the figure is based on Scheuing and Christopher's Service Quality Handbook).

Cart for Cart for Menu Bill Hotel Desk Elevators Room Delivery Exterior Bags Registration Hallways Bags Amenities Tray, Food Desk Lobby Parking Lobby Room Bath Appearance Key Parking Check out Arrive Give Bags Call Go to Receive Sleep and Receive Customer to Check in Room and at Room Bags Shower Food Leave Hotel Bellperson Service Greet and Process Deliver Deliver Process (On Stage) Take Registration Bags Food Check Out Bags Contact Person Take Take Bags Food (Back Stage) to Room Order Registration Prepare Registration Support System Food System