Business Report Compares the Two Australian Service

Business report compares the two Australian service providers where by various aspects are critically looked at in respect to the design elements of a retail store environment. The elements are categorized into exterior facilities, general interior, store layout, interior displays and the social dimensions. Each of these design elements are categorically looked into differently taking into account the services being offered by the two chosen service providers namely Fadez Barbershop and Gloria Jean's Coffees.

The two chosen service providers are unique in their own way having been selected from different industries. Various design elements in comparison with the Russell's Model of affect are discussed and how they relate in different ways. Russell's model of affect talks about the various arousal levels that the consumers achieve when in contact with the mentioned design elements of a retail store environment, the interpretations and the impact they have that affects the buying decisions among themselves.

Introduction

This business report is based on two service providers in Australia. Taking into consideration the physical aspect of the businesses and the impact the appearances have on their clients, various elements have been critically looked into to establish what can be done to improve on their services and to increase their customer base.

Business establishments have different models and outlook depending on their designs which enhances easy flow of work and enabling environment that makes one business premise to be the most preferred by consumers. Various factors therefore have to be taken into consideration when one decides on what colours to use in their businesses as culture among other factors are key components to be carefully integrated into ones choice of colours and the environment where a business is to be situated. Every business has a target market in terms of age or a group, and a niche has to be established, it is for this reason that tastes and preferences have to be researched in advance so as to comply with the latest trends that the market has to offer if ones business is to remain relevant in the stiff and competitive market which is ever dynamic and to satisfy the identified niche.

The two chosen service providers based in Australia namely; Gloria Jean's Coffees and Fadez Barber Shop have been used to act as examples whereas the same ideologies can be replicated in several others in different ways. Different service elements have been looked at and they are compared to the Russell's Model of affect and establish how they relate. Various color schemes have been discussed in the two chosen service providers to establish their relevance in the two businesses in order to narrow the scope of the research. The two providers are from two different industries and serve different needs in the market.

Gloria Jean's Coffees is one of the top coffee retailers around the world and is considered one of the fastest growing franchise organizations in Australia with its origin from the United States of America in Chicago in 1979 (Gloria Jean's Coffees International, 2012).

Fadez men barbershop is one of the most fashionable shops that have a unique look from the exteriors and one might think that it is more of a clothing store than a barbershop. It offers more than a mere haircut and offers their customers a shopping experience with fashionable wears in their stores that keep their waiting customers occupied. Fadez Barber shop is associated with the sports celebrities in Australia and it attracts a large clientele base who would want to be associated with the celebrities and getting the same haircuts to match their sport icons (Adam W. 2011).

A good business enterprise takes into consideration all the design elements and puts the best at display if the intention of carrying out the business is long-term. The general physical outlay of any business environment is the most important factor to be considered by any operator. The dimensions are categorized into different parts where each section is applicable and has an impact on how the message is passed on to the intended clients. Different individuals subject to their own personal experiences and interactions with the environment respond differently to the external stimuli. There are certain aspects of emotions to the environment which are perceived to be common among people from different cultures while others are culture specific or are used by people from a specific region (Maria Lewicka Et al, 1989).

Human beings' conscious and unconscious perceptions and their interpretations have an impact on how they feel about a particular environment. Those feelings or thought are what determine the behavior in human beings which determines whether they develop a liking towards a service being offered or get the same service being offered elsewhere by a different operator in the same industry other factors remaining constant. In referring to Rusell Model of affect, individuals' emotional response to the environment are in two forms namely; pleasure and arousal. In explaining pleasure, this is the extent in which an individual like or dislikes particular environment.

Certain features or colours or general office outlay may derive pleasure which can be related to the ambiance brought about by different themes which are expressed through the use of color and the environment in general. Arousal on the other hand can be best described in terms of the degree of the information load, it varies in surprises or the unexpected and the complexities involved (Jochen Wirtz, 1994).

In simple terms environments which generally look pleasant tend to attract many and the catch is it results into approach unlike the unpleasant environments which are generally avoided by the majority. Arousal which is positive works as a catalyst of the basic effect on behavior. When an environment is considered to be pleasant the stimuli it brings can be reflected in the positive response from the consumers in trying to get the services on offer. Unpleasant conditions tend to drive away the consumers which in broader terms can result into a loss of consumer loyalty which takes time and costly to build and maintain and regain in cases where the loyalty has been lost.

There are many different dimensions of service environment which are considered as complex with some of the main ones being; the ambient conditions which have several factors including music, color and Scent. Musically the tempo and volume of music and the choice of music have different arousal levels, high volumes and fast tempos increase the level of arousal. In terms of colours, different themes have different arousal levels; colours which are considered cool have reduced arousal levels and are associated with calmness and peacefulness. The choice of cool colours has such an interpretation on the consumers which might alter the patterns of where they seek the services on offer especially when their state of mind requires calmness and a peaceful environment, when such categories of consumers are not catered for then they may not like the services on offer as such an environment will not be conducive for their satisfaction.

Warm colors portray elated mood states which are considered to raise arousal levels and create a state of anxiety; this may as well turn away consumers if the colours are not well balanced. Scents also have an impact on the behavior of the consumers; different degrees of scents within the working environment can be offensive to the consumers. Different scents are used in different environments where as others can be used in almost all the environments as they are welcoming and are not offensive. People react differently to such stimulus thus scents should be carefully chosen subject to the type of environment where they are being used in order not to turn away consumers or subject workers to work under conditions which might reduce or have a negative impact on their general productivity levels which might trickle down to their level of service and contacts with the consumers who are seeking their services within the premises causing a negative impression on the consumers which might affect the total number of sales or volumes due to the reduced number of clients as a result of poor service delivery (Author stream, 2012).

Taking into consideration the two chosen service providers, they have two distinctive color themes which represent what they intend their clients to perceive them to be. Different individuals when subjected to the same environment will feel differently depending on their tastes and preferences. Fadez Barbershop for instance has the color theme black which it associates with the top performing Australian rugby sports. Among its many clients it is a superior color that is perceived to be the main force behind the Australian rugby teams excellence. Fadez barber shop has its own uniqueness using the black color making it distinct from the surrounding outlets making it go noticeable by all people who pass by. It plays arrange of good music to keep its customers entertained as they wait for the services being offered or as they go about browsing the clothing lines on offer among other wears in the shop with a welcoming scent that keeps the shop refreshing.

The music and the scents can be therapeutic or create in the mind of its consumers different degrees of arousal and keep them waiting patiently or want to stay longer. Gloria Jean's Coffees on the other hand have their corporate colours brown which represents the coffee granules used in their beverages. It offers various tastes of coffee which all have different procedures and time to prepare subject to an individual's description. Being a coffee shop it represents a business look totally different from the Barber shop; the colours are not funky and are kept simple to match the required ambiance to create a business environment for its clients. Being a food outlet it needs not to have scents as this might be offensive or have a negative impact on its customers. The natural coffee scents engulfs the air which is acceptable to the consumers as this is what derives satisfaction among the coffee lovers. As is the case with most coffee shops the environment is usually quiet with almost no music played as the environment is purely for business meetings and might not require music as this might interfere with the nature of business being carried out by the consumers.

The second dimension of the service environment is the spatial layout and functionality; layout is considered the main component in the way furnishings are arranged in the business premises. The arrangement is of great importance in terms of space utilization and for ease of movement. The furnishings should have a touch that depicts the kind of services to be offered, they should have a welcoming feeling on the mind of the consumers without overcrowding to make the consumers feel their privacy have been infringed. The arrangement should take into consideration the sizes of those furniture and flow with the nature of service. Huge furniture consumes large spaces and serves very little clients eating up on the little available spaces hindering movements and causing obstruction.

A proper layout should be in such a way that the coloring of the decors used matches the intended theme and should not block the natural source of light. A well lit room generally registers in the mind that the room is well ventilated and is spacious however little the space might be which therefore calls for proper and well laid furniture which do not confine both the employees and the service seekers to scramble for space. Both parties should feel comfortable and some level of privacy achieved to boost the level of confidence in such set ups where all the consumers and service providers can both see one another or are in direct contact as is the case in a coffee shop (Christopher Lovelock and Jochen Wirtz, 2004).

Functionality on the other hand can be described as the ability of those furnishings to facilitate performance. It would be costly in terms of value for money on the part of the service providers to have fittings which do not serve the purposes for which they were designed to do. Exaggerated furnishings can be a waste of resources and space which might hinder other operations or cause congestion on other service terminals. The functionality should be a key element when carrying out the general outlay and the plan should be arranged with the flow of work in mind from the use of the raw materials to the point of the finished final product that ends up with the consumer without having to crisscross from one service terminal to the other when trying to service one particular consumer. If poorly done it affects the speed and the number of clients being served per every given time since much time is taken to satisfy one client. Consumers may also lose the patience and seek the services elsewhere.

The functionality aspect of the layout has to do with the speed in the service delivery which determines consumer retention or lose to the competitors and sometimes a complete loss of faith in the product on offer. This might change the perception of some consumers and seek alternative services which would act as substitutes to match and fill the void left due to the poor speed in serving these particular individuals who would want to be served within the shortest time possible in order to attend to other important personal businesses and other engagements. Both Fadez barbershop and Gloria Jean's Coffees have well designed layouts which enables the free flow of work and have made good use of space without creating congestion to the clients.

The work stations are arranged in the most satisfying and efficient manner in terms of the floor use with the machines with the interconnected machines grouped next to one another to avoid inconveniencing the clients and minimize much movement from one terminal to another. Fadez Barber shop has made use of the dead areas and used them to attractively display different wears which are being sold to clients with visible price tags.

The third category of dimensions of the service environment includes signs, symbol and artifact. Every firm has its own signs and symbols which are all embedded in the logo and are used to identify the company whenever one comes into contact with the logo. The signs and symbols send a message to consumers about the image of the company and how it relates to its consumers. Consumers also use the signs and symbols to find their way and get the desired and acceptable behavioral standards required when next to or seeking services in a particular service outlet. When a company is designing a logo or signs and symbols, it should take into consideration the location of the establishment.

Different individuals subject to their level of engagement with the environment and culture have different meanings which specific signs and symbols portray. A particular symbol may be found offensive as it may be interpreted wrongly in a particular environment. While culture plays a role in assigning meanings to different signs and symbols, artifacts also have different meanings when they are relocated or put in a different environment different from their original or primary sources. Artifacts when used for original purposes have their meanings unchanged but when used for aesthetic purposes, they may bring different level of arousal and have an effect on the consumers which might be both negative and positive. Certain artifacts may be religious as may be perceived by other clients, others might find them offensive and associate them with bad morals based on the context in which they have been applied.

Signs and symbol and artifacts therefore have to be considered and a wide consultation carried out in order not to send a wrong signal to the public and dent the image and goodwill with different publics. Use of certain signs and symbols may be outlawed and may be sue able in a court of justice which might be a costly affair and time wasting on the part of business hours being wasted. The impact it might have on the image of the business may cost it its clientele base as they will be considered not to care about the injurious effect they cause to the public by a mere use of such offensive signs, symbols and artifacts. While designing the symbols, one should also take into consideration the complexities in getting the message being passed across. Very complex signs may send a wrong signal or communicate the wrong message to the intended publics which might inconvenience the consumers.

General signs which are commonly known and used universally should be used especially in a cosmopolitan state where people have different backgrounds so as to win the attendance by the majority of the service seekers who have to be directed at a glance without having wasted time ending up dissatisfied due to a misinterpreted sign after having waited on the wrong side or area to seek service.

A firm's image is communicated through the use of symbols which have to stick for a life time or have to go through a very vigorous process to change. It is costly to change the perception of the public to associate the newly chosen symbols to portray the new look, it has to go through an aggressive marketing campaign to convey the message to the consumers about the new look and the intended goals. Rebranding might have a both negative and positive effects to the firm and should be done carefully as the intensions might be right but the perceptions can be wrong which can be disseminated by those with the ill motives wanting to corrupt the mindset of the consumers and woe them on their side. It takes a long time to build a corporate brand and changing the symbols might have an effect though not long but a gradual effect which needs good strategies in place to cover up and bring back the firm to profitable levels.

The general interior displays in both Fadez Barbershop and Gloria coffee shop are designed to match the clientele with Fadez barbershop being a bit flashy due to the nature of its service as compared to the coffee shop that has to keep it simple to avoid creating an impression of overcrowding. The use of artworks have varied in both cases whereas the barbershop has more posters and pictures of celebrities associated with the barbershop which act as their selling point among its clients, the coffee shop has less of the art work and the coffee adverts are kept simple or are either done electronically through the inbuilt projectors which display various brands with a more refined state of the art technologies to set the increasing trend in the use of technology to do business. The nature of services being offered restricts the interior displays and the extent of decorations which are done within the premises. The theme has to be set right to match the corporate colours depending on how sensitive the service is. Consumer's stimuli vary and the interior displays can receive different signals from different individuals when all the important factors are considered.

Social dimension as the fourth aspect is equally of great importance in the service environment. It takes into account issues such as the personnel characteristics, employee uniforms, privacy and customer characteristics among others. When the personnel characteristics in terms of good behavior are not in harmony with the company's image, and are not a true reflection of the mission and vision statements, then the perception among the clients is altered. Well mannered personnel with good etiquette and excellent customer relation are key assets that a successful service provider should invest on. An attitude free personnel who puts the need of the customers first before everything else is what keeps the traffic flowing in business as well as customer retention and loyalty.