Conference article

How can the psychological experience of waiting in a service system (e.g. health care) be described? Schweizer (2003) makes a description of how the person who waits sees objects – and in them himself; like a piece of sugar melting in a glass of water; like a patient etherized upon a table. It has been argued that managing the psychological experience of a customer’s waiting experience by reducing the perceived waiting time can be as effective as reducing the wait time itself (Katz; Larson; & Larson; 1991). As said by Levitt (in Maister (1985)); products are consumed and services are experienced. Health service providers must give attention not only to the objective; reality of waiting times; but also how that wait is experienced. Maister (1985) also made a proposition of “laws” concerning the psychology of waiting. The variables representing these laws are given as italic (1) Distraction: Unoccupied time feels longer than occupied time.(2) Moment: Pre-process waits feel longer than in-process waits.(3) Anxiety: Anxiety makes waits seem longer.(4) Uncertainty: Uncertain waits are longer than certain waits.(5) Explanation: Unexplained waits are longer than explained waits.(6) Fairness: Unfair waits are longer than fair waits.(7) Value: The more valuable the service; the longer the customer will wait.(8) Solo wait: Solo waits feel longer than group waits.

The influence of environmental design (Blumberg & Devlin; 2006) and the patients’ psychological and physiological needs in waiting areas are growing concerns among health care providers; environmental psychologists; consultants; and architects. Waiting areas as serviscapes (Bitner; 1992) are physical environments in which a part of the healthcare services are delivered; perceived and where the health personnel and patients interact. Waiting environments with their objects; design; layout and events occur in a healthcare facility are coded on patients’ minds with affective qualities and service qualities. Thus; objects in those environments should be described in psychological rather than objective terms. In this study we present a framework model for Kansei Value Creation (KVC) in a serviscape by enabling customers and personnel to generate their own affective models by stating their feelings and identifying different needs for them.

Service system; Kansei Value Creation; waiting room; Rough Sets Snalysis; design