The nature of service products in the context of the Singapore zoo

The staff involved in producing and delivery the product are part of the product itself. In this case, this involved the animals and the zoo keepers. The zoo keeper is part of producing and delivering the product by maintaining the environment all habitats of the animals and ensuring that they are well-fed and given proper care so that they will be available for the visitors.  

The customers themselves are involved in the production process. Well, customers definitely play a big part in contributing to the business in zoo as they are the main source of revenue which the zoo gained. An attraction without customers visiting generates lesser revenue as compared to an attraction which has a high receptivity of customers.

The service product is not standardized. Weather is the contributing factor of a service product that is not standardized. The type of weather affects the visitor's decisions for coming to zoo. For example, if it's raining heavily, most likely visitors would not want to visit the zoo or continue their visit as the rain can be a several inconvenience to them. 

The perishable of a product is the single day purchased zoo ticket and tram ticket which cannot be stored for future use. Unless you are purchasing tickets which are e.g, Park Hopper's Special  2 in 1, 3 in 1 and 4 in  1. These tickets are not perishable as they can be stored for up to maximum 30 days after purchased. The zoo has e-ticketing system, which allows their visitors to purchase the tickets online. This makes it hassle free if you beat the queue. Moreover, by booking your tickets online, there will be an additional discount of 10% which will encourage last minute purchases. 

There is no tangible product to be carry home from the zoo. You can't possibly carry the animals home right? Haha. However, some manufactured goods which you can buy and bring home is the souvenirs, photographs, brochures and maps. What I have bought home was something not very desirable - a raincoat which cost me $5! That is why I have also mentioned on the earlier post to encourage you to bring an umbrella :P

Surroundings of the service delivering process are a feature of the service. In this case, I feel that the clean environment and well-organized layout are part of it. During the day of my visit despite the fact that there was a very long queue, the ushers have managed it well, in terms of human traffic flow. The overall layout of the zoo has created a wildlife nature feel which has contributed very much for my total experience.

During the day of our visit, the difficulties which my friend and I faced was the weather condition and crowd congestion at each animal exhibits. As it was a rainy day and there were not enough shelters provided for everyone, the visitors make used of the e.g. White Tiger zone to avoid getting drenched in the rain. Thus, this will not only create crowd congestion, but visitors who just came over and wanting to view the animals will not be able to see. Well, this somehow frustrated me the most. 

What is so unique about the zoo which deserves a high ranking in Trip Advisor?

From my point of view, Singapore zoo is one of the most sought after zoos in the world because it is home for over 2,800 animals from over 300 species of mammals, birds and reptiles. The zoo has also achieved its recognition by the brand image known as the World's Best Rainforest Zoo. One of the most unique services which the zoo provides is having Jungle Breakfast with Wildlife. This is the only place in the world where you can have breakfast with not one but an entire family of Orang Utans! This helps to differentiate themselves from the competition from other zoos. 

They have also met their target markets by providing the education through a fun and interactive way. E.g. the Elephants at Work and Play Show. You can not only learn that elephants are actually gentle and intelligence in nature, but there are so many other learning issues such as understanding their behaviours, personalities, their strengths, etc!

What I think is the most unique programs which the Singapore zoo will be providing are camps such as Sleep with the Beasts Family Affair, Zoo Explorer Camp and Be a Junior Zoo Keeper. This gives you an opportunity to escape from your usual boring holiday, soak yourself in the atmosphere of the wild and camp out beneath a blanket of stars.

Singapore zoo has been promoting themselves through various websites such as Groupon, Deals SG by entitling discount packages with River Safari or other Singapore attractions. Word-of-mouth is a strong advertising method, provided that the comments given by the public are positive. Brochures provided at Airport, Singapore Tourism Board or at other localised attractions such as Singapore Flyer, River Cruise, etc. The Singapore zoo chartered buses service is fully decorated with the images of animals also helps to draw attention from the public. the Singapore zoo website is a form of promoting their attraction as well.

 

Impacts on Singapore zoo

Economic impact, e.g, increasing of tourism revenue. Since Singapore is dependent on the tourism industry, if one attraction or many attractions generate profits, the economy will benefit as a whole as well. 

The attractions in Singapore is current expanding and creating more job opportunities for both locals and permanent residents too, especially with the new attractions such as River Safari, Universal Studios Singapore, etc.

Last but not least, visitor expenditures will contribute to the attractions as well. E.g. the more they spend in the Singapore zoo such as buying of souvenirs, on food and beverages, transportation, activities such as animal ride, trams, photography with the animals, etc. has already created a multiplier effect which thus helps to booms the business.

Eddie, thank you once again for inviting me to recommend you an attraction to go to when you are here visiting in Singapore. It is my great pleasure sharing with you all about the Singapore Zoo! I hope my blog will give a better overview on how exciting the zoo will be like! Please feel free to ask me more information if you need. See you in next year's June Holiday!! Take care.

More about the Singapore zoo!

Hi Eddie! 

Upon our arrival at the zoo, we saw that there was quite a number of tour buses parked near the taxi stand. I assumed that majority of the visitors came as a tour group or as a free and easy family tour and I classified all of them as staying visitors. There were also quite a number of visitors who came as couples or with friends. The international tourists from India, Japan and America and Europe could be classified having the fun loving, exuberant and learning personalities or lifestyles. Their age range was between early twenties to late seventies but of course, majority were the middle age visitors (for both locals and international). 

Most of these international visitors travelled by tour buses, taxis or chartered buses from various locations such as Great World City, Orchard Road and City Hall's bus stops (near the Peninsular). Some of the visitors also travelled by cars. However, the SMRT (Singapore Mass Rapid Transit) buses were more appealing to the local visitors as a form of transport. Well, we took the SMRT number 929 from Woodlands Interchange because the taxi fare charges in Singapore are quite costly! So Eddie, you should really consider taking the bus when you’re here! :P hahaha~

 This is one of the modes of transportation - The zoo's chartered bus which caters for both local and international visitors.

The motivating factors!   

As mentioned from the previous post, I’ll elaborate more on the motivating factors. Education is one of the factors which I would like to solely emphasize on. Based on my observation at the zoo, everywhere you go; there will be an information board which you can learn more about the animals. For example, the Orang Utan.
 

From the picture here, different types of Orang Utan are depicted along with their physical appearances personalities. Isn’t that interesting? : )

These are the learning resources about a tiger. There was also a sound playback machine that played different sounds a tiger could make.

 

 

I'm holding a Orang Utan's skull!!! 

This is a picture on the research equipment used for Sun bears.

Awww, I love the sun bears!!

As you can see from this picture, there were also signboards showing different local and international corporation who adopted the animals. This is beneficial for their recognition amongst the patrons of the zoo.

For your information, the zoo is also well known for its award-winning programmes so this might be an advantage which will motivate current and existing visitors to visit the zoo. Some interesting programmes such as Splash Safari Show, Animal Friends Show, Elephants at Work Play Show, Rainforest Fight Back Show are organized to bring the visitors closer in interacting with and understanding the animals. The wide varieties of different animal exhibits and zones play a part in contributing to the motivating factors as well. Last but not least, from what I have garnered from the Trip Advisor website, many visitors enjoyed and loved having the Jungle Breakfast with Wildlife.

Well, I still remembered back then when I was in Hainan, China, the best experience I had I was taking a picture with a lion cub. However, the Singapore zoo only implemented photography sessions with tamed animals such as the Orang Utan, non-poisonous reptiles, etc.

Personally, I wouldn't mind revisiting the zoo again because of my love and passion for animals. That could be possibly be one of the factors which motivated other local as well as international guests. The visitors can not only view the wide exhibits of animals that Singapore zoo has, but from my point view, seeing the animals roaming freely in their natural habitat is a pleasure for all the animal lovers. Last but not least, as mentioned, Singapore is the World’s Best Rainforest Zoo. This brand image itself has already achieved much recognition from all around the world and many visitors came knowing the fact that our Singapore zoo will be well-maintained and organized! 

Three levels of Singapore Zoo's  Products! 

I will classify education, experience and entertainment as the core products. As for education, I guess I have pretty much mentioned an overview above of the educational facilities which are provided and made available for guests to be curious and learn more about the animal exhibits and gain knowledge out of something they don’t know.

From my point of view, a guest’s overall experience is very essential and will contribute a lot for both business and as an individual. For example, if Singapore zoo does not provide me with a good experience in any aspect, be it customer service, environment, atmosphere, F&B services, etc. 

Last but not least, entertainment. The zoo provided the guests with many interesting programmes. Not only the animal shows, but there were other attractions such as Kidzworld and the other different zones – Fragile Forest, Reptile Garden, Australian Outback, etc!

The tangible products will be lockers, zoo tickets, animal shows, maps, animal rides, tram rides, food and beverage outlets, merchandise stalls, feeding of animals, brand names – World’s Best Rainforest Zoo, safety – distance between the guests and animals, quality of service from the ticketing and other customer service staff, etc!

Some augmented products available are weather - e.g, if it's raining, will there be enough shelters to accommodate the guests? opening hours, car parking area, wildlife tours, camps, events – birthday parties, weddings etc, educational programmes, etc!

The tangible benefit that you be able to enjoy would be the animal shows. It provides you a knowledge on animal's behaviour and their abilities to perform. Another benefit will be the animal exhibits and zones where you can learn more about the animal's habitats, behaviour and characteristics. 

  More photos!

The Splash Safari!
 

 The Reptile Garden

 The Fragile Garden 

 The snakes section!

 Merchandise shop near the entrance! 

Well, that's all I'm going to post for today! Thank you for reading!! I know you're definitely looking forward to read more about the Singapore zoo! : ) I promise that I'll update as soon as possible. Take care Eddie.