What is meant by the term 'services'? Explain its main characteristics.

Meaning of Services: Service means an intangible act or performance that can satisfy some human needs and can be offered for sale. Services are performed by people for other people.

Main Characteristics of Services:

1. Intangibility: Services are intangible as they cannot be seen or touched. A customer cannot examine a service before purchase the way one examines a product.

2. Perishability: Services cannot be stored for future use. For example, if a bus having 45 seats is carrying only 35 passengers, the 10 vacant seats cannot be utilised in future.

3. Inseparability: Services are produced and consumed at the same time. The service cannot be separated from the service provider. For example, the driver and conductor of a bus have to be in the bus whenever it provides service to passengers.

4. Variability: Services can rarely be standardised or made uniform. The quality of a service may differ from customer to customer. For example, the quality of service which a waiter provides in a hotel may differ on different occasions.