Bob Wilson owns and operates Flashdance Skating Rink. Last Monday afternoon, he had rented the rink out for a birthday party that was cancelled at the last minute due to a flu epidemic that had sickened three-fourths of the children who were invited. While Wilson kept the deposit, he did not get the skate rental fees or the snack food money he had anticipated from the rental. Wilson lost money as a result of the ________ characteristic of services.

The services have little or no tangible components and therefore cannot be stored for future use. The services are produced and consumed during the same period of time.

The services are perishable in two aspects The services of relevant resources, processes and systems are assigned for the provision of services for a certain period of time. If a designated or intended service consumer does not request and consume the service during this period, the service cannot be performed by him.

From the perspective of the service provider, this is a lost business opportunity since you cannot charge any service provision, potentially, you can assign the resources, processes and systems to another user of the service requesting a service. Examples: The hairdresser serves another client when the scheduled start time or time interval is over. An empty seat on an airplane cannot be used and charged after departure.

When the service has been fully provided to the consumers of services that you request, this particular service fades irreversibly, since it has been consumed by the service consumer. Example: the passenger has been transported to their destination and cannot be transported back to this place at this point in time.