Which of the following is NOT a purpose of service environments?

The primary purposes of service environments include signaling quality and positioning a brand, enhancing productivity, and facilitating service encounters. Each of these plays a crucial role in how customers perceive and interact with a service.

Service environments are designed to signal quality and position by creating an atmosphere that reflects the brand’s image. This can include everything from the decor to the layout and even the ambiance, which collectively influence a customer's perception of the overall quality of the service being provided.

Enhancing productivity in a service environment is essential for both employees and customers. A well-designed environment can streamline processes, allowing service personnel to deliver services more efficiently while simultaneously improving the customer experience.

Facilitating service encounters is another vital purpose, as the environment plays a key role in shaping the interactions between customers and service providers. A conducive environment can enhance communication and create a more positive experience for the customer.

In contrast, controlling pricing strategies is not directly related to the purpose of service environments. While pricing can be communicated through various marketing strategies, the service environment itself does not inherently serve that function. Thus, it stands separate from the established purposes of service environments, making it the correct answer to this question.