Who are considered invisible users in a service context?

In the context of service management, "invisible users" refer to individuals or groups who benefit from a service without being directly involved in its usage or interaction processes. These users do not participate actively in the service delivery but may rely on the outcomes or results of that service.

Authorized representatives from users are indeed considered invisible users because they act on behalf of the actual end-users, interfacing with the service provider to negotiate and manage service delivery, without themselves utilizing the service directly. Their role is to ensure that the needs and preferences of the end users are communicated and represented, making them critical to the service relationship, yet they remain "invisible" in terms of direct service consumption.

In contrast, consumers who do not engage with the service represent a category of users who have not interacted with the service at all, rather than being invisible in the context of authorized representation. Third-party evaluation teams, while they assess the service's quality or effectiveness, do not fit as users in the traditional sense. External competitors in the market are also not users of the service; rather, they operate in a separate domain that may influence the service's positioning but do not engage with it directly. Therefore, among all the options given, authorized representatives unequivocally embody the concept