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overservice

overservice

1 7.0
Giving customers more service than they need, often by serving too much alcohol
  • noun
  • /ˌoʊvərˈsɜːrvɪs/
: exceso de servicio
  • After noticing the overservice at the bar, the manager decided to enforce stricter drink limits.

Examples

  • The restaurant was criticized for the frequent overservice of alcohol, which often left customers feeling unwell.

  • Even today, we find wide variation in clinical practice that could be the result of either overservice or underservice that cannot be medically justified (Wennberg 1996).

    Academic text (1997)
  • On the other hand, the press only a few short years ago had a field day with overservice, focusing on the countless numbers of unneeded operations, prescriptions, medical devices, return visits, and so on -- funded from the deep pockets of third-party payers.

    Academic text (1996)
  • They faced penalties for the overservice of alcohol during the event, reflecting poor judgment in their service practices.

How Much

overservice
1 7.0
unserviced
1 6.1

Surface Forms

overservice singular
overservices plural

Morphology

overservice = service (transparent) = over + service

The meaning is a straightforward 'over-' (excessive) + 'service' (provision of help or supply), yielding 'excessive service'.

Etymology

Overservice comes from the prefix over- meaning 'too much' and the word service meaning 'help' or 'serving', just like in overdo or overcook. So overservice means giving more help or attention than is needed, and it is often used for serving too much alcohol to customers.