It could be a few things, such as that thing the guy does when you initially order cable for the first time. It could also be the thing you wait for when your car is broken and won’t go.
Perhaps it’s even all those things, combined, that the people who fight fires, take care of the ill, and fight battles overseas do to help make life better for the rest of us.
All of these things seem to be services to me. What do dictionaries say? Let’s see:
Service
noun
- an act of helpful activity; help; aid:
to do someone a service.
[Source: Dictionary.com]
That also looks good, and pretty much all of the above, and more, fit that particular definition. It’s not the only one, and this is one word that is very versatile.
Inspired by a prompt at The One-Minute Writer