Drivers of customers' service experiences: a study in the restaurant industry

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to identify, portray and analyse the frequent drivers of customer service experiences as described by customers in their own words -the voice of the customer. Design/methodology/approach -A critical incident technique study was conducted, based on 122 interviews, including 195 favourable and unfavourable narratives, about customer experiences. The data were analysed in an inductive manner and the results are presented by means of extracts from the narratives. Findings -The findings describe the dimensions of drivers of customers' favourable and unfavourable experiences and the frequent drivers, the social interaction, the core service and the physical context. Research limitations/implications -Customer experiences are processes and include dynamic interactions and the customer as a co-producer. The study context is limited to the restaurant setting and Swedish customers. Practical implications -For managers the results suggest that great effort needs to be put into understanding the process of customer experiences and the various interactions involved, especially social interactions and the crucial roles of contact employees and customers involved in these interactions. Originality/value -The paper provides a detailed description and analysis of the frequent and less frequent drivers of favourable, and unfavourable customer experiences -the constellation of drivers. The findings are illustrated by extracts from customer narratives and show how experiences occur and that experiences are processes occurring in a social and physical environment when people do things together. Furthermore, the paper introduces customer experience to service dominant logic by describing the dynamics of resource interactions in customer experience formation.

Analysis of the impact of length of stay on the quality of service experience, satisfaction and loyalty

“…The quality of the service experience is related to tourists' affective responses after participating in a tourism activity (Otto and Ritchie 1996 ). It is a psychological outcome (Otto and Ritchie 1996; Chen and Chen 2010; Ying et al 2012 arising from direct and indirect contact with the service process, the organisation, the facilities, the firm's representatives and other customers (Walter et al 2010 ). This experience is strictly personal and implies the customer's involvement on different levels (rational, emotional, sensorial, physical and spiritual) so as to create a holistic gestalt (LaSalle and Britton 2003 ).…”

The role of servicescape as a driver of customer value in experience-centric service organizations: the Dragon Football Stadium case

“…Companies need to embed, execute, and manage these clues to create the desired thoughts and feelings in consumers (Chakravorti, 2011). Managing customer experiences entails the careful management of many clues, and among them the physical environment in which the experience is created is often considered a key variable and one of the strongest drivers of service value (Martin-Ruíz, Barroso-Castro, & Rosa-Diáz, 2012;Walter et al, 2010).…”

“…The physical environment in which the experience is created, the servicescape (Bitner, 1992), is considered a key variable influencing customer perceptions and behavior, and one of the strongest drivers of service value (Walter, Edvardsson, & Ö ström, 2010). Services are very engaging when consumed, which accentuates the importance of their surroundings, which can be viewed as an issue for interaction and value co-creation (Edvardsson, Enquist, & Johnston, 2005;Grönroos & Ravald, 2011).…”

Analyzing Customer Experience Feedback Using Text Mining

“…It The open-ended question focuses on obtaining a single improvement suggestion; however, a review of the answers shows that both multiple improvement factors and compliments and complaints are often embedded in, or appear in parallel with, detailed descriptions of customers' service experiences. This indicates that methods encouraging more active participation from customers can generate more diverse information (Walter, Edvardsson, and Öström 2010).…”