Achieving service success through relationships and enhanced encounters

Abstract

Executive Overview This article provides the reader with both a conceptual and a practical approach to understanding the interaction between the three entities in service deliveries: customer, provider, and organization. These entities are interconnected through strong or loose links, and the strength of each bond has immediate implications in designing a service strategy. We present a typology of service delivery strategies based on a distinction between service relationships (having tight links between the individual service provider and individual customer) and service encounters (having loose links between provider and customer). We argue that excellent service can be provided by organizations that understand the limits and benefits of relationships and encounters, and thus, match their service delivery with what their customers expect. In particular, we argue that many organizations treat as identical tight links between a customer and service provider (C-P links). By treating these two links the same, organizations may be delivering service in ways that are not as effective or desirable for customers as they could be if organizations focused on the strengths of a service delivery mode based on developing strong links between the customer (C) and organization (O), which allows them to create what we call “enhanced encounters.” Throughout the article we discuss some practical considerations of delivering service in both relationships and enhanced encounters.