Conference article

Service Futures: What is Expected from Customer Care?

Asbjørn Følstad
SINTEF, Oslo, Norway

Knut Kvale
Telenor Research, Fornebu, Norway

Joachim Bråthen
Telenor Research, Fornebu / University of Oslo, Norway

Ida Maria Haugstveit
SINTEF, Oslo, Norway

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Published in: ServDes.2014 Service Future; Proceedings of the fourth Service Design and Service Innovation Conference; Lancaster University; United Kingdom; 9-11 April 2014

Linköping Electronic Conference Proceedings 99:1, p. 1-10

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Published: 2014-06-25

ISBN: 978-91-7519-280-2

ISSN: 1650-3686 (print), 1650-3740 (online)

Abstract

Customer care is a critical aspect of service provision. A customer-centric approach to the design of services depends on knowledge of customers’ preferences and expectations for customer care. In this paper; we present a study on customers’ near future expectations for customer care within selected service sectors. As part of a future scenario process; 151 participants contributed their perspectives on customer care for banking; telecom; and logistic services. The study findings highlight expectations concerning service value and service experience; and shed light on preferences for self-service vs. manual care. Furthermore; we find that; though the participants expressed a marked preference for service providers that add a positive experiential aspect to their customer care; the studied service sectors were not closely associated with experiential customer care. Consequently; the experiential aspects of customer care may represent an unrealized potential in these sectors.

Keywords

Customer insight; customer care; service design; future services

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