Where Does the Employee Fit in a Service Operation?

By: David Bowen In the classic 1978 HBR article, “Where does the customer fit in a service operation?” Richard Chase described the impact of high or low customer contact on the efficiency of the service production system. The article also posed the question, “What do you, (a service operation), have to give up in order …

A Great Customer Experience Isn’t Something You Can Script

By: John Abraham Several years ago, I met a successful customer service director in a retail bank. She had led the charge to bring customer experience thinking into the bank’s branch operations and call centers, defining how the company’s brand promise should be reflected in customer interactions. In fact, they had developed a specific greeting …

The Next Wave of Service Delivery: Success Accelerators!

By Randy Wootton The Challenge Today, more and more companies depend on software as a service (SaaS) to operate essential parts of their business, such as managing their relationships with customers, driving sales performance, and maintaining employee communication. As the industry and surrounding ecosystem that delivers these services matures, it faces a growing demand for accountability and results. …

Differentiating on the Human Experience to Drive Customer Loyalty and Growth

By M. Bridget Duffy, MD In an era that challenges healthcare organizations to do more with fewer resources, patient experience is often considered an add-on. However, in an increasingly competitive environment, organizations can no longer solely focus on stripping out waste and reducing costs. A growing body of evidence points to the human experience as …

Changing Customer Behavior- Is it possible?

By: Per Kristensson During the past decade, customers have displayed overwhelmingly positive attitudes toward environmentally-friendly offerings. However, their actual behavior does not mirror these attitudes. Do you think it would be possible to change customer behavior to make them greener? In a market research study carried out in the U.S., 67% of surveyed respondents claimed …