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Article
Publication date: 1 May 1994

Paul Walley and Viresh Amin

Service industries, contrary to popular opinion, can have a high levelof investment in automation and technology, but most attention focuseson back office technology. Investigates…

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Abstract

Service industries, contrary to popular opinion, can have a high level of investment in automation and technology, but most attention focuses on back office technology. Investigates the use of automation in the customer contact environment in order to examine the role of technology in front office design. Concludes that the use of technology by the customer remains limited by the opportunities to train the customer to use the technology, which restricts the degree of complexity of the technology; and by other limitations such as the need for the provision of customer “reward” for appropriate use of the technology.

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International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 14 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

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Article
Publication date: 17 March 2020

Scott E. Sampson and Richard B. Chase

The customer contact approach to service has been at the core of service theory since the 1970s. It suggests that the potential operating efficiency of a service is inversely…

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Abstract

Purpose

The customer contact approach to service has been at the core of service theory since the 1970s. It suggests that the potential operating efficiency of a service is inversely related to the extent of customer contact with the provider's operations and that various service design issues are dictated by the presence or absence of customer contact. The purpose of this article is to reevaluate the customer contact approach in light of advanced digital technologies.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors review the origins and history of the customer contact approach and show ways it has been refined in research literature. From that they demonstrate how the refined approach can be applied to contemporary conditions.

Findings

Recent advances in digital technologies have indeed required us to revise our conceptualization of customer contact. There is now a blurring between front-office and back-office operations. Emerging technologies are allowing customers to have high-contact experiences with low-contact efficiencies.

Research limitations/implications

Going forward, conceptualizations of customer contact are becoming increasingly complex and requiring increasingly complex models. Armed with self-service technologies, customers are able to permeate the “buffered core” of service businesses. Artificial intelligence and anthropomorphic devices have further blurred the distinction between front-office and back-office operations. Research will need to consider new forms of technology-enabled customer contact.

Practical implications

Customer contact is no longer limited to interpersonal interactions and the relationships between service providers and customers are increasingly complex. Customers may interact with automated service providers, or service providers may interact with customer technologies. New forms of customer contact may not involve humans at all, but instead involve technologies interacting with technologies.

Originality/value

The customer contact approach to service was one of the original models of service design. By revisiting and revising the model we bring it in-line with the realities of the contemporary service economy.

Details

Journal of Service Management, vol. 31 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-5818

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