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Self Service TechnologiesUnderstanding
Customer Satisfaction with Technology-Based
Service EncountersWritten by Matthew Meuter,
Amy Ostrom, Robert Roundtree Mary Jo Bitner

• Article 24
• Presented by Marcela Diaz-Espinoza

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Todays fast-paced world is becoming
increasingly characterized by technology
facilitated transactions.Self-Service
Technologies (SST) are technological interfaces
that enable customers to produce a service
independent of direct service employee
involvement.
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Facts

• Did you know that almost half of the retail
  banking transactions are now conducted without
  the use of a teller?
• Did you know that even though we are pretty used
  to many of these SST there are many more that are
  being introduced as we sit in class?
• Electronic self-ordering is rapidly approaching
  us
• Can you think of any examples?

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Objective

• To explore customers experiences across a broad
  range of SSTs available in the marketplace.
• Understand how customers feel about them (SSTs)
• By focusing on memorable incidents about a recent
  SST interaction (good or bad)
• Examining post encounter behaviors such as
• Complaining
• Word of Mouth
• Future intended behaviors

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Previous Research

• Conducted by Bitner, Booms and Tetreault and
  used CIT to examine the sources of
  dis/satisfactory evaluations in interpersonal
  encounters (1990)
• Classified them into three categories
• 1) employee response to service delivery failure
• 2) employee response to customer need and
  requests
• 3) unprompted and unsolicited actions by
  employees

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Previous Research

• Grove and Fisk conducted their studies in theme
  parks.
• They found that service experiences were
  affected by others customers adherence to
  implicit or explicit rules of conduct and by
  perceived sociability of other customers
• Note the set factors that leads to satisfying
  factors also leads to dissatisfying ones.

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Current Study/Method

• Some of the questions driving this study
• What are the sources of customer satisfaction and
  dissatisfaction in encounter involving SSTs?
• Are there sources of customer satisfaction and
  dissatisfaction with SST encounters similar to or
  different from the sources of customer
  satisfaction and dissatisfaction with
  interpersonal encounters?
• How are the satisfaction and dissatisfaction
  encounters with SSTs related to attributions,
  complaining, word of mouth, and repurchase
  intentions?
• These were combined with a Critical Incident
  Technique (CIT) with quantitative measures of
  the mentioned above for the customers point of
  view

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Current Study/Method

• The importance of technology in the delivery of
  service leads us to
• Marketspace transaction a virtual realm where
  products and services exist as digital
  information and can be delivered through
  information based channels
• Surveys we conducted via internet
• 1,000 people responded to survey
• 177 were eliminated for various reasons
• 53 were women while 47 were male

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Current Study/Method
Figure 1 Figure 1 Figure 1 Figure 1 Figure 1
Categories and Examples of SSTs in use Categories and Examples of SSTs in use Categories and Examples of SSTs in use Categories and Examples of SSTs in use Categories and Examples of SSTs in use

InterfacePurpose Telephone/Interactive Voice Response OnlineInternet Interactive Kiosks Video CD
Customer Service Phone bankingFlight StatusOrder Status Package trackingAccount Information ATMsHotel checkouts  
Transactions Telephone BankingPrescription refills Retail PurchasingFinancial Institutions Phone bankingFlight StatusOrder Status  
Self-Help Info telephone lines Internet info searchDistance Learning Blood pressure machinesTourist information Tax preparation softwareTV/CD based training
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Current Study/Method

• Satisfying Incident Categories
• Solved intensified Need. (11)
• IN is defined as situations in which external
  environmental factors add a sense of urgency to
  the transaction.
• Better than alternative (68)
• 2a) Easy to use (16)
• 2b) Avoid Service Personnel (3)
• 2c) Saved Time (30)
• 2d) When I want (8)
• 2e) Where I want (5)
• 2f) Saved Money (6)
• 3) Did its job (21)

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Current Study/Method

• Dissatisfying Incident Categories
• Technology failure (43)
• Process Failure (17)
• Poor design (36)
• 6a) Technology Design Problem (17)
• 6b) Service Design Problem (19)
• 7) Customer Driven Failure (4)

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Conclusion

• Possible bias from the population surveyed
• Not randomly selected (used a survey company)
• How can we develop trust in our firms who do not
  provide human contact?
• Additional Support is needed