Kim Harris

Customer participation in retail service: lessons from Brecht

Retailers are using the term retail theatre (theater) to imply a service offer that is different and special. An important component of the offer is an increased opportunity for consumers to interact and participate within the overall experience. This article compares consumer participation in retail theatre with audience participation in actual theatre. It draws on ideas from Bertolt Brecht, a playwright who is widely recognised for his application of radical and innovative methods to engage his audiences in all aspects of a performance. A detailed examination of Brecht’s methods is structured around his management and development of the roles and performances of actors, his techniques for providing planned opportunities for audiences to influence performances, and his arrangement of staging and mechanics to stimulate audience participation. Implications for retailers, of the comparison, relate to both human resource management and operational considerations, and challenge conventional practice. It is advocated that the actual theatre is a rich source of ideas for retailers wishing to offer different and engaging “experiences” to consumers.

Bridging the academia-practitioner divide: the case of "service theater"

Purpose – This paper aims to demonstrate the applicability of a theatrical framework for improving the effectiveness of the knowledge transfer of service research findings to practitioners. Design/methodology/approach – A case study approach is adopted. The operation of a practitioner-oriented seminar is examined through a theatrical lens to establish the extent to which direction, audience participation and creativity, emotions and visual aesthetics can contribute to bridging the academia-practitioner divide. Findings – Planning a practitioner-oriented seminar performance is as important as planning the program content. Effective knowledge transfer requires active audience engagement, activation of favorable audience emotions and an enjoyable learning process. The lack of these requirements can render written dissemination by journal papers relatively ineffective in reaching and engaging practitioners. Research limitations/implications – Findings are based on one case study: a seminar delivered to practi...

Perceived Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction

According to Fisk, Brown and Bitner,1 in their review of the evolution of Services Marketing literature, service quality is the ‘single most researched area in services marketing to date’. The topic has attracted the attention of both academics and practitioners who increasingly consider actions aimed at improving service quality to be an integral part of an organisation’s long-term strategy. According to Clow and Vorhies,2 for service based companies, ‘quality is the lifeblood that brings increased patronage, competitive advantage and long term profitability’.

Customer Retention and Relationship Marketing

The key to success for many of the small service businesses identified in this book lies in their ability to maintain a base of loyal customers. As the Waymark Holidays cross-country skiing literature points out (Case Study 8), ‘much of our success over the past two decades has been due to the loyalty of our regular customers, many of whom travel with us every year — in some cases, twice or even three times per season’. The hairdresser (Case Study 1), for example, also estimates that about 90 per cent of all customers have been to the salon at least 5 times. These organisations have been able not only to attract customers to their service in the first instance, but also to develop and maintain a series of long-term relationships with many clients that have helped to secure the survival of their business. Many of their loyal customers act as an important referral source for new business, recommending their service to new clients.

The rangill forum

A case study based on a number of similar businesses but illustrating some general points applicable to any independent retail business. Discusses the importance of location and a potential customer base and how these can be used to advantage. Considers the product range which needs to suit customers′ needs but should not be so broad as to be a hindrance to effective shop‐keeping; and the importance of layout for displaying products and ease of stock control. Considers, also, deliveries, advertising, accounting and priorities.

Findings from the Small Business Case Studies

We make a point, in Chapter 2, that small-scale service businesses have not received as much attention in the literature as the multiple and multinational service organisations. We deliberately chose to develop mainly small business case studies (nine of the twelve cases are of small businesses). In particular, we were interested in whether the established models, frameworks and theories of services marketing, which were constructed in the context of large service organisations, would be applicable to a small service business. We also had in mind the possibility that managers of the larger organisations may be able to learn some lessons from small business practice.

Setting the Context

In the previous chapter, through use of the story, we have identified a number of important components of a service experience. Interest in these components has resulted in research and an established body of knowledge of services marketing.

Further Research Issues and Conclusions

As we stated at the beginning, our principal aim when writing this book was to present the reader with a concise summary of the issues, models and theories currently recognised as representing the subdiscipline of services marketing. We have included a bank of original case studies to give the reader the opportunity to explore how these issues, models and theories can be applied to a realistic business situation.

The Service Factory

A first step in understanding the range of problems faced by service organisations involves clarifying exactly what elements comprise the service experience received by the consumer. The production/consumption characteristic of services means that customers can be exposed to many aspects of a service operation that can be kept hidden in manufacturing organisations. As Lovelock points out ‘many service operations are literally “factories in the field”, which customers enter when they need a service. Since the completed service is often consumed as it is produced, there may be direct contact between production (operations) and customers.’1 This often causes quality control problems for service managers. If, for example, the hairdresser realises half way through cutting the client’s hair that the style is not going to turn out as the client requested, there is very little that can be done to remedy the situation, that is, the experience cannot be quality controlled before the customer encounters it. This clearly contrasts with the manufacturing situation where the quality problem can be sorted out in the factory, before the product reaches the consumer.