We have just finished a discussion of customer perceptions,specifically customer satisfaction and service quality.As discussed in our strategy insight,companies today recognize that they can compere more effectively by distinguishing themselves with respect to service quality,satisfaction and loyalty.Next we turn to what have been termend the building blocks for customer pereptions service encounters or moments of truth.Service encounters are where promises are kept or broken and where the proverbial rubber meets the road.
From the customer's point of view,the most vivid impression of service occurs in the service encounter or moment of truth,where the customer interacts with the service firm.
For example: among the service encounters that a hotel customer experiences are checking into the hotel,being taken to a room by a bellperson,eating a restaurant meal,requesting a wake up call,and checking out.You could think of the linking of these moments of trush as a service encounter cascade.It is in these encounters that customers receive a snapshot of the organization service quality and each encounter contributes to the customer's overall satisfaction and willingness to do business with the organization again.From the organization's point of view,each encounter thus presents an opportunity to prve its potential as a quality service provider and to increase customer loyalty.
Some services have few service encounters and others have many.The Disney Corporation estimates that each of its amusement park customers experiences about74 service encounters and that a negative experience in any one of them can lead to a negative overall evaluation.
