Idiosyncratic service experiences: When customers desire the extraordinary in a service encounter

Abstract

For many customers “good” service is not enough to create an experience that warrants telling others. Customers want an extraordinary service experience, but what does that really mean? Through an initial qualitative study, the authors tackle this question and conceptualize a term called Idiosyncratic Service Experience (ISE) to represent the interpersonal aspects that create these unique or special service experiences. ISE is a higher order construct made up of a) perceived employee effort, b) surprise, and c) perceived employee empathy. Further, the authors examine the antecedents and consequences of ISEs in a structural model. The results of our study found that ISEs promoted feelings of delight which lead to a higher tolerance to future failures, decreased price consciousness, and stimulated self-enhancing word-of-mouth. We also explore how exception making or the willingness of an employee to break a service norm influences ISEs and evaluations of delight.