Features of Service Relationships and Encounters

Abstract

This article explores the experiences of customers who receive service in relationships (customers who return to the same provider for service), pseudorelationships (the same organization but a different provider), and encounters (neither a regular provider nor a regular firm). We examined interactions with hairstylists, auto mechanics, and physicians to test hypotheses about customers' reactions to service delivery. Although customers respond particularly well to service relationships, based on our results for auto mechanics, it appears possible for firms to design pseudorelationships that also are relatively high in trust.