Differentiating Factor: People (Consumers and Employees)

With services, the presence of other customers being provided for at the same time tends to diminish the value of the service, while on the other hand, the attendance of other customers regularly increases the value of many experience offerings. When standing in a queue whether you are waiting for your hamburger, needing to see a doctor, or getting hold of a taxi, the fewer other customers present, the better, as the presence of other customers typically reduces the amount of resources available for consumers waiting to be served. In a service context, where obtaining the service outcome promptly is important, other customers are foremost competitors who you have to share the available resources with. The respective negative versus positive view of the contributing factor of other consumers has been pointed out and discussed by Mossberg (2003).

With experiences, the presence of other customers regularly contributes to – and is even often a necessary factor in – the product manifesting itself. With experiences, the other customers are often not viewed as elements that you have to share the limited resources with, but can be perceived of as an additional resource. The data showed numerous examples of how much and in how many different ways the social elements contribute as a positive driver to intensify and expand the value had in an experiential context. Most customers tend to like to have company in an experience setting, and many crave it. The customer at the elephant feeding noted how it was nice that I was there; although we had never meet before and we had little in common, it was still good to just share the experience with a fellow human being. Likewise at the driving range, both I and the senior golfer helping me out got even more fun out of our practicing that day, because he volunteered to teach me some basic things about the game.

When cheering at a football match, going on a safari, or gambling at the tables in a casino, the dynamics and energy of a larger group typically contribute to, and increase the value of, the experience. Mossberg (2003) further concludes that the more the consumer seeks social interaction, the more important the presence of other customers becomes. How audiences feed from one and other, and how this helps build excitement came out strongly in the data and it included such examples as when people were encouraging and dragging the neighboring tables into joining the dancing at the Oktoberfest, sharing a screaming session after the goal at the football match or during the shark attack on the cage – to share the excitement and the magic of that moment, to gain support and courage from each other, to feel belonging, shared flow and communitas of almost cult-like moments of ecstasy. Hence, again, in experiences other people often play a very vital part in creating the event, because the social element is so

One of the visitors that I interviewed about the Oktoberfest estimated that he had been there more than 40 times (he lives in Munich and attends the festival both for business purposes and pleasure) and enjoys the festival a lot. The sheer mass of 5000 bodies packed tightly in one tent has an almost physical impact in itself – the sense of crowd as a physical substance that one is a part of. The atmosphere in those crowds at the Oktoberfest appears very close to what has been described as “shared ritual experience” or “communitas“ brought up previously (Turner 1969; Belk, Wallendorf, and Sherry Jr 1989). I asked if he felt like part of a group when he was there, in those huge tents. He compared it to a river he can step into and out of.

-I feel like part of a group, but it’s only a very loose one. I don’t really have to… The feeling isn’t part of a group that has its own social dynamics that really make you do something you don’t want to do, or pressure. But it’s rather like a bit of a wide current you can step into the current and drift along a bit and get out any time, without any problems. So, it’s not really a group but a certain target or certain… how do I but it…

certain view of the world or certain attitude. It’s just part of a group that is doing something at that time and for that purpose, only, and it will dispense afterwards, immediately. And even if you don’t want to do what the group wants to do, it’s no problem, because you’ve got your own bench (at the table you have paid for and thus reserved).

(Oktoberfest, female 41, German)

Later in the same interview I asked him about his preferences relating to a service, in this case about using the public transportation system.

When you take the subway, what kinds of things are important to you?

-It shouldn’t be too crowded, not too many smelly people standing around me. I don’t care whether I get a seat or whether I have to stand up, I just don’t want it to be too crowded.

Again, he lives in Munich, so he may well be surrounded by many of the same people on the subway that he mingles with at the Oktoberfest. Even so, at the Oktoberfest he enjoys the crowd and compares it to a river. At the subway he wanted them gone and finds them smelly and not in a good way. Is he inconsistent? I rather interpret him as quite naturally appreciating different things in a service setting than in an experience setting.

Proposition D: The presence of other consumers is typically a negative factor that diminishes the value of most services, while it is typically a positive factor that increases the value of many experience offerings.

Next, when it comes to the role of employees, the divergence between services and experiences is not as strong as on the other factors, and the roles are not necessarily in direct opposition. The roles of both service and experience employees are of many types and on many levels, so the lines are definitely more blurred here. However, while this should not be oversimplifying, there still appears to be some differences that are worth noting.

With services, polite and respectful employees are always especially appreciated.

SERVQUAL lists such things as courtesy, understanding and empathy as factors that are thought to apply to what is often wanted from service personnel. The word service derives from “to serve,” so we may use the image of a servant as one type of role for service personnel. For highly qualified professionals working in service roles, say doctors or lawyers, the role “to serve” or “to be of service” is probably better thought of as a well-respected

“advisor/counselor.” However, both roles call for politeness and some suitable professional distance between the consumer and the service provider.

With experience offerings, however, it has been suggested that the role of the employee becomes more like that of a friend. It has been suggested that extraordinary experiences are likely to involve boundary open transactions. Boundary open transactions resemble a meeting between friends where the provider of the offering is expected to be actively involved and share his or her feelings openly (Arnould and Price 1993). Arnould and Price found while studying white water rafting trips that emotional attachment formed not only among the members on the trip, but also between the customers and the guides and that participants were often trying to establish more permanent contacts with some of the guides. In short, “people reported thinking of the guide not only in the service provider terms, but as a friend” (ibid, p 35). Although occurrences of boundary open transaction could also occasionally occur in a service transaction, we would assume that consumers’ expectations and desire for this type of transaction would be considerably higher for experiences.

The importance of the staff as a contributor to the overall value of an experience should not be underestimated; one singular employee can make a significant difference. The Bingo staff made the glue and the atmosphere friendly and tight among the lesser social and scattered guests at the tables in the Bingo hall. The staff at the bungee jump were calming down the jumpers by keeping the atmosphere on the bridge light, cool, joking and friendly, to make the scary event more of a fun thing to just do, without too much soul-searching and hesitation.

The staff’s appearance and jargon were more of a street- wise ghetto cool type, with a lot of physical bouncing into one another, bear hugs and back slapping and high fives going on.

However, the philosophy spoken out for support was more linked to a Zen meditation course with “fear is only in the mind” and “stay in the now,” “focus on the small details” and “just do it.” This appeared to work well for building trust and relaxing the participants to the extent that the staff could give them a friendly but decisive, final push over the edge.

Hence, it appears that employees as service providers are appreciated and create value foremost when taking on the role of a servant/counselor, while employees providing experiences, on the other hand, should be closer to imitating the role of a friend.

Proposition E: The consumer prefers to relate to employees of services as servants/

counselors, while they prefer to relate to employees at an experience offering as if they were friends.