Customer‐support service in the relationship perspective

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe customers' perception of customer support service related to the core service in telecomminucations customer relationships. The customers' perceptions of the support‐service stem from their contacts with the support service and are related to the importance for the relationship with the telecommunications provider.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a modified version of Switching Path Analysis Technique (SPAT) in its analysis to create the necessary data for carrying out a dynamic analysis – in other words customers' experiences of the customer‐support service over time in their relationship with the service provider. The modification, called the SPAT mechanism, only focused on the difference between driving and non‐driving factors related to the relationship strength.

Findings

From the service perspective it was found that some of the customers in the present study were particularly focused on the customer‐support, which made it dominate the relationships. At that special time, their telecommunications service predominantly comprised customer support, which was more important than the core service. At other times, when the support‐service focus was not as strong, the priority was likely to be different. Consequently, the composition of the telecommunications service and the core service is according to customers' expressions dynamic and only the customer perspective has the authority to define it.

Research limitations/implications

Research on service has been going on for several decades, and thus offers a great variety of findings from cross‐sectional studies. Therefore, the present study's presentation of only one kind of service could be considered limited.

Originality/value

The paper provides useful information on customers' perception of customer support service related to the core service in telecommunications customer relationships.

Citation

Roos, I. and Edvardsson, B. (2008), "Customer‐support service in the relationship perspective", Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 87-107. https://doi.org/10.1108/09604520810842858