Changes in the Evaluation Components of the Service Process

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research is to examine how users are evaluating non-face-to-face services that use IT in encounters. Focusing particularly on the service process, the research attempts to contribute to business practices by identifying changes in evaluation components in line with customer experience. Results of a large sample survey show that along with the changes in customer experience, the main components of evaluation in non-face-to-face services such as utilizing call centers and purchasing computers through internet stores are in a transition of “speed→certainty→empathy.” It was confirmed that this trend is generally consistent even among traditional face-to-face services such as purchasing computers at electronics retail stores and receiving medical consultation at healthcare facilities. The process of a non-face-to-face service is also closely connected to the overall evaluation, not just the result of the service. As momentum increases even in manufacturing for creating added value through services, utilizing the process evaluation structure in service design and quality control can establish differentiation and create added value.