Self-service technology (SST) – a tool that enables customers to produce services for themselves without assistance from firm employees – accounts for an increasing share of customer service encounters (over $US72 billion by 2030). However, the majority of service encounters require the intervention of some human or non-human service agents.
Unfortunately, the service failure and recovery (SFR) literature provides little guidance to firms on how customers perceive assistance provided by firms following a service obstacle, especially in terms of SST. In particular, very little prior research has explored customer responses to service recovery efforts or the underlying psychological processes that explain customer retention after a service obstacle is experienced while using SST. Hence, in simple terms, this study examines why consumers might stop using self-service technology (like apps or automated systems) and how customer support can either help or make things worse when customers face service obstacles.
The study uses the idea regarding how much people believe they control the outcomes: when customers feel like they have less control over the results, they have lower motivation to keep using SST. In addition, self-determination theory (SDT) explains when customers’ basic psychological needs such as feeling in control, feeling capable, and feeling connected are not met, customers will be less likely to continue using the technology. This can happen when the self-service technology does not give enough information, assumes users know things they do not, or does not meet users’ expectations about how they should be treated. If the customer support does not tend to those psychological needs, it can make customers feel like they have less control, less motivated, and even see the help as controlling or unhelpful
Method and sample
Data from four studies were collected to address research questions and contribute to understanding customer responses to service obstacles, the role of psychological need support, and the impact of service agent type on continuance intentions in self-service technology:
- Study 1 (1a & 1b) were two laboratory experiments explored whether customers avoid service obstacles requiring assistance. Study 1a had 88 participants and Study 1b had 91 participants.
- Study 2 investigated the impact of customer-perceived psychological need support when a service agent was required. A total of 165 participants shared experiences with self-service technology (SST) and service obstacles.
- Study 3 examined how manipulating psychological need support influenced the impact of service agent type on continuance intentions. The study involved 120 participants.
- Study 4 provided additional evidence for previous studies, exploring the experiences with SST of 200 participants.
Key findings
- When people use SST across different industries, they generally prefer to handle things on their own without needing help from a customer service agent. However, if assistance is required, it is more effective to help them recover from service issues when the support comes from a non-human service agent (like a chatbot or automated system).
- Assistance provided by a non-human service agent following a service obstacle would contribute more positively to perceptions of psychological need support and this support would lead to greater continuance intentions towards the SST.
- While assistance provided by a non-human agent (vs. human agent) was preferred in both high and low psychological need support conditions and the impact on continuance intentions was positive, significant differences only occurred in the low one. Hence, the effect of psychological need support becomes more reliable and consistent as the perceived support level increases (refer to the below figure)
- When the help provided aligns well with the task a customer is trying to accomplish (task-assistance fit), it strengthens the positive impact of customers psychological need support on their intention to continue using the service. In addition, this positive effect is even more pronounced for tasks that are more complicated.
Recommendations
- Designing better SSTs: Service providers should improve self-service technologies (SSTs) based on user needs, allowing for the support of more complex tasks. This aligns with the idea that SSTs should evolve to meet users’ changing needs.
- Supporting users’ psychological needs: To keep users engaged, service providers should prioritise strategies that support users’ psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness (feeling in control, feeling capable, and feeling connected). Simply restoring trust after service obstacle might not be enough for long-term benefits.
- AI-enabled chatbots for quick help: Use AI-enabled chatbots to give users quick and automated help for common issues. This supports users’ confidence and also aligns with their preference for self-service.
- Turning obstacles into opportunities: Instead of just fixing problems, service providers can turn service obstacles into learning opportunities. They can educate users how to troubleshoot and find information to reinforce their independence and competence. Decision trees and online communities can help users get peer support and feel connected.
Researcher
More information
The research article is also available on eprints.