L2: Service Encounters & Consumption Models

--- [0:00] Recap & Learning Outcomes --- Good morning, everyone. Let's quickly recap where we left off. Last class we covered the IHIP properties of services — Intangibility, Heterogeneity, Inseparability, and Perishability. We looked at the 7 Ps of the services marketing mix, and we applied them to a Goa beach shack. Good, solid foundation. Today we're going one level deeper. We're going to talk about Service Encounters and Consumption Models. By the end of today's class, you should be able to: define a service encounter and explain its importance; describe the different types of encounters; and apply the concept of service consumption models to analyse how customers experience services. And I want to be very clear about why this matters. Today's anchor idea is that every business in Goa — from a small homestay in Saligao to the Taj Fort Aguada — lives or dies based on the quality of its service encounters. This is not theoretical. This is the difference between a five-star TripAdvisor rating and a three-star one. The difference between a loyal repeat customer and someone who never comes back. --- [5:00] Core Concepts: Service Encounters --- So what exactly is a service encounter? It's any moment of direct interaction between the customer and the service organisation. That can be with a person, with a machine, or with both. We classify service encounters into three types based on the level of human contact involved. High-contact encounters are those where the customer is deeply involved throughout the entire service process — like a hotel stay, a medical procedure, or a haircut. The customer is physically present, interacting with staff, experiencing the environment. Medium-contact encounters involve some personal interaction but not throughout. Think of dropping your car off for a service, going to a bank for a transaction, or calling a helpline. Low-contact encounters are largely technology-mediated, with minimal or no human interaction. ATM withdrawals, online ticket booking, mobile recharges. Now here's something important: the appropriate level of contact has been shifting. Technology has been systematically reducing the level of human contact required for many services. And that shift creates both opportunities and risks. The opportunity: lower-contact services can be more efficient, faster, and cheaper to deliver. Think of how UPI has transformed banking interactions in India. The risk: when you remove human contact, you also remove opportunities to build relationships, to recover from problems, to personalise the experience. Some customers — and this is particularly true in India — want that human connection. They don't want a chatbot; they want a person who knows their name. --- [20:00] Deep Dive: Taj Fort Aguada — A Service Encounter Case --- Let me take you to a specific example that brings this to life. The Taj Fort Aguada Resort in Sinquerim, Goa — one of the most iconic luxury hotels in India. And I think most of you have either stayed there, passed by it, or at least seen it. It sits right on the Sinquerim beach with that stunning view of the Arabian Sea. Now, when a guest arrives at Taj Fort Aguada, what are the service encounters they experience? The first encounter is before they even arrive — the online booking, the confirmation email, the pre-arrival call from the concierge team. At the Taj, this pre-arrival interaction is personalised. They ask about dietary preferences, anniversaries, special requests. That's a service encounter that happens digitally, but it sets expectations. Arrival encounter: the driveway, the valet, the doorman who greets you. At a property like this, the doorman is briefed about every arrival. He greets you by name. "Welcome back, sir." How does that feel? It feels like you matter. And that feeling is worth every rupee of the premium you're paying. Check-in encounter: are there queues? How long do you wait? Is the staff warm, efficient, knowledgeable? Are they apologetic if there's a delay? Room encounter: is the room as described? Is it clean, is it stocked? Does the view match the booking photos? Physical evidence again — the Taj gets this right because they understand that intangible promises must be backed by tangible proof. Dining encounters, activity encounters, housekeeping encounters — each one is a moment of truth. So let me ask you all — think about the best service encounter you've personally experienced anywhere in Goa. What made it memorable? Was it something a person did? Was it something about the environment? Was it something unexpected? Take a minute, and I'll take two or three responses. Right — you'll notice that in most cases, what people remember is either an exceptional human interaction or a remarkable environment. Very rarely is it just efficiency. Efficiency is table stakes — it's expected. What creates a memorable encounter is either genuine warmth or thoughtful physical environment design. The Taj understands this deeply. --- [35:00] Service Consumption Models --- Now let me introduce a more structural way of thinking about how customers experience services: consumption models. A service consumption model maps out the customer's entire journey — from the moment they first think about needing a service, through acquisition, all the way through consumption, and finally evaluation and post-consumption behaviour. We divide this into three stages. Pre-purchase stage: This is where the customer identifies a need, searches for information, evaluates alternatives, and makes a decision. In services, this stage is highly influenced by risk perception — because the customer often cannot assess quality before purchase. They rely on word of mouth, online reviews, brand reputation, and any physical evidence they can access. This is why reviews on Zomato, Google, and TripAdvisor are so powerful in the Indian market. Service encounter stage: This is the actual consumption — the customer interacting with the service. We've just talked about this at length. Post-encounter stage: After the service, the customer evaluates it — was it better or worse than expected? This shapes future purchase decisions, word of mouth, and loyalty. Notice that customer satisfaction is always a comparison between expectation and performance. If a beach shack promises fresh seafood and delivers, you're satisfied. If a five-star hotel promises luxury and delivers mediocrity, you're deeply dissatisfied — and you'll tell people. Understanding this model helps service managers identify exactly where breakdowns are happening. Is the problem in the pre-purchase stage — is the brand failing to attract the right customers? Is it in the encounter stage — are staff performing poorly? Is it in post-encounter — are customers satisfied but not returning? Each requires a completely different intervention. --- [45:00] Class Activity --- Alright, let's make this real. In pairs, I want you to map out the complete service consumption model for one of the following: a patient visiting a private clinic in Panaji, or a tourist booking a river cruise on the Mandovi. You have ten minutes. Map all three stages — pre-purchase, encounter, post-encounter — and identify one moment in each stage where the service is most likely to fail. Go ahead. Okay, let's hear what you came up with. What did the clinic group find? Yes — so pre-purchase failure point is often the difficulty of getting an appointment or the lack of clear information about fees. Encounter failure is often waiting time or communication issues with the doctor. Post-encounter failure is often the follow-up — getting reports, understanding next steps. Every single one of those is fixable. And fixing them is literally what services marketing is about. What about the river cruise group? Interesting — you found that pre-purchase, customers can't easily distinguish between the many operators offering similar-sounding packages. So the differentiation challenge is acute. Encounter-wise, the quality of the commentary, the cleanliness of the boat, the food served — all critical. Post-encounter, most operators do virtually nothing to stay in touch with customers. They're leaving enormous loyalty potential on the table. --- [55:00] MCQ Recap & Assignment Brief --- Excellent work today. Let me just restate our anchor idea before we close: every business in Goa lives or dies based on the quality of its service encounters. And when students leave today, they should carry one clear thought: the Taj Fort Aguada doesn't just deliver services — it choreographs encounters. For your assignment: I want you to select any service business you use regularly — a salon, a clinic, a restaurant, a transport service. Map its service consumption model in full — all three stages, and at least two encounter points per stage. Identify the two weakest points and suggest specific improvements. One page. Due in two classes. Next class, we move to Developing the Service Concept — Core and Supplementary elements. What is it that a service actually promises at its core, and how do supplementary services wrap around that core? It's a framework that will completely change how you think about service design. See you then. Thank you.