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¶ Service Immersion
¶ What it is
Where Mystery Shopping focuses on the front-line customer experience, Service Immersion focuses on the perspective of the service provider and the staff working back-of-house / behind-the-scenes to provide the offering to the customer. Here, you will receive training in the basics of providing the relevant service and spend a day in the shoes of the staff doing it by interacting with real customers.
¶ Why it is useful
The ultimate value of a product or service is only in the eyes of the customer. And there is more than an interface to their evaluation. Human touchpoints are often a big part of that experience, even in the software business. Ensuring you understand those who will help to make the customer’s experience great will help create a better offering - and you get to hear from real customers in the role of a provider, not researchers, making reactions more real.
¶ When to use it
Service Immersions are helpful when designing for jobs-to-be-done that will have a human component in the delivery of the value proposition and where comparable categories already exist, in which you can enter the role of the provider.
¶ How is it done
- Understand who delivers the value proposition to customers today, and decide which roles are critical to dive deeper into.
- Learn what it takes to do their job from existing staff, and get trained for a day on the job.
- Please coordinate with the front-line team on the job scope and date when it is convenient for them to let you join them, and ensure there is a trained staff member ready to assist you.
- Perform the role of the service staff. Note your experience's details - pains, gains, artefacts, work steps, customer reactions, etc.
- Analyse the generated artefacts to draw insights.
¶ Do's & Don't
Do's
- Try to provide the service in the most professional way possible.
- Learn from the staff beforehand and ensure someone with experience is on-site to help you if you run into trouble.
- Coordinate a convenient date and time with the service staff to ensure they are happy to support you.
Don't
- Don’t tell customers you are just trying this out or researching the process; they need to feel like you are a genuine service provider.
- Don’t break with the existing rules and protocols on the job, and don’t improvise outside of those. Instead, consult the staff when you need help.
¶ Tools needed
- Paper and pen to note down your observations
- Camera or phone to track your experience
- If needed: device to provide service (e.g. laptop or tablet)