Customers as oral participants in a service setting

Observable oral participation (OOP) of customers, in the service delivery system in general and in a store format retail setting in particular, occurs in many forms and frequencies. Focusses on customer‐to‐customer observable oral participation (OOP2), studied in relation to the more frequently researched customer‐employee observable oral participation (OOP1). From a study of the literature, and through a controlled customer survey at a retail store, findings clearly demonstrate customer reliance on person‐to‐person encounters, even in a predominantly self‐service environment, and identify the characteristics of customers more likely to engage in OOP2. Service providers devote little attention to OOP2 (compared to OOP1) in service delivery. However, OOP2 is a form of word‐of‐mouth which can be observed and, therefore, measured and managed, and customers are arguably a neglected human resource for a service organization. With this in mind, discusses implications for service encounter and human resource management.