Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
journeys helps to understand the rhythm and tension of certain touchpoints. Although concepts
of the emotional journey and dramatic arc are often confused, they both refer to different ideas.
Customers can perceive touchpoints with high tension as positive (e.g. a roller-coaster ride in an
amusement park) and negative (e.g. chaotic security check at an airport) as well as touchpoints
with low tension as positive (e.g. window-shopping after the security check in an airport) and
negative (e.g. waiting in the roller-coaster queue in an amusement park). It is important to
understand the experience of each touchpoint and their sequence within the customer journey.
Film and theatre studies provide a rich resource to understand underlying patterns, e.g. the
dramatic arc of certain services can be compared with a classic James Bond movie (Lawrence and
Hormess 2012). A swimlane diagram or service blueprint visualizes in which channels touch-
points take place and which backstage processes they involve. Again drawing from theatre
studies, touchpoints can be classifi ed by whether customers actively interact with a service
provider (frontstage), customers see what is happening backstage, but cannot interfere with this
(interaction vs. visibility in a service blueprint) or whether touchpoints take place backstage,
so without any notice by the customer. Just like actors have to run through many rehearsals
to achieve an excellent theatrical performance, services need to run through many prototypes to
achieve an excellent customer experience.
Evidencing
Intangible processes should be visualized in terms of physical artefacts. Some touchpoints take
place backstage unnoticed by customers, such as housekeeping in a hotel. In fact, such touchpoints
are intentionally designed to be inconspicuous. Service evidences can reveal backstage processes
and make them visible for customers. Sometimes service evidences can evolve to standard service
symbols such as the folded toilet paper in hotels represents that housekeeping took place - even
if the room looks unchanged at fi rst sight. Service evidences should be designed according to the
service's inherent story, which is told through every touchpoint. Moreover, service evidences can
prolong the customer journey far into the post-service period, e.g. when customers take hotel
amenities back home and use them later or when they take a look at souvenirs or photos after a
holiday. Thus, service evidences can have various forms, such as signs, photos, bills, brochures,
mails and emails, souvenirs and other products. Service evidences add a tangible component to
what would otherwise have been only an intangible experience. Thereby, they can help to make
services more memorable and meaningful for customers.
Holistic
The entire environment of a service should be considered. Although services are intangible, they
take place in a physical environment, using physical artefacts and in some cases generate some
form of physical outcome. Customers perceive touchpoints with all their senses. The conscious
awareness of what customers might perceive only subconsciously can have a profound impact on
design process and ultimately infl uence the experience of the service. Customers can see, hear,
smell, touch and taste services. Moreover, at the same time other stakeholders experience the
very same touchpoints from a different perspective and thereby they might infl uence each
other's experience. Thus, it is important to map not only the touchpoint sequence of one
single customer, but also how different customers and other stakeholders experience their
touchpoint sequence throughout the whole service journey. The mere presence of other
customers might disturb an important touchpoint. The comparison of the following situations
exemplifi es this issue: A customer is in a bank (or even worse in a pharmacy) to talk about rather
