COLLARING THE CHESHIRE CAT - STUDYING CUSTOMERS SERVICES EXPERIENCE THROUGH METAPHOR

This paper presents a novel approach to the study of customer service experience. We develop a consumer research method based on the unique properties of a literary device, the metaphor We argue that alternativ e approaches do not capture the processual, unbounded aspects of servi ce experience. In an application of our method (n=196), more than 70 p er cent of our respondents described their service experience using ri chly derailed metaphors. A content analysis of the metaphors allowed u s to understand the importance that customers placed on various compon ents of the service experience. This pencil-and-paper method requires lower time and money cost than other qualitative methods that have bee n explored elsewhere. We suggest avenues for further development of th is technique and identify areas of potential managerial relevance.