Distinguishing between service relationships and encounters

In 3 separate studies, the authors developed measures of different social m echanisms used in the interaction between a customer and a service provider and examined their effects. Service relationships occur when a customer ha s repeated contact with the same provider. Service encounters occur when th e customer interacts with a different provider each time. Service pseudorel ationships are a particular kind of encounter in which a customer interacts with a different provider each time, but within a single company. The 3 st udies showed consistently that customers having a service relationship with a specific provider had more service interactions and were more satisfied than those who did not have one, These results held across 7 different serv ice areas, 3 diverse samples, and 2 different ways of measuring a service r elationship.