Customers as Partial Employees

Customers as Partial Employees

This week the articles focus on the concept of customers as “partial employees” or “transient” employees and the effects these behaviors have on current employees and service managers. Goldstein, Ciadini, and Griskevicius present an interesting theory that customers are more likely to create a behavior based on knowledge that other consumers are doing the same behavior. Hsieh and Yen present a theory that customer participation as a ”partial employee” is positively related to perceived job stress and perceived workload. While, Namasivayam feels this similar behavior should be named ”transient” employee because the consumer is the sole producer of the service product.

I could really relate to the findings produced from Hsieh and Yen when they discuss that customer participation in the service production and delivery process adds higher levels of job stress.

As I read this article, I could not help but to think of the concept of Panera and the role of our customers vs. service employees. At Panera, it is obviously not a full service restaurant. We get our customers involved in their experience. The staff is taking the order and making the food but it is up to the customer to take their food to their seat and remove their trays and trash at the end of their experience. Hence, we are creating our customers to be partial employees by having them actively involved in their experience.

Another way I have seen this behavior is from our “regulars” that come in on a daily basis and are very familiar with the flow of business. They often want to step in and bring the empty coffees to the BOH or move chairs and tables around. Although, this might seem helpful, I have seen time and time again the frustration levels of employees increase. Why? Sometimes people get hurt, they spill coffee or they do not put their bowls and trays away correctly adding more work for the frontline employee or manager than if they were just to have done it...