Andrea FinemanCarnegie Mellon Univ. School of Design

Using customer data to personalize servicesIn the in-person context

anxious traveler

provides extra details to soothe customer’s anxiety

Some background

John ZimmermanAssociate Prof. in Human Computer

Interaction

Jodi ForlizziProf. in Human

Computer Interaction

Other applications

Service design basics

Services are..• tempora

l• invisible

purple lighting

drinks on demand

in-flight magazine

clothing/uniform

Services must be…

No silver bullet!

drinks on demand

purple lighting

My design research process

Interviews Customer Journey Map

What I learned

• Worst experience: lack of information• Best experience: being rescued from a self-inflicted mistake• Rituals lead to better overall satisfaction

My service design process: Categories

1. Employee gives customer information about something new or valuable

2. Employee helps customer make a better choice3. Acknowledgement and recovery from service breakdowns4. Recognizing the customer’s loyalty5. Service orientation

My service design process

Continuum’s life-size foam core model of a

Holiday Inn lobby

VERY EXPENSIVE!

Testing methodology

Online survey

Design Recommendations

Design RecommendationsBarista automatically knows favorite order of customer who prizes speed and efficiency

Design RecommendationsDON’T tell me about my favorite cereal when I’m in the clothing department!

Design RecommendationsHome Depot worker stops customer from buying latex primer to go with oil-based paint

Design RecommendationsHotel receptionist tells customer about nearby services she will like

Design RecommendationsCustomers DON’T CARE about their usage statistics!

Design RecommendationsEmployees like to have customer data

Opportunities for further study1. Employee gives customer information about something new or

valuable2. Employee helps customer make a better choice3. Acknowledgement and recovery from service breakdowns4. Recognizing the customer’s loyalty5. Service orientation

Opportunities for further study• Employee gives customer information about something new or

valuable popular, but only if relevant to context!• Employee helps customer make a better choice very promising,

especially when preventing mistakes• Acknowledgement and recovery from service breakdowns

uninspiring to customers and employees• Recognizing the customer’s loyalty described by respondents

as “useless”• Service orientation very popular with customers!

Andrea Fineman@andrea_dayandreafineman.com

Icon credits: NAS from Noun project