European Journal of Marketing

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to develop and apply the sequential incident laddering technique as a novel approach for measuring customer service experiences. The proposed approach corresponds with the concept’s theoretical foundation in the extant literature.

Design/methodology/approach - The paper applies the sequential incident laddering technique to measuring customer service experiences. The technique integrates two well-established methods in service marketing: sequential incident and laddering techniques. The data collected from 41 customers in a hotel and restaurant experience context illustrate that the method corresponds with the key themes of the proposed experience concept and experience formation process.

Findings - Applying the proposed technique reveals firstly, the customer’s cognitive and emotional responses to company stimuli. Secondly, the salient customer cognitions and emotions across several episodes of the service interaction process are identified. Thirdly, the personal values which drive the customer’s service experience are disclosed.

Research limitations/implications - The empirical study is a first illustration of the proposed measurement approach in only one company based on a limited sample size. The methodological contributions and development opportunities for further applications are set out for different contexts and in combination with other methods.

Practical implications - The proposed method integrates customer and company-related constructs. Therefore, the data collected can provide managers with guidelines for customer service experience design based on detailed customer feedback.

Originality/value - The paper proposes an innovative measurement approach to customer service experiences which can support knowledge development in an important marketing area.