First come, first served: Enhancing the convenience store service experience

Abstract

One distinctive characteristic of Taiwanese city streets is the omnipresence of convenience stores. These clean, brightly lit stores are in operation 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and offer a wide range of constantly updated lifestyle products and services. Past research in convenience stores have often overlooked the work experiences of convenience store employees, and their contribution to the overall service experience. Thus, the goal of this exploratory study is to explore the convenience store work environment, and to provide some suggestions for in-store technological enhancements. Data was collected through in-depth interviewing, field study observations and Living Lab methodologies. Our research reveals that convenience store employees experience several types of physical, mental and emotional strains throughout their shifts. These strains are often derived from excessive physical exertion and unpleasant interactions with customers. We suggest that certain in-store technological enhancements, such as seamless sensing and seamful actuating, can serve to alleviate employee sense of pressure and anxiety during customer interactions. © 2012 International Journal of Automation and Smart Technology.