Managing unwanted customer experiences: Decision deferral in the healthcare journey

Abstract

By focusing on unwanted but necessary service experiences such as medical procedures, this research steps beyond conventional customer experience literature. It reframes the delivery of healthcare services within a customer experience management framework, highlighting the many healthcare-controlled touchpoints, presence of decision-deferral, and diminished power in customer choice. Survey data from a large sample of Australian hysterectomy patients was used to identify two personas that reflected differences in the co-created customer journey. An ‘I choose’ persona was more inclined to include customer-owned touchpoints, interacting with friends and family, whereas an ‘I accept’ persona almost exclusively used healthcare-controlled touchpoints. Findings suggest that if patients are successfully supported through negative touchpoints, they can have high levels of satisfaction with even the most unwanted customer experiences. Patients who defer their decisions are more dissatisfied with the experience.