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Text analysis is increasingly used for consumer and marketing insight. But while work has shed light on what firms should say to customers, when to say those things (e.g. within an advertisement or sales interaction) is less clear. Service employees, for example, could adopt a certain speaking style at a conversation's start, end, or throughout. When might specific language features be beneficial? This article introduces a novel approach to address this question. To demonstrate its potential, we apply it to warm and competent language. Prior research suggests that an affective (i.e. warm) speaking approach leads customers to think employees are less competent, so a cognitive (competent) style should be prioritized. In contrast, our theorizing, analysis of hundreds of real service conversations from two firms across thousands of conversational moments (N  = 23,958), and four experiments (total N  = 1,589) offer a more nuanced perspective. Customers are more satisfied when employees use both cognitive and affective language but at separate, specific times. Ancillary analyses show how this method can be applied to other language features. Taken together, this work offers a method to explore when language matters, sheds new light on the warmth/competence trade-off, and highlights ways to improve the customer experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The infusion of emerging technologies (e.g., IoT-enabled algorithmic customer service systems [IACSs]) often brings disruptive changes to customer service. In particular, the agentic nature of these technologies challenges prominent service theories. Among these challenges, recent scholarly calls have pushed for more research on the infusion of emerging technologies into the service-profit chain (SPC) framework, advocating for the importance of extended knowledge to develop a techno-infused version of the SPC. Thus, from an interdisciplinary perspective, we draw upon role theory and propose a technoservice-profit chain (TSPC). Specifically, we contextualize the SPC in the technoservice context with different approaches, including decomposing context-specific constructs and theorizing IACS implementation as a contextual factor that moderates TSPC relationships. Using a sequential mixed methods design combining quantitative and qualitative approaches, we tested our research model by conducting multiwave surveys and follow-up interviews in a large business-to-business service firm with data from employees, supervisors, and customers before and after IACS implementation. This interdisciplinary study contributes to the information systems, service marketing, and management literatures by enriching the compositions of core SPC constructs, theorizing interactions between human agents and technology agents, and scrutinizing the impacts of technology agents on the linkages between internal employee management and external customer service. Our results further reveal the emerging issues of competing bosses (i.e., supervisors and IACSs), competing employees (i.e., employees and IACSs), and the unintended dehumanization effects of IACSs on supervisors and employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hear from a public library director of a small library in Michigan. The author assumed the role as a first-time library director. This column explores the opportunities and challenges of taking on a directorship of a small public library. An emphasis on customer service and building the library into a community player is a key theme. The library's relationship to the city and other city departments is also discussed. Leading a public library through the COVID pandemic is touched on as well. This column is a glimpse into the operation of municipal government and public libraries. Smaller public libraries are special places in a community and this column helps you understand how they function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The typical applicant for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) waits up to 30 days for benefits and for up to 45 days for Medicaid. Despite years of massive investments [...]

The Aligned Customer-Centered Ecosystem of Supports & Services (ACCESS) Initiative is a two-year initiative led by the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) in partnership with the National Association of [...]

This article presents a 2-year study on how quickly Texas library staff members greeted a library patron after eye contact. Results from 140 library visits found a mean of nearly 4 min, but a mean of 9 s after removing outliers. The study also calculated the perceived customer value by measuring the service, quality, image, and price of the customer service experience. Findings suggest that each patron/staff interaction may alter a patron's perceived Return on Investment (ROI). Given libraries are primarily supported by tax dollars, poor patron service experiences may impact the perceived values of library programs and services, jeopardizing future funding. The article highlights the importance for libraries to retain satisfied employees and build trust within their communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

* Context.--Clinician feedback is an important source of information for laboratory quality improvement programs. Objective.--To pilot a program for nearly real-time solicitation and analysis of physician feedback regarding clinical laboratory services. Design.--Laboratories distributed either electronic or paper survey forms to physicians. Results were tabulated by College of American Pathologists staff. Free-text comments were shared promptly with the participating laboratories to facilitate follow-up. Results.--Forty-seven clinical laboratories participated in the study and submitted results for 987 physician surveys, including both paper and electronic forms. Of 694 responses submitted electronically within the study period, 460 (66.3%) included at least 1 free-text entry, for a total of 951 free-text comments. Conclusions.--Point-of-service solicitation of physician feedback regarding clinical laboratory services is feasible and can provide a substantial quantity of potentially useful information regarding laboratory performance from the customer perspective. (Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2024;148:694-698; doi: 10.5858/arpa.2023-0064-CP), Many organizations consider customer-centricity, defined as putting the customer at the center of everything an organization does, to be the key to success. (1,2) Organizations that misunderstand and/or fail to [...]

Text-based customer service is emerging as an important channel through which companies can assist customers. However, the use of few identity cues may cause customers to feel limited social presence and even suspect the human identity of agents, especially in the current age of advanced algorithms. Does such a lack of social presence affect service interactions? We studied this timely question by evaluating the impact of customers' perceived social presence on service outcomes and customers' attitudes toward agents. Our identification strategy hinged on Southwest Airlines' sudden requirement to include a first name in response to service requests on Twitter, which enhanced customers' perceived level of social presence. This change led customers to become more willing to engage and more likely to reach a resolution upon engagement. We further conducted a randomized experiment to understand the underlying mechanisms. We found that the effects were mainly driven by customers who were ex ante uncertain or suspicious about the human identity of agents, and the presence of identity cues improved service outcomes by enhancing customers' perceived levels of trust and empathy. Additionally, we found no evidence of elevated verbal aggression from customers toward agents with identity cues, although a mechanism test revealed the moderating role of customers' emotional states. Our study highlights the importance of social presence in text-based customer service and suggests a readily available and almost costless strategy for firms: signal humanization through identity cues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of GeSec: Revista de Gestao e Secretariado is the property of Sindicato das Secretarias e Secretarios do Estado de Sao Paulo (SINSESP) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Key Takeaways: Proactive leak notification programs provide many benefits, including reducing water waste, keeping customer bills lower, and reducing staff time and resources on calls, bill adjustments, and billing disputes. Leak notification programs can benefit from advanced metering infrastructure to identify water use patterns that indicate the presence of a leak or another problem. Utilities should reach out through multiple communication channels to notify customers as quickly as possible after a leak is identified. Proactively notifying customers of potential leaks leads to higher customer satisfaction and greater community trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the contemporary business environment, customer service is crucial for organizational success, particularly in the highly competitive Nigerian telecommunication sector. This research investigates the role of customer service in fostering organizational growth at MTN Nigeria. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 250 customers, yielding 216 completed surveys (86% response rate). Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were employed to explore the relationships between customer service response time, problem resolution, and organizational growth. Findings indicated that while customers recognized the importance of timely responses and effective problem resolution, neither significantly predicted organizational growth, with only 4.4% of the variance explained. The results reveal a gap between customer expectations and actual service delivery, highlighting areas for improvement. This study underscores the need for telecommunication companies to enhance customer experience while investing in other growth drivers, such as innovation and market expansion. Future research should explore additional factors influencing growth and consider longitudinal studies to assess the impact of evolving customer service strategies over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimating incident resolution times accurately is critical to maintaining an effective resource allocation for customer service. In order to meet this need, this paper explores machine learning techniques widely applied in the Resolution Time Prediction and identify the performance of chosen approaches via benchmarking dataset. The proposed method starts with data preprocessing, such as removing outliers and missing values and determining any irregularities in the resolution times distribution. Subsequently, we automatically choose the most relevant features using various statistical techniques. As the last stage of our prediction pipeline, we will apply different machine learning approaches the dataset to find the effectiveness of model and conclude the best technique based on the model accuracy and model fitting time. By applying this strategy, we hope to gain a better understanding of the factors affecting incident resolution times, which will eventually result in better resource allocation and planning for customer support operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To leverage the complementary strengths of humans and artificial intelligence (AI) in online service encounters, firms have begun to use hybrid service agents: combinations of AI agents (e.g., chatbots) and human agents (e.g., service employees) behind a single interface. However, it is unclear whether firms should be transparent about behind-the-scenes employees working in tandem with an AI-based chatbot to serve customers. Against this backdrop, we investigated the impact of human involvement disclosure on customer interactions with hybrid service agents. Our findings suggest that disclosing human involvement before or during an interaction with the hybrid service agent leads customers to adopt a more human-oriented communication style. This effect is driven by impression management concerns that are activated when customers become aware of humans working in tandem with the chatbot. The more human-oriented communication style ultimately increases employee workload because fewer customer requests can be handled automatically by the chatbot and must be delegated to a human. These findings provide novel insights into how and why disclosing human involvement affects customer communication behavior, reveal its negative consequences for employees working in tandem with a chatbot, and highlight the potential costs and benefits of providing transparency in customer–hybrid service agent interactions. The proliferation of hybrid service agents—combinations of artificial intelligence (AI) and human employees behind a single interface—further blurs the line between humans and technology in online service encounters. While much of the current debate focuses on disclosing the nonhuman identity of AI-based technologies (e.g., chatbots), the question of whether to also disclose the involvement of human employees working behind the scenes has received little attention. We address this gap by examining how such a disclosure affects customer interactions with a hybrid service agent consisting of an AI-based chatbot and human employees. Results from a randomized field experiment and a controlled online experiment show that disclosing human involvement before or during an interaction with the hybrid service agent leads customers to adopt a more human-oriented communication style. This effect is driven by impression management concerns that are activated when customers become aware of humans working in tandem with the chatbot. The more human-oriented communication style ultimately increases employee workload because fewer customer requests can be handled automatically by the chatbot and must be delegated to a human. These findings provide novel insights into how and why disclosing human involvement affects customer communication behavior, shed light on its negative consequences for employees working in tandem with a chatbot, and help managers understand the potential costs and benefits of providing transparency in customer–hybrid service agent interactions. History: Karthik Kannan, Senior Editor; Jason Chan, Associate Editor. Supplemental Material: The online appendices are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2022.0152. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective customer service and operational excellence are critical components of corporate success, particularly in today's changing business world. This paper examines the crucial role that inventory management plays in controlling and improving customer service and operational efficiency in businesses. Companies that efficiently manage inventory levels may ensure the timely fulfillment of client orders, minimize stockpiles, and increase efficiency. Furthermore, efficient inventory management contributes to boosting operating efficiency, lowering logistical costs, and increasing profitability. This study extensively reviews the literature and case studies to explore the best strategies utilized in inventory management to attain these objectives. It also investigates the influence of inventory management on performance and offers useful insights for companies looking to use inventory management as a strategic strategy to gain a sustained competitive advantage.

Urban big-system library systems have undergone seismic change over the past 20 years, becoming community centers in addition to repositories of information. As a result, contemporary library staff are facing new needs and challenges that their predecessors did not. This article explores different ways in which library leaders can hire, train, and support staff to successfully serve their communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Customer service is a core competitive edge in any service industry, including the retail banking sector. However, retail bank customers, especially in Angola, often complained of standing in long queues waiting to be served and difficulty handling technology while transitioning to online banking. This qualitative single-case study used competency-based theory to develop a framework for the customer service training competencies of a selected retail bank in Angola. Purposeful sampling was employed to select eight participants, including bank employees and customers who voluntarily participated in this study. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews using WhatsApp calls and audio recordings. It was thematically analyzed using the HyperResearch software. The emerging themes included change, customer service, responsiveness, human resource process improvement, managerial competency, customer relationship management, and online banking. The findings have implications for bank employees’ training and development of the identified competencies needed to redefine the future of customer relationship management and different dimensions of managing customer satisfaction for proactive business recovery.

PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (PT Telkom) will carry out an organizational transformation known as the Five Bold Moves. The purpose of this research is to analyze the relationship between employee motivation and workload on customer service satisfaction at PT Telkom Witel North Surabaya. This study employs a quantitative strategy of the explanatory kind. Multiple linear regression analysis is used here. According to the findings, intrinsic motivation significantly affects occupational fulfillment. In other words, employee happiness rises in tandem with the quality of the company's incentives. Workload also affects morale in the workplace. So, the more responsibility an employee is given, the happier they will be in their employment. Then, both intrinsic motivation and a heavy workload boost happiness on the job. That is to say, job satisfaction increases with both intrinsic desire and a reasonable amount of effort. Given the significance of the study's independent variables in explaining workers' levels of contentment on the job, it is hoped that the findings presented here will serve as a springboard for further investigation into these and related issues by researchers in the future.

South Africa’s mobile telecom industry serves a highly saturated market that is challenged by factors such as fierce competition, high inflation rates, and the detrimental effects of load shedding. Against this backdrop of intensifying challenges, it is concerning to note that customer service experience and satisfaction within the industry are also declining. Consequently, mobile telecom providers should adopt a value-added approach to customer service in an effort to differentiate them from other industry rivals. This research, therefore, focuses on investigating mobile telecom customers’ service quality experiences and satisfaction, with the goal of gauging the extent to which service quality influences customer satisfaction insofar as to propose effective approaches for amelioration. The research utilised a quantitative descriptive research design to collect the empirical data using computer and self-administered questionnaires from 300 South African mobile telecom users. Non-probability convenience sampling was used to select respondents. A standard multiple regression analysis was conducted to uncover the influence of respondents’ service quality experience on their satisfaction with their mobile telecom provider. Based upon the results, it can be advised that to achieve customer satisfaction, mobile telecom providers should focus on providing reliable customer service, by ensuring that they fulfil their customer service promises, follow up with their customers, improve their complaints handling procedures, and ensure that customers’ expectations are met. Mobile telecom providers should also be empathetic in their service delivery process, which can be achieved by offering personalised and/or customised services, informing customers of potential service interruptions, having employees available to assist customers (considering the customer’s working and socialising hours), and keeping ustomers informed of their operating hours.

The combination of human subjective judgment and machine data processing capabilities in human-machine collaborative evaluation can create a more efficient, accurate, and personalized customer service dialogue interaction system, thereby promoting digital trade efficiency and improving service quality. Generative artificial intelligence has the ability of intelligent interaction and contextual semantic understanding, which is an important means of implementing the concept of human-machine collaboration. This article introduces the basic principles and technical characteristics of ChatGPT, and explores in detail its various application scenarios in digital trade, including automated customer service, personalized recommendations, intelligent marketing, and data analysis. Finally, this article also discusses the challenges and future development directions of ChatGPT in digital trade, in order to provide certain reference value for research and practice in related fields. The data from the questionnaire survey shows that men, aged between 18-30 and 41-50 years old, with high education level, high monthly online shopping expenses, high monthly income, and frequent use of well-known e-commerce platforms, generally have a high level of understanding of ChatGPT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indonesia as one of the countries with a large population and significant economic growth, has a dynamic and rapidly growing retail variant. This study aims to analyze the effect of product, price, location, promotion, store atmosphere, and customer service on consumer purchasing decisions on electric motors at the Soekarno Hatta Bandung branch. The research method used is a survey with a quantitative approach. Data is collected through questionnaires distributed to consumers who have purchased electric motors at that location. Data analysis was carried out using multiple linear regression to test the effect of independent variables on purchasing decisions. The results showed that product, price, location, promotion, store atmosphere, and customer service have a significant influence on consumer purchasing decisions. The findings indicate that companies need to pay attention to these factors to improve purchasing decisions and customer satisfaction. This research provides practical implications for companies in designing more effective marketing strategies to increase consumer attractiveness and satisfaction with their electric motor products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to analyze the factors that influence consumer purchasing decisions on the Tokopedia ecommerce platform in Bandung City. The factors evaluated include product quality, price, platform ease of use, consumer trust, promotion, and customer service. This research uses a quantitative approach with a survey method distributed to consumers in Bandung City who have made purchases on Tokopedia. The data were analyzed using multiple linear regression to determine the effect of each factor on purchasing decisions. The results showed that product quality, price, and consumer trust have a significant influence on purchasing decisions, while other factors such as ease of use of the platform, promotions, and customer service have a lower but still important influence. The findings provide insights for e-commerce players in improving marketing and operational strategies to attract more consumers. From the results of the study, it can be concluded that the factors of product quality, price, and consumer trust are the main factors that influence consumer purchasing decisions on Tokopedia in Bandung City. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to identify the major factors which prove as motivation and influence for a bank while deciding what, when, how and whom to outsource. A survey questionnaire was developed and responses were collected from 434 bank employees from two major groups of public sector banks and private sector banks in India. Exploratory factor analysis has been used to find out the latent factors for outsourcing decisions. Results of the study find Strategic competitive advantage, better customer service, better use of resources, capitalization on technological advancements, and cost-effectiveness as the major motivating factors for outsourcing the IT/IS, HR, marketing services, financial and other services. The present research article will be of great help for banks to measure the impact of outsourcing on the profitability, productivity, liquidity, and market share of the banks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indian Telecommunication enterprise has grown into one thousand million-greenback industry. on this tremendously competitive enterprise, it isn't always simply doing some thing right that subjects, however it's also critical that a corporation is doing nothing wrong. Making profit no longer stays the sole reason of organizations, as focus now a day is on patron pride. therefore, it's far important for every business enterprise to research the existing level of satisfaction of their customers, as to bridge any gaps between the expectations of the patron and the products or services provided via the company. customer pleasure with numerous services presented by using cellular smartphone provider providers is a essential aspect in the telecommunications industry. It without delay influences consumer loyalty and the general achievement of the vendors. customers. nowadays assume seamless and dependable connectivity, high-velocity statistics offerings, excellent customer service, and competitive pricing. cell cellphone provider providers are continuously striving to fulfill and exceed those expectations to enhance consumer satisfaction. The pleasant of community coverage and get in touch with reception is a fundamental determinant of user satisfaction. A dependable community ensures that customers could make and receive calls, send texts, and get right of entry to the net with out disruptions or dropped calls. speedy and regular data services, such as 4G and 5G connectivity, also are pivotal in meeting the demands of modern-day phone customers. When customers encounter a problem or have a question; they expect immediate and effective support from their mobile phone provider. This is a descriptive study carried out in Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu. The study is mainly based on primary data collected from the mobile phones of customers in Krishnagiri district. The main objective of this study to investigate user satisfaction with mobile phone providers is a multifaceted concept that includes network quality, customer support, and price. To remain competitive in this industry, providers need to continuously improve their services to meet and exceed the evolving expectations of their customers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this research is to examine the factors influencing customer choice towards a telecommunication provider (price, network quality, promotion, customer service, and brand image). The mediator role of customer satisfaction between independent variables and dependent variables and alternative attraction as a moderator role has been investigated. A total of 286 mobile service users participated in a survey conducted online and the hypotheses were tested with PL-SEM. Results from the research show that network quality and brand image have a significant relationship between customer satisfaction while price, promotion, and customer service was found insignificant. Meanwhile, mediating effect of customer satisfaction between network quality and brand image have a significant positive influence towards customer loyalty. Whilst mediating effect of customer satisfaction between price, promotion, and customer service to be insignificant towards customer loyalty. Furthermore, alternative attractiveness is identified as a moderator, weakening the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The adoption of the S-O-R paradigm emphasises the importance and usefulness of the selected theoretical framework in analysing consumer behaviour. This knowledge can help telecommunications companies develop ways to improve consumer experience and satisfaction. This investigation distinguishes out for getting into the unique elements that influence customer choices in the Malaysian telecommunications sector. The use of alternative attraction as a moderator brings another dimension to the understanding of customer loyalty characteristics in the telecommunications sector, providing new perspectives that add to the current research on customer behaviours in communication services. This investigation fulfils a critical gap by providing a specific analysis of the Malaysian context, which makes it an important and unique addition to the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis article discusses the history of efforts to shape passenger experience aboard urban railways through transport design. Taking Japan National Railways (JNR) trains as a case study, it examines the development of design interventions and organisational polices seeking to increase passenger comfort on Tokyo’s urban railway network in the second half of the 20th century. Industry and popular accounts have often tied the improvement of transport quality and passenger experience aboard JNR trains to its privatisation in 1987. In contrast, this article shows that passenger-oriented transport design has been an integral component in a continuous project to make urban railway travel more pleasant that long preceded this 1987 change in governance structures but has been held back by organisational and structural challenges. In doing so, it highlights that transport design involves the conscious shaping of both the “hardware” (i.e. physical transport infrastructure) and “software” (i.e. passenger-staff interactions) of service, as well as the backstage modification of organisational structures and processes that facilitate this framework. Built on a qualitative analysis of Japanese industry publications, newspapers, and secondary sources, the article thus contributes to literature on passenger experience, mobilities design, and transport history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a highly competitive business environment, the vocation for customer service is presented as an essential strategy for positioning companies in the consumer's mind. The objective of the article is to provide an overview of the current situation of the customer service vocation in Ecuador to be used as an effective positioning strategy in the Ecuadorian market. An exhaustive search was carried out in prominent academic databases supported by keywords. 10 articles were selected that met the relevance and quality criteria. The main results indicate that the vocation for customer service provides a sustainable competitive advantage. In Ecuador, although there are challenges in implementing uniform practices and complying with regulations, improving customer service is a key opportunity for companies. Recommendations include continuous training of staff, the use of advanced technologies for customer management and the creation of a customer-focused organizational culture, among others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizational management allows you to comply with each element to fulfill the processes carried out by a company considering the resources it has, that is, it helps the organization, planning and control of each procedure in order to meet the established goals. ; Therefore, the main objective of this research is to determine the influence of organizational management on the quality of customer service in the taxi cooperative TACAMCEPA S.A., in the Paján canton. The research includes a Pearson correlation, with a descriptive methodology, processes were carried out to study the variables management organization and customer service, through observations, data collection and analysis. We worked with a sample of 150 collaborators. The results obtained demonstrate positive influence between organizational management and customer service, conditions that violate the quality of customer service were evident, such as training, communication and lack of resources. Deficiencies were found in the development of organizational strategies to improve interpersonal relationships, as well as the lack of resources to solve and optimize customer service and the ability to improve aspects of customer loyalty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study maintenance service operations in large facilities portfolios with a focus on modeling logistics of associated spare parts and their storage locations serviced by personnel from several trades who move around the buildings in their vehicles. The key challenge is to reduce the cost of spare parts inventory, storage, and vehicles while providing responsive customer service. To address these challenges, we propose (i) inventory models to determine stock levels and (ii) storage space in personnel vehicles to allocate the mix and location of spare parts by trade. The two models can be readily integrated, and conceptually, technician vehicles serve as “forward-reserve storage” that improves service responsiveness. The proposed model is applied to a large facility of a non-profit organization with 330 buildings, 17,000 spare parts, and 254 vehicles. Compared to prevailing practice, the proposed model can potentially reduce $1.27 million worth of inventory costs, a reduction of ~77%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Ciencias Sociales (13159518) is the property of Revista de Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad del Zulia Venezuela and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: Chewy, Inc. is a direct-to-consumer seller of pet food and supplies. Their approach involves a deep understanding of pet owners' needs and behaviors to provide personalized product recommendations and exceptional customer service. This case study aims to describe Chewy's growth strategies and how the company can remain a market leader. Design/methodology/approach: Using the customer value assessment tool, the authors examine Chewy's value proposition, including service, quality, image and price strategies. Findings: Chewy has built a loyal customer base that values the company's commitment to their pets' health and well-being. Future opportunities include focusing on pet wellness products and services, collaborating with veterinary providers in telemedicine and international expansion. Research limitations/implications: This work is largely conceptual and presents a descriptive case study which reviews Chewy's marketing strategy based on industry research as well as a customer value assessment via the service-quality-image-price framework. Practical implications: Corporate leaders must adapt to market change and create business strategies to deliver superior value for customers. This requires innovative products, services and processes. The strategic insights are applicable to retailers, service and technology firms and entrepreneurial companies seeking to scale their businesses. Originality/value: Chewy's highly competitive market includes Amazon, e-commerce pet supply companies and big-box pet stores. But it has dominated the online sector and has substantial growth prospects. This paper concludes with recommendations for management and questions for consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the rise of user-generated content, social media is increasingly adopted as a channel to deliver customer service. Given the public character of online platforms, the automatic detection of emotions forms an important application in monitoring customer satisfaction and preventing negative word-of-mouth. This paper introduces EmoTwiCS, a corpus of 9489 Dutch customer service dialogues on Twitter that are annotated for emotion trajectories. In our business-oriented corpus, we view emotions as dynamic attributes of the customer that can change at each utterance of the conversation. The term 'emotion trajectory' refers therefore not only to the fine-grained emotions experienced by customers (annotated with 28 labels and valence-arousal-dominance scores), but also to the event happening prior to the conversation and the responses made by the human operator (both annotated with 8 categories). Inter-annotator agreement (IAA) scores on the resulting dataset are substantial and comparable with related research, underscoring its high quality. Given the interplay between the different layers of annotated information, we perform several in-depth analyses to investigate (i) static emotions in isolated tweets, (ii) dynamic emotions and their shifts in trajectory, and (iii) the role of causes and response strategies in emotion trajectories. We conclude by listing the advantages and limitations of our dataset, after which we give some suggestions on the different types of predictive modelling tasks and open research questions to which EmoTwiCS can be applied. The dataset is made publicly available at https://lt3.ugent.be/resources/emotwics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores customers' perceptions of the service quality provided in the hotel industry in Pretoria, in the Republic of South Africa. Considering the growth of the hotel industry in Pretoria, this study revealed that customers expect to receive a high level of service quality, leading to customer satisfaction and producing a positive perception of hotel service quality. An exploratory research design was adopted, and qualitative data were collected by interviewing hotel customers. Regarding limitations, this study was conducted at one selected hotel in Pretoria. Atlas.ti software was used to analyse the collected data. The analysis of the data identified several specific themes that were relevant to shaping the perceptions of the respondents in terms of service quality and their satisfaction with the service quality received. The themes supported existing literature regarding (i) the factors influencing perceptions of service and (ii) the specific influences within those themes, which were elaborated on, finally leading to recommendations for managing service quality perceptions in the hotel industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this research article is to explore the behavioural intention of consumers to use app-based shopping for green-tech products in the emerging economy of Bangladesh. The study investigates the indirect effects of perceived ease of use, usefulness, perceived delivery and perceived security on the behavioural intention to use app-based shopping for purchasing green-tech products by considering the mediating role of perceived trust. Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative research approach was applied to collect data from the respondents who had previously used app-based shopping for green-tech products in Bangladesh. An online, self-administered survey questionnaire was used to collect data from 348 respondents. The survey data was analysed using SmartPLS-4 to measure the reliability and validity of the constructs. In addition, partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed to test the research model and hypotheses. Findings: The study's results reveal that perceived usefulness, ease of use, security and delivery positively and significantly influence perceived trust, leading to a higher behavioural intention to use app-based shopping for green-tech products. Additionally, perceived trust significantly mediates the relationship between the behavioural intention to use app-based shopping and perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived security and perceived delivery. Practical implications: The study's findings have important implications for app-based shopping services to support customers interested in purchasing green-tech products in an emerging economy. The results also indicate that green-tech product companies must adopt new service delivery channels and ensure consumers' convenience and cost and time savings. The present research findings suggest that green-tech product companies need to ensure that they integrate digital technologies into their services for secure and timely delivery of products, improving customer convenience. Originality/value: The study's findings can be insightful for app-based shopping service providers to foster their businesses by focussing on developing a positive trust perception in the consumer's mind, leading to a positive intention to use the app-based shopping services. The present study will enrich the current literature by investigating how consumers' perceived trust affects their behavioural intention to use app-based online shopping for purchasing green-tech products. It will also expand the existing knowledge on app-based shopping by exploring how perceived delivery impacts perceived trust, which subsequently affects customers' intentions to adopt the purchase of green-tech products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the criteria for evaluating human–chatbot collaboration in customer service using the socio-technical systems theory. Interviews with 28 customer service managers, conversational designers, and human agents revealed their evaluation criteria diverged. Managers prioritized the chatbot's technical capabilities and preferred a standalone customer service chatbot, while conversational designers prioritized the social aspect, focusing on the chatbot as a support tool for human agents and customers. Human agents mainly evaluated the chatbot as a means to increase job satisfaction. These distinct criteria highlight the importance of an aligned approach in human–chatbot collaboration. To improve this collaboration, integrating the chatbot into customer data systems was suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modeling, profiling, analysing and understanding of users are becoming increasingly important in many industries also thanks to the support of artificial intelligence, representing a key to success in today’s data-driven world. The aim of the paper is to examine the interactions that occurred between ANAS users and the company’s’ chatbot, in order to highlight the requests, preferences and needs of users and the automated response and support capabilities that are provided to them. To meet the objectives of the research, a qualitative-quantitative study was carried out, including hermeneutic analysis and an automated analysis of the conversations were realized, using a natural language analysis (NLP) tool. The results show that the conversational material is characterized by being a precious source of information to better understand the needs of the audience and, at the same time, to be able to improve the service offered to the customer. Understanding users, their profile, key issues and requests can help companies personalize their services and adapt strategies from the bottom up. This knowledge of users’ needs can be used to increase their satisfaction and help them find the right answer more quickly and easily, as well as - as has been done - identify aspects to integrate and/or modify for a more effective and efficient communication channel responsive to user needs. Beyond the content, the form of the conversations can represent a further area for improvement. In this sense, important practical implications emerged from the data for artificial intelligence designers and corporate communication professionals working in ANAS.

This study investigates customers' trust and behavioural intentions regarding the use of cybernetic payment network services in an emerging country, focusing on perceived quality, system quality, and perceived image. Data from 324 respondents in Bangladesh were collected via a self-administered Google survey form distributed through email, WhatsApp, and Messenger using purposive sampling. The SmartPLS-4 software was used to assess construct validity and hypothesized path coefficients. Results indicate that perceived quality, system quality, and image significantly influence perceived trust in cybernetic payment network services. Additionally, perceived trust and system quality positively impact behavioural intention to use these services. Furthermore, perceived trust mediates the relationship between behavioural intention and system quality, perceived quality, and image. The study underscores the importance for cybernetic payment network service providers to enhance perceived quality, system quality, and perceived image to foster trust and promote adoption. It highlights the pivotal role of trust in driving customers' intention to adopt these services, urging providers to prioritize efforts in building trust among users. This study contributes to the limited literature on the impact of perceived quality, system quality, and perceived image on customers' inclination to use cybernetic payment network services, offering valuable insights for bank managers and policymakers to formulate effective strategies for sustaining innovation and enhancing adoption rates.