Unexpected utilization of servicescape dimensions to support customers experiencing vulnerabilities

This study aims to investigate how customers experiencing vulnerabilities are supported through the unexpected utilization of servicescape dimensions.

Observation (field notes and video recordings) of the weekly visits of medical clowns in three long-term care facilities for older adults was used for data gathering. The data analysis used deduction for the main classifications and induction for the subclassifications.

This study identified different methods of the unexpected utilization of servicescape dimensions for customers experiencing vulnerabilities: drawing the customer’s attention to a particular dimension of the servicescape, fictionally transforming the space, the customer or an object into something else and using the dimensions of the servicescape in another, unconventional way. The study also revealed the different ways in which customers experiencing vulnerabilities can be supported through these actions.

When developing services for customers experiencing vulnerabilities, service providers can purposefully make use of the diverse methods of unexpected utilization of servicescape dimensions and of the specific types of support identified in this research.

In contrast to previous research on servicescapes for customers experiencing vulnerabilities that highlights predictability of servicescape dimensions, this research reveals how the servicescape dimensions can be used in unexpected ways to support customers experiencing vulnerabilities.