What is t he effect on the customer experience when the employee they are interacting with is using a cell phone?

1 Milestone Three:
Cell Phone Usage and Customer Service with the Workplace
Southern New Hampshire University
May 15, 2016

2 Research Proposal: The Effects o f Cell Phone Usage with the Workplace
Everywhere you go there is t he possibly of being interrupted, by a phone call, text
message or face time. That is because technology is present everywhere, it is r are to see someone without a cell phone. When going to the movies, a place where you pay to be in a dark theater and watch a movie that you are excited about apps have had to be introduced to help keep people from using their cell phones. There are campaigns to remind people not to use their cell phone while driving. It is a lmost impossible to escape from your cell phone, but you should be able to experience aspects o f life without a cell phone present. In the workplace it should be less pressing to have a cell phone present and handy especially when as a n employee you are roviding customer service. As a consumer it can be frustrating to feel as t hough you are second to a cell phone however this happens a ll too often. Technology has made great strides in improving many aspects o f customer service and the workplace one of which has b een the cell phone to make it so everyone is a ccessible when they are needed but where has t he focus go ne for customer service and what is happening in those instances w hen a cell phone is pr esent?

There are many aspects o f technology that aid in the customer service provided but there are also times w hen technology becomes a barrier. Customer service is a n aspect of many jobs t hat individuals hold in all walks o f life. It is frustrating when there is a barrier between a customer and the person helping or waiting on them, this c an happen with cell phones in the workplace.

What is t he effect on the customer experience when the employee they are interacting with is using a cell phone?

Exploring the customer climate helps to determine the service climate and how both customers and employees operate in them.

Chang (2016) used the service marketing triangle model to investigate service climate and employee engagement. In this s tudy, the individual level and the firm level of customer interaction were examined. The individual level was c ustomer and

3 employee interactions a nd the firm level was environmental characteristics due to the firm’s philosophies for the company (Chang, 2016). There were several hypotheses de rived around service climate, employee engagement, and customer emotion, both at the individual and firm level. Chang (2016), used an adapted measure with a seven-point Likert scale that was a dapted from prior research on resorts. The participants we re recruited from hot springs in Northern and Eastern Taiwan, and participants h ad to be 18 years o r older to partake in the survey. Data was collected from managerial staff, customers, and employees. It was f ound that substantive staging positively affects e motions o f customers ( Chang, 2016). It was a lso found that firm-level employee engagement positively affects individual-level customer emotions, which suggests a trickle effect of engagement (Chang, 2016).

A few advantages o f this r esearch is t he adapted measure focused on customer emotions and intentions a t the same time as e mployee engagement. The measure was r eviewed by three experts for content validity, and after review and edits, the measure was p ilot tested and the survey was a cceptable by the standards o f the scale reliability instrument (Chang, 2016). The data for this s tudy was c ollected over three months in order to avoid method variance. The samples for the three groups we re fairly similar as far as t he distribution of demographics. While the measure was a dapted and reviewed by experts, it was s till a little stretch to apply the measure to the particular work area of hospitality employees a t a hot springs r esort. There is a lso the idea that customers pe rceptions o f servicescape may have been influenced by the natural surroundings or the constructed facility primarily based on their personal preference, which could have changed the evaluation of the hot spring servicescapes.

Dong, Sivakumar, Evans, and Zou (2015) examined customer participation on service
outcomes through two experiments. They found that customer satisfaction and perceived customer

service quality are higher when the customer has a higher readiness to participate. This showcases

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the importance of understanding the customer’s role in customer service feedback. Thirty five

students from a university were recruited to be interviewed on the topic of c ustomer participation.

The interviews lasted 30 to 60 minutes each (Dong et al., 2015). An advantage of interviewing

individuals on this topic was that there was insight from different service contexts, which provided

conversation about relevant factors in continuing the research. The first study used students, and a

between-subjects experiment was conducted with three levels. The scenario used was a study abroad

trip for a week in the summer, and the manipulation was having different levels of c hoices—low,

medium, and high (Dong et al., 2015). Fewer choices represented less customer participation, and

more choices represented higher customer participation. Appropriate control measures were used to

ensure unbiased results. Satisfaction, service quality, perceived ability, and perceived benefit of

participation were measured (Dong et al., 2105). The results indicated that contribution levels were

significant across, low, medium, and high customer participation levels. A two-step modeling

approach was used to evaluate the data. There were significant results for service outcomes, with

high perceived benefit of participation service quality had a significant increase (Dong et al., 2015).

In the second study, a similar design was used, however, similar results were found. It was found that

across contribution levels there were significant differences. The findings from this article are rather

interesting; customers who have low readiness to participate tend to have more negative service

outcomes as compared to those who have moderate or high readiness, who tend to have higher

service outcomes. This article relates to the research of Chang (2016), in which customer behavioral

intentions clearly can be altered by the servicescape, but can also be altered by the readiness t hey

have when coming to a customer service situation, as we ll as t he perceived benefits o f them

actively partaking.
An advantage to this s tudy is that there were two different sampling methods us ed,
recruiting students a nd recruiting using mTurk. With these two different samples, similar results

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were found both using scenario based between subjects de signs, using the same measure with

different scenarios. Using mTurk gives a more representative sample of the general population,

but it is e ncouraging that similar results we re found using a population of students. A
disadvantage to this s tudy is t hat not all findings w ere replicated in the second study, and new

findings we re significant in the second study. This c ould be due to the population or the scenario

that was us ed in each study.
Susskind, Kacmar, and Borchgrevink (2003) tested a model to describe customer service
providers’ perception and the relationship with attitudes toward the service-related duties a s we ll

as the customers’ perceptions of satisfaction. It was found that having support from coworkers

led to appropriate customer service. When line employees we re more committed to customer

satisfaction, perceived customer satisfaction was higher (Susskind et al., 2003). The measure for

line-level employees a sked about their agreement with statements from such topics a s
perceptions o f standards for service delivery, coworker support, and supervisory support

(Susskind et al., 2003). Customer satisfaction was measured using a six item measure and the

measure was de emed reliable (Susskind et al., 2003).

A disadvantage of this research is the sample was not matched pairs. 

It would have been
more beneficial to have specific customers matched with the specific employee who served them. An

advantage to this study is that it is in line with role theory in the way that as employees orient

themselves t o fulfill their roles in customer service, their customer service output is pr oper and,

in turn, the customer satisfaction is pr oper. This is beneficial because it helps build on other

theories a nd research relevant in the field, such as role theory. This a lso relates to Chang (2016)

with regard to employee engagement they each support more positive outcomes wh en
employees a nd coworkers a re engaged in the philosophy of serving the customer and supporting

each other when doing so.

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In Conflicts in the Work-Family Interface: links to job stress, customer s ervice
performance and customer pur chase intent, the interole conflict theory, identity theory, and

conservation of resources a nd drain theory are explored. Data was c ollected from customers,

customer service employees, and supervisors, and the method of collection was from customers

initiating contact with a customer (Netemeyer, Maham III, & Pulig, 2005). Employee measures

were collected after a customer service inquiry was c ompleted a survey was e mailed to them,

measures we re also emailed to report on the employees t hey oversaw. Job stress wa s found to

affect aspects of job performance. Both IRP and CDERP affected CPI. An advantage of this

study was it incorporated effects o f job stress whi ch was a gap in research by Chang (2016).

There were aspects o f the measures t hat were more strongly related to work family conflict than family to work conflict (Netemeyer et al., 2005).
One of the challenging links between work and home is t echnology. Cell phones have had an influence on the way in which individuals pe rform daily tasks t hat includes t he work world as we ll. In The mere presence of a cell phone may be distracting: Implications for attention and task performance, found that the presence of a cell phone can be significantly distracting and create less a ttention in task performance (Thorton, Faires, Robbins, & Rollins, 2014). It was f ound that during higher detail and more complex tasks d istractibility was higher (Thorton et al., 2014). The measures us ed in this s tudy were the Cell Phone Usage survey, this survey had participants indicate how they used their cell phones in specific situations ( Thorton et al., 2014). There was a lso a Possession Attachment measure relating to cell phones and comparing with other objects s uch as a wallet; each measure had very good internal consistency (Thornton et al., 2014). The disadvantage to this s tudy is t hat as a self-report measure individuals  may not have accurately shared their accidents. An advantage is t hat the implications from this 7 study indicate that the negative consequences o f cell phone usage are wide ranging reaching areas s uch as s chool and work. This s tudy looks a t some situations t hat other studies h ave looked at previously like using a phone while in idle time at school or work as we ll as w hen driving.

The article Accidents and close call situations c onnected to the use of mobile phones, there was a heavy focus t he demographics t hat indicate who is more likely to have accidents involving cell phones ( Korpinen & Paakkonen, 2011). The data was c ollected through a questionnaire. It was f ound that employed people tend to have more close calls a nd accidents involving cell phone usage, the data for this s tudy was c ollected through self-report measures and analyzed using regression models ( Korpinen & Paakkonen, 2011). This s tudy relates to The mere presence of a cell phone may be distracting: Implications for attention and task performance (Thornton et al., 2014), many times th ere are accidents b ecause of distractions caused by cell phones. Having a cell phone present in the workplace can be both distracting and dangerous.
Call phones have the ability to be distracting in multiple settings, Elder (2013) looked at cell phone use in a college classroom setting. As aspect of the measure that was used focused on how participants felt when others used cell phones, this article did not find significant differences between the two groups (Elder, 2013). The study used observational methods a s we ll as questionnaires. While there were no significant findings between the group that used cell phones and the group that did there were differences in how the students pe rceived they would do on the ending test. This is a n interesting finding and it relates to the idea of distractibility. There is an advantage of having observations a s pa rt of the data collected. There is a lso a disadvantage that is a harder to generalize the findings because there was a focus o n students a nd the quiz grade they would receive either after using their cell phone during a lecture or not using their cell phone.

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Chesley (2010) examined technology users a nd non-users w ith their perceptions o f the role that technology plays in the workplace as we ll as t he pace of life. Technology use has been found to be predictive of a workers pe rception as far as job performance, work demands and feelings o f pressure and time (Chesley, 2010). It was a lso found that different technological devices b rought about different results, cell phone usage specifically was n ot found to be a predictor of work-related assessments, it has been suggested that cell phone use is pr imarily personal (Chesley, 2010). It was a lso noteworthy that partisans w ho used technologies more frequently felt that they were more productive at work when they had those technologies ( Chesley, 2010). This a rticle examines many aspects of employment and mobile technology. Chesley (2010) relates to Edler (2013) because they both look at predictive behaviors a nd perceived ideas r elating to technology use. It is c autioned that the sample used may not be the most representative compared to a nationally representative sample (Chesley, 2010). The data was a lso collected eight years b efore it was publi shed, this c ould mean that there have been advancements a nd changes in the technologies from that time period.
As with any area of study, there are gaps i n the research.

Customer service can be a challenging area to study, as c an technology use. There is a space where both technology, cell

phone use, and customer service meet. 

While there have been noteworthy findings for
customer service and moderators of customer service, there is much more research to be done.

There are gaps in the research with elements like job affect and pay playing a role in accordance with role theory and how it may influence customer orientation. 

There have also
been several gaps in research related to technology use and, more specifically, cell phone use.

Cell phones have been found to be dangerous d istractions wh en driving.

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Few studies have looked into the productivity and customer service implications t hat a cell phone can have.

Cell phone usage has been found to be distracting, and customer service has been found to be higher when employees a re engaged in the work and customers t hey are helping, so what happens w hen customer service interactions have cell phones a s a distraction?

The current study looks i nto the perceived effects o f cell phone use in a customer service standpoint. It is hy pothesized that in the workplace, when there is a presence of cell phones or there is t he usage of a cell phones, customer satisfaction will be lower than when there is n opresence of cell phones o r cell phone usage. There will be three different hypothetical scenarios which will act as t he independent variables. The hypothetical scenarios w ill introduce different versions o f a customer service interaction.

 The varied customer service provided is t he independent variable. 

These scenarios dr ive the responses o n customer service satisfaction, which is a cting as the dependent variable.

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References
Chang, K. (2016). Effect of servicescape on customer behavioral intentions: Moderating roles of

service climate and employee engagement. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 53, 116-128. doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2015.12.003 Chesley, N. (2010). Technology use and employee assessments of work effectiveness, workload,

and pace of life. Information, Communication & Society, 13(4), 485-514. doi:10.1080/13691180903473806

Dong, B., Sivakumar, K., Evans, K. R., & Zou, S. (2015). Effect of customer participation on service outcomes: The moderating role of participation readiness.

 Journal of Service
Research, 18(2), 160-176. doi:10.1177/1094670514551727

Elder, A. D. (2013). College students’ cell phone use, beliefs, and effects on their learning.
College Student Journal, 47(4), 585-592

Korpinen, L., & Pääkkönen, R. (2012). Accidents and close call situations connected to the use of mobile phones. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 45, 75-82.
doi:10.1016/j.aap.2011.11.016
Netemeyer, R. G., Maxham III, J. G., & Pullig, C. (2005). Conflicts in the work-family interface:
Links to job stress, customer service employee performance, and customer purchase intent. Journal of Marketing, 69(2), 130-143.

Susskind, A. M., Kacmar, K. M., & Borchgrevink, C. P. (2003). Customer service providers’ attitudes r elating to customer service and customer satisfaction in the customer-server exchange. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(1), 179-187. doi:10.1037/0021- 9010.88.1.179 11
Thornton, B., Faires, A., Robbins, M., & Rollins, E. (2014). The mere presence of a cell phone may be distracting: Implications for attention and task performance. Social Psychology, 45(6), 479-488. doi:10.1027/1864-9335/a000216 Sirgy, M. J., Lee, D., Kamra, K., & Tidwell, J. (2007). Developing and validating a measure of  consumer well-being in relation to cell phone use. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 2(2), 95-123. doi:10.1007/s11482-007-9033-3

Milestone Three:

Research Proposal: The Effects of Cell Phone Usage with the Workplace
References