The Role of Temporality in Customer Experience

The word temporality has a variety of meanings, ranging from our temporary state as mortals to time-based aspects of data. In linguistics temporality is used to describe sequences of events or in philosophy to try to explain our place in the world. For the purposes of this book, the words temporality and time are used interchangeably to refer to our understanding of time in whatever form. In order to appreciate the importance of time to customers, a foundation providing an overview of the evolution of our collective articulation of “time” is required. This chapter begins this book by providing an overview of academic knowledge of time. The conceptualisation and philosophical foundations of temporality are outlined. Discussion continues with evaluation of three recurrent themes evident throughout the development of articulation of temporality: technology, society and power. Throughout history, increasing technological capability has been a recurrent influence on perceptions of temporality and how time could be used for maximum efficiency and yield from individual units of time. Subsequently, society has played an important role in perceptions of temporality influencing how time “should” be used. Of course, in an increasingly connected global world, cross-cultural differences in the interpretation and meaning of time are highly relevant, and particularly so within an experiential or service-related context, where the subjectivity of time comes to the fore. This chapter concludes by consider the perhaps inevitable consequence of determining who has power to control time in society emerges as an area for debate and interest.

Temporality is integral to all aspects of consumer behaviour and consumption. At its core, consumption is only about the use of time. In buying a service, we are often motivated by a desire to save ourselves time, such as eating a takeaway rather than cooking or paying someone to clean our house, rather than do so ourselves. In buying an experience, we are concerned with purchasing pleasant moments of time, such as a night out at a favourite restaurant or a relaxing spa day with friends. Even when purchasing physical products, we want to have a “good time”, with them, however, that might be determined by the customer. In all purchases, even those that might be considered unpleasant, such as buying insurance or paying parking fines, we are concerned with minimising the unpleasantness and maximising the enjoyable moments of time. The extent to which our time was used wisely in any consumption purchase is an essential, but often overlooked, ingredient for evaluation of satisfaction. From the very beginnings of trade, when as a species we first encountered the temporal benefits of outsourcing our labour to others, we began our deeply ingrained relationship with time-saving. Although it might not realise it, the long-established and highly profitable service industry owes its success to the desire to optimise temporality. This chapter provides the foundation for understanding customer experience, beginning with discussion of how experiences can be defined and explained. The academic disciplines contributing to the broader domain of consumer behaviour, within which experiential consumption sits, are outlined before an overview of the evolution of knowledge of customer experience. This chapter concludes by considering the contemporary customer or consumer, acknowledging some of the characteristics and challenges that emerge in trying to optimise customer experience today and in future.

The Model of Temporality in Consumption emerged from doctoral research about customer complaint behaviour. It became clear from interviews with unhappy customers that time played a central role in all aspects of dissatisfaction. Further, it was evident that unhappy customers believed that many of the time-related problems encountered with their disappointing experiences could be alleviated by their mobile devices and social media platforms. When interested in the pursuit of achieving customer delight, occasions where customers are unhappy are important because they provide valuable insight into what could hopefully be improved in future. In revealing ways in which customers perceive social media platforms and mobile devices provide solutions to unhappy situations, customers reveal the central role of temporality. The applicability of the Model of Temporality in Consumption extends far beyond the realm of customer complaints and can be applied in any context (more of this throughout this book!). This chapter provides an explanation for the Model of Temporality in Consumption which is proposed as a means through which the role and importance of temporality in customer experience can be understood and applied in order to optimise customer experience. This chapter begins with an explanation of customer perception and an overview of the Model of Temporality in Consumption. Subsequent chapters further expand with more detailed explanation of all elements of the model and its application in order to understand the importance of time to customers.

This chapter considers customer perceptions of temporality as a valuable resource. The temporal pressure arising from the scarcity of time is outlined, along with various methods customers use to attempt to control time, such as scheduling activities and using technology to assist with this. Less obvious methods customers use to control time include self-presentation of appearing busy and avoiding the risk of lost time through interactions with others. Customers appreciate the societal worth of time and so the concept of temporal conspicuous consumption is discussed, along with how customers seek to maximise return of investment of their time. Examples of consumption experiences where time is perceived as a valuable resource are outlined before finally considering the relationships and links between the four customer perceptions of temporality and how varying dominance of the perceptions of temporality impact each other.

This chapter considers customer perceptions of time as a rate of movement. Perceptions of the pace, or speed, of everyday life and the consequences of that in terms of customer mental health and wellbeing are discussed. Methods customers use in order to achieve temporal speed, such as the use of habitual behaviour and heuristics in decision-making, are considered. When perceiving time as a rate of movement, any interruptions to speed are viewed as detrimental and to be avoided, including waiting. Examples of consumption experiences where time is perceived as a rate of movement are provided before finally considering the relationships and links between the four customer perceptions of temporality are considered when customer perception of time as a rate of movement is dominant in the customer’s mind.

In this chapter we consider some of the issues when customers experience time consciously as it occurs. Of course, from a marketing perspective, and particularly an experiential one, the primary concern for marketers, is how do we make this experience for customers the best it can possibly be and what are the challenges that make this more difficult in light of contemporary consumer behaviour? This chapter also evaluates some of the contemporary consumer behaviours evident today, such as the prolific integration of mobile devices in experiential consumption and the impact thereof. Many, perhaps most, customers are connected to a mobile device most of the time which has implications in consumption with regard to distraction, absorption and multi-tasking. Examples of consumption experiences where time is perceived as a moment of now are discussed before again considering the relationships and links between the four customer perceptions of temporality where customer perception of time as a moment of now is dominant.

This chapter explains the concept of temporal orientation, as well as outlining in more detail the role of customer memory in experiential consumption. Nostalgia and opportunity cost emerge as important issues for customers as they look back and reflect on the past favourably or considering how time might have been used differently. Looking forwards to the future, customer form expectations and are concerned about how they might be perceived with issues such as their digital footprint. Examples of consumption where time is perceived as a memory or vision are suggested. Finally, this chapter concludes with discussion of the links and relationships between the four customer perceptions of temporality where customer perceptions of time as a memory or vision are dominant.

This chapter applies the Model of Temporality in Consumption to the context of customer complaint behaviour. In using this model, practitioners can understand the importance of time to customers in all aspects of experiential consumption. When perceived as a valuable resource, customers are concerned about the amount of time spent on being involved in any and all aspects of the complaint process. When perceived as a rate of movement, customers are concerned about the passage of time throughout the complaint process, whether too slowly, too quickly or as hoped for. When perceived as a moment of now, customers are concerned with how the moment in the complaint process feels; whether pleasurable or not. When perceived as a memory or vision, customers are both looking back to previous complaint experiences and, considering how future complaint experiences might unfold. In all cases, many customers perceive the use of social media and mobile devices to be enhances of temporal experience. In other words, most customers believe, sometimes mistakenly, the use of their smartphones or tablets will facilitate better use of time than not using them. This chapter ends with application to complaints in the context of luxury London hotels, as the context in which the research for this book was conducted.

This chapter applies the Model of Temporality in Consumption to the context of the pandemic of Covid-19 because it was a time in which society experienced altered collective perceptions of temporality. Once again, in using this model, practitioners can understand the importance of time to customers in all aspects of experiential consumption, and the pandemic demonstrates this applicability also. In Covid, when perceived as a valuable resource, customers were again concerned about how much time they had and how it was spent. Different questions about the optimal use of time emerged during the pandemic. When perceived as a rate of movement, customers were concerned about the passage of time and how quickly or slowly it seemed to pass. A primary concern for some might have been, that time was mostly passing slowly because of changes to usual routines, whereas for others more quickly, perhaps due to increased caring responsibilities. When perceived as a moment of now, customers were concerned with how it felt to live during the pandemic and how time might be experienced. When perceived as a memory or vision, customers were both looking back to previous utility of time or experiences pre-pandemic and also, perhaps fearfully, looking to the future as the pandemic continued to unfold. This chapter concludes by evaluating some of the legacies of Covid-19 and what impact the pandemic may have had on consumption experiences.

Understanding and application of the role of temporality in consumption can enhance managerial practice in a wide range of contexts. Fundamentally, new knowledge of consumer behaviour to include consumer perceptions of temporality will improve customer service and thereby improve customer satisfaction, in turn contributing to loyalty and profit. Further, knowledge of the criticality of customer perceptions of temporality provides managers an opportunity to increase empathy for, and opportunities for personalisation of, the customer experience during interactions with consumers. Acknowledging and appreciating the unique and varied temporal perspective and profile of customers, being as diverse as customers themselves and fluctuating throughout consumption experiences, significantly helps managers in understanding their customers. Management of temporal expectations, and customer beliefs about the appropriate use of time in consumption experiences, has been overlooked and needs to be foregrounded in order to maximise customer experience. This chapter therefore concludes this book by providing suggestions for improving customer experience through new awareness of the importance of time to customers.