Customer Lock-in During Service Encounters

Customer lock-in during service encounters refers to a subjective experience where customers perceive exiting a negative situation as either impossible or unacceptable. This cumulative dissertation comprises three papers exploring the causes, experiences, and responses associated with customer lock-in across different service contexts. The first paper adopts an exploratory approach to identify factors contributing to lock-in, examining how customers experience various lock-in situations in terms of their well-being and how they respond to these experiences. The second paper presents a quantitative study in a theater and restaurant setting, identifying the service setting and initial interaction with an employee as key determinants of social lock-in, a phenomenon rooted in social norms and initially conceptualized in the first paper. The third paper reports findings from a case study in a hospital context, illustrating how employees' extra-role customer service behaviors can enhance the well-being of patients experiencing lock-in due to their medical conditions. Collectively, the findings advance understanding of how negative service encounters emerge, develop, and are experienced by customers. The dissertation offers actionable recommendations for service providers to mitigate lock-in perceptions and enhance customer agency, thereby improving service delivery and customer well-being.