The Internal Service Encounter

An internal customer′s (i.e. employee′s) satisfaction with a service firm can be significantly influenced by service encounters experienced with internal service providers. For example, a loan officer′s satisfaction with the bank he/she works for may well be influenced by internal services provided by the data processing group. Introduces the concept of the “internal service encounter” and presents the results of an initial study of internal service encounter satisfaction. The empirical study builds on previous research in using the critical incident methodology to examine internal services in a large US bank. Indicates that internal customers are similar to external customers in that, with a few interesting differences, the same types of events and behaviours distinguish satisfactory and dissatisfactory incidents in both internal and external encounters. Implications for managers and suggestions for future research are also presented.