Potential progression of reality-enhanced service communication
| Service and communicators | Conventional | AR/VR-enhanced | NeR Neuroimaging | NeR Neurostimulation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hotel Service organization-customer | Customers can browse the website or contact the service organization through email, phone, or text-chat; when physically at the hotel, they can examine the servicescape and interact with staff | Customers can virtually preview the servicescape using a VR headset; when physically visiting the hotel, they can use AR on their smartphone to point at QR codes for wayfinding support | Customers can navigate in VR without physically interacting with a device – instead they can imagine moving through the servicescape; at the hotel, they can get AR wayfinding support only by thinking “where do I go now?” | Customers can additionally hear the atmosphere in the lobby, smell and taste the food at the restaurant and feel the comfort of the hotel beds during a VR tour; at the hotel, they can experience multisensory AR enhancements (e.g. virtual characters that really “come to life” at a Disney resort) |
| Call center FLE-customer | FLEs can provide advice pre-purchase or troubleshoot post–purchase through text-based chat, phone call, or videoconferencing | FLEs can meet customers in virtual spaces (VR) or “see what the customer sees” (AR), and visually enhance this view (e.g. with holograms or instructions) | FLEs can communicate advice more seamlessly, for example suggesting a product simply by thinking of it, or let visual instructions appear in AR and VR as they are mentioned in conversation | FLEs can better understand and emphasize, by experiencing sensory aspects of the customer's circumstances (e.g. the atmosphere in a living room to be redecorated) or even customers' emotions (e.g. joy, frustration) themselves |
| Professional training Service organization-FLE | Service organizations can provide classroom or on-the-job training, with supporting online formats (e.g. instructional videos or online workshops) | Service organizations can communicate educational content to FLEs by simulating events in VR or enhancing physical spaces with AR-based instructions | Service organizations can better monitor FLEs' learning and improve in-class communication; participants can create and shape AR or VR content simply by thinking about it or mentioning it in conversation | Service organizations can augment the communication and learning process by letting participants experience each other's perspectives in a discussion or by neutrally emphasizing certain stimuli to support learning outcomes |
| Service and communicators | Conventional | AR/VR-enhanced | NeR | NeR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hotel | Customers can browse the website or contact the service organization through email, phone, or text-chat; when physically at the hotel, they can examine the servicescape and interact with staff | Customers can virtually preview the servicescape using a VR headset; when physically visiting the hotel, they can use AR on their smartphone to point at QR codes for wayfinding support | Customers can navigate in VR without physically interacting with a device – instead they can imagine moving through the servicescape; at the hotel, they can get AR wayfinding support only by thinking “where do I go now?” | Customers can additionally hear the atmosphere in the lobby, smell and taste the food at the restaurant and feel the comfort of the hotel beds during a VR tour; at the hotel, they can experience multisensory AR enhancements (e.g. virtual characters that really “come to life” at a Disney resort) |
| Call center | FLEs can provide advice pre-purchase or troubleshoot post–purchase through text-based chat, phone call, or videoconferencing | FLEs can meet customers in virtual spaces (VR) or “see what the customer sees” (AR), and visually enhance this view (e.g. with holograms or instructions) | FLEs can communicate advice more seamlessly, for example suggesting a product simply by thinking of it, or let visual instructions appear in AR and VR as they are mentioned in conversation | FLEs can better understand and emphasize, by experiencing sensory aspects of the customer's circumstances (e.g. the atmosphere in a living room to be redecorated) or even customers' emotions (e.g. joy, frustration) themselves |
| Professional training | Service organizations can provide classroom or on-the-job training, with supporting online formats (e.g. instructional videos or online workshops) | Service organizations can communicate educational content to FLEs by simulating events in VR or enhancing physical spaces with AR-based instructions | Service organizations can better monitor FLEs' learning and improve in-class communication; participants can create and shape AR or VR content simply by thinking about it or mentioning it in conversation | Service organizations can augment the communication and learning process by letting participants experience each other's perspectives in a discussion or by neutrally emphasizing certain stimuli to support learning outcomes |
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