Performing Service Design Experiments Using Ethnomethodology and Theatre-Based Reenactment: A Swiss Ski Resort Case Study

A service experience corresponds to a social process whose “production” involves both a provider and a client. This production process that leads to a problem resolution does not follow a linear sequence, as in the case of industrialized organizations. Through ethnomethodology, we are able to “tangibilize” the social codes and systems of beliefs that drive the service experience. Then, through scriptwriting and role plays, we redesign, safeguard (risk management), price, and test the new service. After three years of applying this approach in our service lab, hundreds of students have been introduced to the process of ethnomethodology and have designed their own services. To illustrate the approach, we present in this paper a service design that we have implemented for the tourist information service of Crans-Montana, Switzerland.