co-creation and co-destruction of value in customer interaction

Interactive value formation stipulates that value is co-created during the interaction between the provider and the customer. Non interactive value formation means that the value is created in the product or service in manufacturing(Ercheverri & Skålen, 2011). I believe that in hospitality most of the value of both the product (food and drink) and service is created very much interactively, how the guest and the waiter interact. Most of the value of the visit to a restaurant comes from the sense of total experience, not only food, service or visual environment or ambience. That is why the co-creation the value becomes so important.

If value in service is co-created, how much difference does it make if the customer is happy, in a good mood, hungry, angry, sad, late etc? If the value is co-destructed, what is a waiter to do to co-restore the value? Compensation, listening to the customer making a wrong right are some of the ways to ce-restore destructed value. Misunderstandings, kitchen mistakes, disturbing guests are examples of things that can co-destruct communication between a guest and a waiter. Or a misplaced joke, or not shearing personal values like religion, sexual orientation, racism, or different political views can all co-destruct value in service. I don’t believe that there is much to do in this situation.

For instance if a gay waiter won’t receive a tip because of his sexual orientation. I just read about a woman in London department store who refused to be served by a black cashier. A white person from the staff took her aside and served her instead, and she didn’t even have to stand in line. This is not okey in my opinion. Any kind of discrimination that leads to co-destruction of value does not deserve better service.