Customer Service Opportunities and Challenges in a Post-Pandemic World

Pandemics such as Covid-19 substantially impact various aspects of individuals' lives, spanning economics, health, well-beings and their multi-faceted effect on commerce and firms. Consequently, a post-pandemic world, as it emerges, is expected to be substantially different from the pre-pandemic one, creating multiple challenges and opportunities for firms. In this chapter, we narrow down the challenges and opportunities that customer service within firms will encounter in the post-pandemic era. Using the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, we first develop a framework that identifies the impact of pandemics on the forces shaping the marketing environment and consumers. Next, we discuss how these environmental shifts affect customer service status, delivery, expectations, and interactions. Finally, we identify implications for practice and opportunities for academic research.