Casting Customer Service: The Theater of Audience Experience

In a seminal book titled The Experience Economy, Joseph Pine and James Gilmore urged every company to find inspiration in the performing arts to improve their customer services. “Work is theatre” they wrote. “Whenever employees work in front of customers, an act of theatre occurs. Every action contributes to the total experience being staged. Business performances must rival those featured on Broadway. With theatre as the model, even mundane tasks engage customers in a memorable way.”

Ironically, by focusing all energies on the art on stage or on the walls, arts organizations can make this “customer theatre” feel like work, neglecting an important aspect of the total audience experience. The purpose of this AEE Learning Circle series is to present all the dimensions of customer experience and satisfaction and give you the tools to assess them and ‘script’ customer experience beyond the mere attendance of the play. Whether your organization focuses on writing, visual arts, or performance, you will leave this learning circle knowing how to give your audiences experiences to remember, and talk about.

This is a hands-on workshop that promotes peer learning, so groups must meet prerequisites in order to participate. These include a readiness to develop plans for new kinds of customer interaction and a basic understanding of core and target audiences.  Learning Circles take place on Tuesdays, March 2, 9 and 16 from 9am-noon. You must be able to attend all three sessions. Participation in this workshop will ensure that your organization is eligible to apply for an implementation grant in March 2010.

Please complete the short application form here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Y7XTDGS. The application deadline is February 12, 2026. If you have questions, please contact Jessica Moore at [email protected]

Check out our other learning circle "Are You Talking to Me?" here.