Customer delight and outrage in theme parks: A roller coaster of emotions

ABSTRACT

The present study explored the key drivers of customer delight and outrage in North American theme parks. Following content analysis of TripAdvisor postings, the authors revealed the most frequently used codes for delight including rides, travel advice, fun, physical environment, positive food and beverage experience, and well-managed lines. The most frequently used codes for outrage included: pricing, wait times, poor service, malfunctioning attractions, lack of variety, low quality of food, and lack of updates. These codes revealed five key constructs of theme park experiential consumption: core products, customer service, affective individual experience, management philosophy and practice, and pricing.

KEYWORDS:

• Customer delight
• customer outrage
• theme parks
• electronic word-of-mouth
• customer emotions
• TripAdvisor