<![CDATA[Relationship marketing theory positions the managed interpersonal relationship as the primary engine of customer retention, implicitly casting the physical service environment as a supporting cue. This study confronts that hierarchy in a setting purpose-built to test it the Café, a “third place” where the environment is co-consumed with the product rather than serving as backdrop. Using PLS-SEM (SmartPLS 4) on 115 repeat customers of an Indonesian Café, we model customer relationship management (CRM) and café atmosphere as competing antecedents of retention and test whether atmosphere amplifies the return on CRM. Both routes are strong and significant (CRM β = 0.460, f² = 0.248; atmosphere β = 0.507, f² = 0.339), jointly explaining 62.1% of retention variance but atmosphere reaches parity with, and descriptively surpasses, the relational route that theory privileges. Critically, the two do not combine: the CRM × atmosphere interaction is non-significant (β = 0.136, p = 0.061), and the evidence is consistent with two parallel, partially substitutable routes to retention rather than one reinforcing system. The study repositions the servicescape from a peripheral cue to a co-equal retention currency in low-commitment experiential retail, and shows that managers face a portfolio choice between independent bonds rather than a single lever to optimize.]]>
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