The Various Factors Responsible for Service Quality in the Hospitality Sector - Research Paper Example

Introduction The quality of service is a major challenge as global economy has slowed down and there is possibility of recession in practically every economy. Small UK hotels face a barrier towards developing market orientation because they nurture a short-term view, contented with status quo, have an unclear view of the customer and a lack of competitive differentiation (Gray, Matear & Matheson, 2000). In the hospitality sector, competitive advantage and competitive success relies heavily on the service quality in this industry, which is the reason why service quality has become the focal point for progressive hospitality managers (Douglas & Connor, 2003). High-quality service results in customer satisfaction which in turn stimulates the intention to return, and encourages recommendations. Customer satisfaction also increases profitability, market share and return on investment (Shishavi, 2007). Every interaction in the hospitality sector is a service and interaction takes place at various levels. Service is dependent on various factors and each of these factors is individually and collectively responsible for efficient delivery of service. The employees, the managers, the technology and innovative ideas along and the consumers themselves can help meet the challenge of service delivery. The environment too has an impact on service quality and customer delight is used as a measure of customer satisfaction. Service quality perception has also been used a driver of customer retention. Hence, this paper will focus on the various factors responsible for service quality in the hospitality sector. It would first discuss SERVQUAL in the hospitality sector. Customer delight Firms have to move from satisfaction to delight in order to obtain loyal customers and maintain profitable operations (Torres & Kline, 2006). “Customer delight involves going beyond satisfaction to delivering what can be best described as a pleasurable experience for the client” (Patterson cited by Torres & Kilne). This indicates that delight has a stronger emption and a different physiological state than satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is based on customer expectation whereas delight exceeds expectations. Customers can be delighted without being surprised. Delighted customers have greater appreciation for the firm and its services. Loss of a single customer can mean losses running into thousands and hence delight has been considered important to retain loyal customers. One loyal customer also translates into recommended customers. Customer delight can be used as a differentiating factor for which customers would be willing to pay a premium. Service Quality (SERVQUAL) Research suggests that customers place greater importance on quality of service than the cost of acquiring it. Value in the hospitality sector is determined not by price but the quality of service as perceived by the customer (Ranaweera & Neely, 2003). At the same time a satisfied customer does not necessarily mean patronage and customer retention does not necessarily mean a satisfied customer. Service quality is an important driver in customer retention, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty (Antony, Antony & Ghosh, 2004; Chow & Luk, 2005). These lead to enhanced profits and growth in business. According to Grönroos, service quality can be divided in to two categories – technical quality which focuses on what customer actually receives from the service while functional quality is concerned with the service delivery process (Juwaheer & Ross, 2003). Service quality can be measured only by the consumer and the service is considered to be of high quality when its delivery meets or surpasses the consumers’ expectations (Douglas & Connor, 2003). According to the SERVQUAL model service quality can be measured by identifying the gaps between customer expectations and their perception of the actual performance of the service (Shishavi, 2007). This is a good approach for assessing the practical issues pertaining to service quality in the hospitality sector. The expected service is based on past experience, on the needs of the customer and word-of-mouth publicity of the service. Gap between customer expectation and actual performance can occur when the management perception of customer expectation is different from the actual customer expectations of service. The management may not have been able specify the service quality or there might be gap in the service delivery. Sometimes the gap may occur when the service delivery has not been communicated t o the customers. Different researchers have identified different dimensions of assessing service quality but by and large five dimensions of service quality namely tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy have been found to be applicable in all cases. As mentioned above, one of the dimensions of the expected service of the customer is based on need. Needs can be basic, expected and excitement needs (Sararoudi, 2008). The fulfillment of the basic needs of the customer does not lead to satisfaction but if such needs are not met, it would lead to dissatisfaction. If the expected needs are fulfilled the customer is satisfied and the service provider creates ‘expected quality’. It is when the customer receives something unexpected from the product or service that he gets excited and this is known as customer ‘delight’. The customer is not aware of the needs and hence it creates an attractive value for the customer. SERVQUAL assessments When the gap between expected and actual service performance was measured in a catering company, it was found that the highest gap scores were for reliability and responsiveness (Shahin, 2004). In catering service the highest expectations are in reliability. A study of the middle market range of hotels was conducted in the UK using an adapted version of SERVQUAL (Antony, Antony & Ghosh, 2004). This revealed that responsiveness was the most important dimension as against reliability in most of the literature. Reliability was the second most important dimension and empathy was the least important. Several gaps were observed, for instance, service delivery was slow which was attributed to the lack of understanding the staff had towards the needs and expectations of the customers. The service quality standards were not being consistently followed by the hotel. Besides, training provided was inadequate to the front office and the service staff. In the fast food sector empathy has been regarded as the most important dimension to assess the service quality (Chow & Luk, 2005). The restaurant has to offer caring and personalized service to the customers. The second most important factors is the tangibles in the fast food sector where importance is given to the physical appearance, equipments, layouts and facilities. This is because the physical ambience creates the first impression on the minds of the customer as soon as they enter a restaurant or a fast food outlet. A study of the three star hotels in Northern Ireland revealed that managers underestimated consumers’ expectations for four of the five dimensions. Dissatisfaction occurs when the tangible elements are absent or below the expected level. This conforms to Maslow’s theory which states that only when the basic needs are satisfied that people move on to the higher needs. Customers look for overall satisfaction in the service delivery and do not make judgments based on individual components. When the gap between the managers’ and consumers’ expectations widen, satisfaction has not been achieved and the customers seek alternative service. The consumers need to be more proactive and inform the managers of the shortcomings in service quality. In Mauritius too, a study of the hotels found that the customer expectations had not been met. The hotel did not pay attention to the assurance factors like security and effective handling of complaints by the hotel staff and the reliability factors like fulfilling promises made to the customers (Juwaheer & Ross, 2003). The hotel image that was projected to the guests failed to instill confidence among the guests. Human factor This hotel image or the corporate image has become of great significance to gain competitive advantage, contend Kandampully and Hu (2007). To improve the corporate image, to gain competitive advantage and to enter new markets, hotels must create a quality culture (Claver, Tari & Pereira, 2006). This is the image that comes to the mind of the customer when he hears the name. Corporate image has two components – functional and the emotional. The functional component is related to the tangible element like the physical environment and the emotional component to the psychological dimensions that are manifested in feelings and attitudes towards the organization. To communicate the benefits to the guests, hotels use the personnel and the physical environment. This implies that the human factor is important in service delivery and the experience of service that the guest receives. This is based on the premise that customer delight cannot be achieved without exceptional service and hence it is important to have exceptional employees (Torres & Kline, 2006). The front office staff reflect the corporate image and culture of the hotel as they interact with the guests directly. To maintain efficient service and continuity, training and development of the front office staff is essential as they need to be amiable, quick-witted, and aware of the hotel product, be efficient in marketing and be able to understand the guest (Hai-Yan & Baum, 2006). Turnover of staff is high in this department because the recruits are unsure of their career growth and future prospects. When the turnover is high there is no continuity the service delivery process too gets affected. To discharge the right quality of service, strong practical skills and ‘soft’ people management skills are necessary than analytical skills and hence managers prefer to hire graduates (Connolly & McGing, 2006). This implies that in the hospitality industry what matters is practical hands-on experience and not tertiary or higher education. It also suggests that training and development after recruitment is essential so that the employees are able to discharge service to the satisfaction of the guests. Hence hospitality firms should not adopt cost-reduction strategies and this could result in compromise on quality. A comparative study of the Barbados and the UK hotels revealed that there is a direct relation between the HRP practices and the service quality in this sector (Alleyne, Doherty & Greenidge, 2006). Forte Hotel Group and the Fivestar Hotel recognize that HR practitioners should be multi-skilled which would mean that they spend much less time in HR matters and the environment remains peaceful. Another issue that has been perceived in staff-guest interaction is that when staff tries to please as many customers as possible, there is compromise on quality standards (Ingram, 2000). How the intangible elements are perceived by the customer is of great significance. Ritz Carlton Hotels and the Marriott Group both focus on their internal customer as well as the external customers. They believe that to delight their customers and to maintain a superior service image in the market, both the customer groups are important. Ritz showcases its world class employees and claims ‘we are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen’ (Kandampully & Hu, 2007). They rely on employee empowerment. Employee empowerment has been considered vital to service quality as empowerment reflects a number of managerial intentions and concerns (Ashness & Lashley, 1995). The intentions behind empowerment bring about changes in working arrangements and the state of empowerment can lead to changes in work behavior. It finally leads to improved service quality, reduced labor turnover and higher productivity. . While the tangible elements in their services are standardized, TGI FRidays have a unique delivery system of the intangibles. Employees are empowered through involvement and they are encouraged to develop a sense of ownership of the service encounter. At Marriott, empowerment was through commitment where even the night porter was keen to delight the customer (Lashley, 1999). The services at Marriott were intangible and elaborate at the same time, standardized. The employees were empowered to make decisions about customer service needs and do whatever it takes to ‘delight the customer’ (Lashley & Taylor, 1998). The employee should also be given powers to take spot decisions which can enhance the value of service to the customer. At the same time, the employee must be able to assume responsibility and feel empowered. For instance, when a woman at a beach resort lost her engagement ring on the beach, after searching in vain for over an hour, the cabana attendant went and purchased a metal detector which helped to locate the ring (Schulze, 2000). He was empowered to spend up to $2000 if needed to correct a service problem and in the process he managed to ‘delight’ the customer. This was beyond the expectation of the customer and such instances can make the customer patronizing the hotel. Physical environment The physical environment is an important determinant of consumer perceptions and future behaviors. Kotler contends that one of the most significant features of the total product is the place where it is bought or consumed (cited by Hightower, Brady and Baker, 2002). The physical environment should also be able to create and deliver a message. In the case of Disneyworld it acts as a differentiator. Many hotels use symbolic cues to communicate with customers about quality and the nature of service. It acts as a facilitator because a well-designed facility can make the experience pleasurable for the customer and result in customer delight. Reliability and responsibility are not as significant in this sector as in the case of the hotels and the restaurant sector. A study of the hotels in North Cyprus showed that the service environment was critical to customer satisfaction as well as employee motivation (Nadiri & Hussian, 2005). Employee motivation is equally related to service delivery process and hence an integral part of customer satisfaction. Customers expect the hotels to have modern equipments and physical facilities. Employees also lacked adequate training necessary to discharge quality service. The managers need to allocate resources for training and development of employees. Technology Advanced technology enhances service quality, improves efficiency, effectiveness, productivity and convenience. Technology provides unhindered access to information and service can be targeted to suit individual requirements (Erdly & Kesterson-Townes, 2003). Technology is applied for in-room services and at the managerial and operational level (Lee, Barker & Kandampully, 2003). The creative use of distance, time and information through technology helps firms to reap the highest value from its activities which translates into efficient service. This can be applied to areas like the centralized reservation system. Nevertheless, it has been found that UK still ranks lower than some of its competitors where the use of technology is concerned (Martin, 2004). Interactive websites and emails help the owners impart better customer service and rapid and effective follow-up when inquiries are made. Technology has transformed service into ‘self-service’ (Schulze, 2000). Phone calls have been computerized but monitored. The customer feels empowered and independent. Technology has also been able to enhance personal communication channels like face-to-face, mail, phone and the web that impact on the way a customer may interact with a business (Spencer-Matthews & Lawley, 2006). These help to identify and meet individual customer needs. Information can be collected, maintained and retrieved through a marketing database. Analysis It can thus be seen that hotels are struggling to even satisfy customers and hence ‘delight’ is a distant dream. Most hotels studied have gaps in customer satisfaction. In most cases there is a gap between the service expectation and the managers’ perception. The reliability factor and the responsiveness also score high on the gap. Research also suggests that there is a definite link between customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and profitability. At the same time, customer satisfaction is dependent on various factors. The human element cannot be ignored as it is the most important element for service delivery. Many consider their employees as their internal customers as they are responsible for service delivery. Empowerment in the hospitality sector has been found to be very effective in enhancing the service delivery process. Empowerment leads to motivation and only when an employee is motivated he feels committed to the organization. This commitment can lead to changes in the service quality. Apart from the human factor, the physical environment has been found to be important in attracting ad retaining the customer. Technology has changed the way people work and communicate and hence an important factor in the service delivery process. Recommendations and conclusion Customer delight is beyond customer expectations and to achieve this requires application of different strategies in the hospitality sector. Markets are turbulent and to retain customers has become important. Providing customer delight is the key to success and this can be achieved by bridging the gap between customer expectation and the service delivery. Effective communication between and across departments is essential to bridge the gap between service delivery and expectations. It is essential to understand the strengths and weaknesses in service delivery. Work should be delegated rather than kept under the control of the managers. Gap has been perceived in every hotel or tourism study which emphasizes the need to train the hotel staff adequately. They have to be consistent in showing courtesy and align service quality with customer expectations. Lashley (1999) emphasizes that since the service sector involves a unique cluster of tensions, the empowerment of employees helps to deal with the needs of the modern global business. The sector has to invest in training and development of employees as it has been found in many instances that employees lacked training. They were not aware of the customer expectations and hence could not meet the needs. Training must start at the education level and hands-on experience is essential before the employee is allowed direct interaction with the customers. It is important to understand the customer expectations and it has been found that they have varied needs. The basic needs are taken for granted but to understand the higher needs, business networking can be helpful (Hwang & Lockwood, 2006). Today blogging has become very common and the hotels can have the blogs where the customers input their experience. Such data would help the hoteliers to understand the needs and the gaps in customer satisfaction. This would enable the hotels not to imitate the competitors but to gain competitive advantage through distinctive performance. Technology is a great enabler and should be extensively used to understand the customer expectations and all efforts mad to exceed these expectations. 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