Service Management Concepts: Implications for Hospitality Management

In - Service Management Concepts: Implications for Hospitality Management – a study by K. Michael Haywood, Associate Professor, School of Hotel and Food Administration, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, Associate Professor Haywood initially proffers: “The study and application of hospitality management has progressed on its own for many years; however, managers are not immune to the knowledge gained from study of other service industries. The author synthesizes what is happening in the area of service management, looks at its relevance to hospitality management, and identifies a few important implications of service management for hospitality managers.” The author draws a distinction between non-denominated service management, and service management as it applies to the hospitality industry. This is done to make an apparent comparison, as many people would assume the two are one in the same. They are not, and the contrast works well here. “While much of what we already know about effective management applies to service industries, some of the traditional concepts of management are inadequate in solving the problems faced by service businesses,” Haywood points out. “If a body of knowledge to be known as service management already exists, or is being developed, where does it fit relative to hospitality management,” Haywood asks. According to John Bateson, Testing a Conceptual Framework for Consumer Service Marketing, there are four criteria used to judge service management. Haywood details these for you, the reader, by way of citation. Haywood points to the difficulty in pin-pointing the intangibles that underpin the service industry. Since service is a concept rather than a touchable good, such as inventory, problems arise for both the organization and the client. Haywood points to a classic study of four service industries in France to illustrate the problems, although no realistic suggestions address the issues. “Over the past few years a variety of system models have been developed to explain the service process, that is, how the service is designed, produced, delivered, and consumed,” Haywood offers. These models are depicted in Appendices A-E. In offering perspectives on how the hospitality industry can gain from the experiences of service management, Haywood observes: “Service management places particular emphasis on a strategic outlook. Hospitality firms would be wise to carefully examine how they are perceived in the marketplace vis-a-vis their service concept, position, competitive situation, and management’s leadership abilities.” “Learning from the experiences of other service firms can help keep a company on track, that is, providing needed and valued services,” he closes the thought.

Quality Performance In our World: What Fast Service Should Really Mean

The service-producing industries have experienced problems in quality in the 1980s because of intense competition. The author discusses how these problems have been compounded in the fast food industry and how quality control can lead to success.

Restaurant Service for the 90's

Much has been written about servicing the customer. In fact, every issue of Restaurants USA or Nation's Restaurant News offers an article designed to help restaurateurs more successfully service their customers. While the restaurant market has carefully zeroed in on the specific products and services customers require, no one has carefully addressed the heart of the issue. The authors discuss the "hospitality" in restaurant service.

Selecting POS Systems for Table Service Restaurants

A point-of-sale system can enhance decision making, operational control, guest service, and revenues. However, not all POS systems offer the same features and potential for profit improvement. The author discusses those factors which are critical to POS system selection for table service restaurants

Global Pricing Strategy for a Quick-Service Restaurant Chain

The purpose of this paper is to compare prices for a popular quick-service restaurant chain (i.e. McDonalds’) across countries throughout the world using the “Big Mac Index” published by “The Economist.” The index was originally developed to measure the valuation of international currencies against the U.S. dollar. The analysis in this study examines the relationship between the price of a Big Mac and other variables such as the cost of beef, price elasticity, and income. Finally, these relationships are reviewed to draw inferences concerning the use of demand, costs, and competition in setting prices.

Service Quality and Black Customer Satisfaction - A Perspective on the United States Restaurant Industry

This paper examines the issue of racial discrimination of Black United States (U.S.) restaurant patrons from a service quality and customer satisfaction perspective. In spite of the progress the industry has made in recent years to alleviate this problem, many contemporary examples clearly demonstrate that racial discrimination is still of great concern. The articles stresses the importance of an ethical approach in human resource management-intensive and offers suggestions for reducing discriminatory practices in U.S. restaurant service delivery.

Senior Savvy: Mature Diner's Restaurant Service Expectations

This article is a reflection of a study conducted with active mature consumers who enjoy dining out, traveling, and patronizing the service industry in general. The goal was to discover their restaurant service expectations in order to provide restaurateurs, hoteliers, educators, and students of hospitality management programs information about this important customer segment so that future plans for improving service would include considerations of their service needs.

Customer Perception of Drive-Thru Service

The rapid growth of off-premise dining and, consequently, drive- thru service, presents the challenge of building customer loyalty in a highly competitive marketplace. In this study, customer perceptions of drive-thru service associated with quick service restaurants were examined. Results suggest that service time appears to differ among quick service restaurants, even those within the same chain. Employee courtesy was rated positively at all restaurants, as was food quality. The implications of these results for restaurateurs who offer drive-thru service are discussed.

The Influence of Social Responsibility Image Relative to Product and Service Quality on Brand Loyalty: An Exploratory Study of Quick-service Restaurants

Social responsibility (SR) is becoming an increasingly significant component of many firms’ strategic planning decisions. Research has shown that consumers tend to reward socially responsible behavior. However, there has been little testing of the construct in the hospitality industry. Additionally, when other important variables that influence consumer brand loyalty are considered, will brand social responsibility image (BSRI) still play a significant role? This study investigates the importance of SR and its impact on brand loyalty, relative to product quality and service quality in the quick-service restaurant industry. The authors were also interested to learn whether BSRI impacted consumers' image of product and service quality. It was found that BSRI had a positive impact on brand loyalty, product quality, and service quality. However, product quality was a significantly stronger predictor of brand loyalty than BSRI. Where the vast majority of studies of SR have utilized scenario analysis of hypothetical firms, this study utilizes consumers' perceptions of a real-world firm.

A Comparative Study of Customer Perceptions Regarding Green Restaurant Practices: Fast Food vs. Upscale Casual

The current exploratory study was designed to determine the impact that green restaurant practices may have on intention to visit a restaurant and willingness to pay more because of those green practices. The study analyzed a convenience sample of 260 surveys from customers in fast food restaurants and 501 surveys from customers in upscale casual restaurants in the Midwestern United States (U.S.) in order to determine if there were differences in the perception of guests regarding these types of restaurants and their green practices. The findings showed that upscale casual restaurant customers believed they are knowledgeable at a higher level than the fast food restaurant customers about green restaurant practices, have a higher mean rating on the importance of environmental record and recycling in restaurants, and believed that restaurants should use local products when they can. In both groups of customers, there was a positive relationship between green practices utilized at home and customers’ willingness to pay more for green restaurant practices as well as their intention to visit the restaurant using green practices. Management implications are discussed.

Perceived Value of Fast-food Restaurant Franchises in the USA

The main research objective of this study was to find out whether perceived value significantly affects consumers’ purchase intention. Additionally, this study examined if there are any significant differences in perceived value for different fast-food restaurant brands and attempted to identify which fast-food restaurant is perceived to be the industry leader. A total number of six fast-food restaurants (McDonalds, Subway, Starbucks, Wendy’s, Burger King, and Taco Bell) were selected. Findings showed that among the five perceived service value dimensions, Starbucks is the leader in terms of quality, emotional response, and reputation. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and multiple regression analysis were performed to test the study hypotheses. Results indicated that there were significant differences in perceived value for different fast-food restaurant brands. Besides, monetary and behavioral price significantly affects consumers’ purchase intention. Findings are expected to help hospitality marketers to strategically manage their brands.