Impact of the Service Attitude of Front-line Employee on Customer Perception at the Moments of Truth

• Main Authors: Chen Yi-Ya, 陳怡雅
• Other Authors: 林士彥
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2010
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/87971532761669332873

碩士 === 亞洲大學 === 休閒與遊憩管理學系碩士班 === 98 === Service industry is prevalent and receives much attention in terms of economic development. As to service industry, restaurant industry is prevailing in that it not only promotes development of industry but also attracts many tourists. The product of restaurant industry includes tangible and intangible elements. Among others, intangible elements of product represent services which front-line employee offers to customers face to face. The front-line employees contacts and communicates with their customers through diverse verbal and non-verbal languages. In this process, front-line employees can understand customers’ needs, whereas customers can gain satisfaction from employees’ attitudes. This moment of contact is named as moments of truth, which makes impressions on customers and determines success of service. Customers’ good first impressions are the basis of images of product and company. This study attempts to explore the influences of profile of service attitudes (i.e., smile, vocal, stooped, and gaze) of front-line employee on customer perceived. We create several short films to manipulate levels of service attitudes, and alter factorial design based on method of steepest ascent. Finally, we can derive the optimization solution of service attitudes by response surface. Our findings show that the optimization solution of smile strength is disclosure of eight teeth, whereas that of eye gaze is 4.3 seconds. These optimization solutions of smile strength and eye gaze can create customers higher perceptions of esteem and agreeableness. Our findings can offer a guideline for training of front-line employee of restaurant industry.