This is a presentation developed for a seminar on service quality at Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

1. Appreciation of Service
Quality Concept
David L Jones, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
School of Hotel & Tourism Management
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

2. Whatever it was
that got you where
you are today
is not sufficient
to keep you there

3. What We Will Cover
• What makes services different?
• What do we mean by service quality?
• How do we know if we are delivery
service quality?
• How is the Asian Wave influencing
service quality?
• How do we bring East and West
together in service leadership?

4. Service Definition
Any activity or benefit that one party
can offer to another that is
essentially intangible and does not
result in the ownership of anything.

5. Services Attributes &
Characteristics

6. Services versus Goods
• Intangibility
• Heterogeneity/Variability
• Inseparability
– Simultaneous Production and
Consumption
• Perishability

7. Tangibility Spectrum
Salt
 Soft Drinks
 Detergents
 Automobiles
 Cosmetics
Fast-food
 Outlets
 Intangible
Dominant
Tangible

Dominant Fast-food 
Outlets Advertising

Airlines 
Agencies
Investment 
Consulting 
Management
Teaching

8. Bell’s Goods/Services Classification
TANGIBLITY
High
Industrialized Differentiated Customized
Goods Goods Goods
Undifferentiated Differentiated Customized
Goods/Services Goods/Services Goods/Services
Bundles Bundles Bundles
Industrialized Differentiated Customized
Services Services Services
Low
Low DEGREE OF High
CUSTOMIZATION

9. Implications of Intangibility
Services cannot be inventoried
Services cannot be patented
Services cannot be readily
displayed or communicated
Pricing is difficult

11. Shangri-la in Hong Kong
Kowloon Shangri-la
Island Shangri-la

12. Mandarin Oriental
What is the Difference?

13. Implications of Heterogeneity
Service delivery and customer
satisfaction depend on employee
actions
Service quality depends on many
uncontrollable factors
There is no sure knowledge that the
service delivered matches what was
planned and promoted

14. Service Triangle

15. Implications of Simultaneous
Production and Consumption
Customers participate in and affect
the transaction
Customers affect each other
Employees affect the service
outcome
Decentralization may be essential
Mass production is difficult

16. Implications of Perishability
It is difficult to synchronize supply
and demand with services
Services cannot be returned or
resold

17. Services Marketing Mix
• Physical Evidence
• People – Employees and Customers
• Process
Zeithaml & Bitner 1996

18. Expanded Marketing Mix
for Services
PEOPLE PHYSICAL PROCESS
EVIDENCE
Employees Facility design Flow of activities
Customers Equipment Number of steps
Communicating Signage Level of customer
culture and values involvement
Employee research Employee dress
Other tangibles

19. Evidence of Service from the
Customer’s Point of View
 Contact employees
 Customer him/herself
 Operational flow of  Other customers
activities People
 Steps in process
 Flexibility vs.  Tangible
standard communication
Physical
 Technology vs. Process  Servicescape
human Evidence
 Guarantees
 Technology

20. Defining Service Quality

21. Service Quality
The totality of features and
characteristics of a product or service
that bear on its ability to satisfy
stated or implied needs.

22. Service Quality
• The customer’s judgment of overall
excellence of the service provided in
relation to the quality that was
expected.
• Service quality assessments are
formed on judgments of:
– Outcome quality
– Process quality
– Physical environment quality

23. Customer Assessment of Service Quality

24. Dimensions of Service
Quality
• Tangibles
• Reliability
• Responsiveness
• Assurance
• Empathy

25. Tangibles
• Appearance of physical facilities,
equipment, personnel and
communication materials
• Before, during and after
• “Servicescape”

26. Reliability
• Ability to perform the promised
service dependable and accurately
• Most significant
• Promises
– Personal
– Organizational
– Common expectations
• Service Delivery Systems

27. Social Media
Review Networking Sites

29. Responsiveness
• Willingness to help customers and
provide prompt service
• Finding out what the customer really
needs by when
• Customer waits
– Fast food – 5 minutes
– Fine dining – 30 minutes
• Service Recovery Systems

30. 30

32. Assurance
• Competence
– Possession of the required skills and knowledge to
perform the service
– Product and Company Knowledge
• Courtesy
– Politeness, respect, consideration and friendliness
of contact personnel
• Credibility
– Trustworthiness, believability, honesty of the
service provider

33. Reassurance Factor
• Product knowledge
• Company knowledge
• Listening skills
• Problem-solving skills

34. Empathy
• Caring, individualized attention the firm provides
its customers
• Access
– Approachability and ease of contact
• Communication
– Keeping customers informed in language they
can understand, and listening to them
• Understanding the customer
– Making the effort to know customers and their
needs
• Empathy vs. Sympathy

35. ASSURANCE
n Employees who instill confidence in
Attributes of the
customers
n Making customers feel safe in their
Dimensions
transactions
n Employees who are consistently courteous
n Employees who have the knowledge to
answer customer questions
RELIABILITY
EMPATHY
n Providing service as promised n Giving customers individual attention
n Dependability in handling customers’ n Employees who deal with customers in a
service problems caring fashion
n Providing services at the promised time n Having the customer’s best interest at heart
n Performing services right the first time n Employees who understand the needs of
n Maintaining error-free records their customers
n Convenient business hours
RESPONSIVENESS
TANGIBLES
n Keeping customers informed as to n Modern equipment
when services will be performed
n Visually appealing facilities
n Prompt service to customers
n Employees who have a neat,
n Willingness to help customers professional appearance
n Readiness to respond to customers’ n Visually appealing materials
requests associated with the service

36. Which Dimension of Service Quality is
Most Important to You in Evaluating a
Restaurant?
A. Tangibles
B. Reliability
C. Responsiveness
D. Assurance
E. Empathy

37. Which Dimension of Service Quality is
Most Important to You in Evaluating a
Hotel?
A. Tangibles
B. Reliability
C. Responsiveness
D. Assurance
E. Empathy

38. RATER
• When you deliver a customer’s order on
time, you show reliability
• When you smile and tell a customer, “I can
help you with that” – and do – you build
customer assurance
• And when time to make yourself and your
work area more presentable, you are paying
attention to tangibles
• When you are sensitive to an individual
customer’s need when solving a problem,
you show empathy
• When you notice a customer puzzling over a
decision and offer help and information, you
show responsiveness

39. Does Service Quality Lead
to Profits?

40. Key Drivers of Service Quality,
Customer Retention, and Profits
Key Drivers Service Encounters
Service
Encounter
Service
Encounter
Service Behavioral Customer Profits
Quality Intentions Retention
Service
Encounter
Service
Encounter

41. Hotel Service
Delivery Systems
Process –
Reliability/Assurance

42. Ritz Carlton
Ladies and Gentlemen Serving
Ladies and Gentlemen

43. The Gold Standards of
Quality Service
VALUES AND OPERATING PHILOSOPHY
GOLD STANDARDS
Credo
Motto
3 Steps of Service
12 Service Values
Employee Promise

44. The Gold Standards of Quality
Service
A perspective on thinking…
ATTITUDE
BEHAVIOR
FEELINGS
THINKING

45. Mandarin Oriental - DELIGHT
• Our mission is to delight our guests and the word delight is the perfect
acronym for everything that Mandarin Oriental represents.
• Distinctive
– A unique collection of individual hotels and resorts from the elegant charm of 19th century London to the
futuristic architecture of Miami’s art deco style. Mandarin Oriental hotels and resorts are unique in style
and design. Each property has its own distinctive flair and charm, while guests are assured unparalleled
warmth and hospitality in every destination.
• Exotic
– The magic of the orient, with a sense of place. Reflective of local culture and style, each hotel has a strong
sense of place while oriental touches provide a warm and inviting atmosphere.
• Lively
– A place with energy and momentum. Creating experiences of exceptional quality, Mandarin Oriental hotels
and resorts are vibrant, popular places from which to enjoy the best in life.
• Imaginative
– Innovative designs and services to excite and entertain. Chic and spacious with innovative architecture,
interiors and original art, Mandarin Oriental welcomes guests with impeccable surroundings and creative
spaces.
• Guest-centred
– A service that’s personal, passionate and surprising. With our oriental beginnings, highly personalized
service comes naturally to us all. Our aim is to delight and surprise you on every occasion, and to
constantly welcome you back to the warmth that is Mandarin Oriental.
• Harmonious
– Caring service combined with special touches. We welcome you with the utmost in personal attention and
create a harmonious and holistic environment to ensure total relaxation and enjoyment. Distinctive charm
and hospitality is provided in elegant and immaculate surroundings.
• Time giving.
– A place which gives time to enjoy, relax and reflect. Gaining cultural insights to an ancient Lanna kingdom,
languishing by a pool in Florida, watching the breakers in Bermuda, Mandarin Oriental aims to give you the
time to experience life and all its pleasures.

46. Shangri-la Guiding Principles
• We will ensure leadership drives for results.
• We will make customer loyalty a key driver of our business.
• We will enable decision making at the customer contact
point.
• We will be committed to the financial success of our own
unit and of our company.
• We will create an environment where our colleagues may
achieve their personal and career goals.
• We will demonstrate honesty, care and integrity in all our
relationships.
• We will ensure our policies and processes are customer and
employee friendly.
• We will be environmentally conscientious and provide
safety and security for our customers and our colleagues.

47. Service Recovery Systems
Process –
Responsiveness/Empathy

48. If you were working at the front desk of hotel and a guest
checking out complained that they couldn’t sleep last night
because of the noise in the hall from other guests there with
a convention, what would you do?
A. Apologize and indicate you’ll tell the
manager
B. Offer them a complaint form to fill out
C. Offer them a 10% discount on the
room rate
D. Tell them you will have a free night
stay coupon sent to them for their
next visit
E. Make the room complimentary for last
night

49. Service Recovery Strategies
Quickly
Act
Service
Fail-safe Treat Customers
the Service
Recovery Fairly
Strategies
Learn from Recovery
Experiences

50. The Service Recovery Process
Teach the Importance of
Service Recovery
Identify Service Problems
Resolve Problems Effectively
Improve the Service System

51. The Importance of
Customer Satisfaction
• The average business does not hear from
96% of its unhappy customers
• For every complaint received, 26
customers actually have the same problem
• The average person with a problem tells 9
or 10 people
– 13% tell more than 20

52. The Importance Of
Customer Satisfaction (cont.)
• Customers who have their complaints
resolved tell an average of 5 people
• Complainers are more likely to do business
with you again than non-complainers
– 54-70% if the complaint is resolved at all
– 95% if the complaint is resolved quickly

53. Which Approach Do You Typically
Take to Bad Service?
A. Do nothing, stay with current
provider
B. Do nothing, change providers
C. Complain to management
D. Complain to family and friends
E. Complain to service person

54. Service Problem Reactions
• Complain and it gets resolved
• Complain and it isn’t resolved
• Dissatisfied and don’t complain

55. Unhappy Customers’
Repurchase Intentions
Unhappy Customers Who Don’t Complain 9%
Unhappy Customers Who Do Complain
Complaints Not Resolved 19%
Complaints Resolved 54%
Complaints Resolved Quickly 82%
Percent of customers who will buy again
after a major complaint (over $100 in
losses)
Source: Adapted from data reported by the Technical Assistance Research Program.

56. Disney’s Process

57. Disney’s
Empowerment
Process for
Customer
Complaints

58. Disney
Service
Recovery
Actions

59. The Benefits Of
Customer Satisfaction
• Positive word-of-mouth
• Purchase more frequently
• Less likely to be lost to competitors
• Insulated from price competition
• Positive work environments

60. So What Is
Different in Asia?
Process and People

61. Asian Wave:
The Service Difference
Process

62. Shangri-la Philosophy
Has It Changed?
BEFORE NOW
Shangri-La
Hospitality
from
Caring
People

63. Shangri-la Commitment
• Unique characteristics encapsulated by
Asian Hospitality. Our commitment to
providing guests with distinctive Asian
standards of hospitality and service
from caring people remains our major
point of differentiation from our peers
and the very cornerstone of our
reputation as a world-class hotel group.
• “Pride without arrogance”

65. Understanding Guest
Expectations

66. What Dimensions Have We Addressed?
A. Tangibles
B. Reliability
C. Responsiveness
D. Assurance
E. Empathy

67. Understanding the Lifetime
Value of the Customer
• Lifetime value view, not transaction
view – Chinese Guanxi
• Revenue and profits by average
customer over a lifetime by segment
• Increase average purchase,
frequency of visit, life
• Assurance?

68. Advantages of Developing
a Relationship
• Increase in frequency of purchases
• Increase in number of products purchased
• Reduce price competition
• Gain referrals from loyal customers
• Often easier to serve loyal customers
• Reduce costs–4-7 times as much to create
a customer

69. If you were working at the front desk of hotel and a guest
checking out complained that they couldn’t sleep last night
because of the noise in the hall from other guests there with
a convention, what would you do?
A. Apologize and indicate you’ll tell the
manager
B. Offer them a complaint form to fill out
C. Offer them a 10% discount on the
room rate
D. Tell them you will have a free night
stay coupon sent to them for their
next visit
E. Make the room complimentary for last
night

70. Asian Wave:
The Service Difference
People

71. Asian Principles
“3 Plus 1 Factor”
• Respect for Elders
• “Face”
– Giving It
• Work Before Self
– Importance of the status of working for
a hotel
• Plus Factor: Educational Sponges

72. Development of Service
Culture
Business
Educational
Home Institutions
Society

73. Service Leadership
Characteristics
Bringing East and West Together
73

74. Qualities of Service Leaders
• Service Vision
– Focus on details
– Bond with customer
– Words and behavior
– Vision vs. Idealism
• Belief in Others
– Capacity of others to achieve
– Not bosses, acting as a coach
• Love of the Business
– Pass it on to others
– Passion for service
• Integrity
– Doing the right thing
Berry 1995

75. Love of Business –
How You Can Show It
• Customers are the reason we are here
• Sell customers what they want and what fits
• Emphasize quality of the product
• Be on the floor
• Make customers part of the operation
• Know you menu and services offered
• Show quality in everything
• Always smile
• You sell yourself. Customers come back
because of they are friends
• Promote the restaurant 24 hours
75

76. Winning People to the Vision
• They understand the purpose of their work.
• They feel they are members of an important
group.
• They have a sense of ownership of their work.
• They have high self-esteem.
• They have management support.
• They have resources – the time, tools, training –
to do the job they are being asked to do.
• They have the information about what is going
on, what they are doing, and how well they are
doing it.

77. Nurture Service Leadership

78. Promote Right People
• Footprints-in-the-sand test
– Past experience predicts future
• Stand for something test
– Vision of future
• Outside leadership test
– Volunteer organizations

79. Service Quality is a Global Issue

80. The Possession of Facts
is Knowledge,
the Use of Them is
Wisdom
Thomas Jefferson

81. To Be Fond Of
Learning
Is Near To Wisdom
Confucius

82. Thank You