See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/340309698

Guest First: The Impact of Butler Department on Guest Satisfaction in Hotels

Article · May 2015

CITATIONS READS
0 963

2 authors, including:

Abu Elnasr Sobaih

King Faisal University
29 PUBLICATIONS   401 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Abu Elnasr Sobaih on 31 March 2020.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Peer-reviewed Scientific Journal of Faculty of Tourism and Hotel, Alexandria University

Guest First: The Impact of Butler Department on Guest Satisfaction in

Hotels

Rania T. Dinana, Abu Elnasr E. Sobaih, Mohamed N. Mahmoud

Hotel Management Department, Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management,
Helwan University

ABSTRACT

This research aims at exploring the performance of butler department in hotels, using
Greater Cairo hotels as a case study, and evaluate its impact on guest satisfaction. For
this purpose, a survey of hotels offer butler service in Greater Cairo was conducted. This
was supplemented by personal interviews, one-to-one, with chief butlers and butlers. A
guest questionnaire was designed and distributed on a sample of foreign and Egyptian
guests who stayed in the hotels offering butler service in Greater Cairo. The paired
sample t-test identified significant differences between hotels without butler service and
hotels with butler service in terms of all service attributes (i.e. ability of staff in dealing
with guest requests; sympathetic handling of complaints). The key findings showed that
guests in hotels with butler service were more satisfied with the quality of services than
hotels without butler service reflecting the importance of butler department and its
impact on customer satisfaction in hotels. The study also showed the crucial role of
butler department in providing personal service and service customization that meet or
exceed customer expectations in hotels.

KEYWORDS: butler department, customer satisfaction, service excellence, service

customization, service quality.

INTRODUCTION:

Service quality is often defined as meeting or exceeding customer expectations (see for
example, Gronroos, 1984; 1988; Parasuraman et al., 1985; 1991; Dale, 2003). Higher

1
 Peer-reviewed Scientific Journal of Faculty of Tourism and Hotel, Alexandria University

levels of service quality produce higher levels of customer satisfaction, which in turn lead
to higher levels of customer patronage and sales revenue (Dube et al., 1994; Lee and
Hing, 1995; Pettijohn et al., 1997; Chow et al., 2007). Service quality also increases
profitability, market share, and return on investment (Scanlon, 1998). Therefore, service
quality is often considered a key issue in sustaining competitive advantage in the
hospitality industry (Stevenset al., 1995; Pettijohn et al., 1997; Qu, 1997; Wall and
Berry, 2007). Thus, attention to delivery of a higher level of service is an important
strategy by which hospitality organizations can position themselves more effectively in
the market place. However, this needs qualified, trained, skilled and motivated employees
(Baum, 2002).

Frontline employees play a crucial role in service delivery and building relationships with
customers (Babakus et al., 2003), and their attitudes and behaviours towards customers
determine customers’ perceived service quality and satisfaction (Mohr & Bitner, 1995;
Yoon et al., 2001; Sobaih et al., 2011). In addition, the role of frontline employees in
dealing with service failure is identified as an important strategic issue in the services
literature (Ruyter & Wetzels 2000; Bendall-Lyon & Powers, 2001). Thus, one important
element in hospitality research is the curial role of the service contact employees, and the
q+uality of services they deliver to customer which will lead to their satisfaction.

Parasuraman et al., (1985) argued that if the service performance meets or exceeds
customers' expectation, the customers will be satisfied. On the other hand, customers are
more likely to be dissatisfied if the service performance is less than what they have
expected. In the hotel industry, managers are interested in maximizing customer
satisfaction because satisfied customers tend to return and make the profit to hotel (Chow
et al., 2007). Thus, it is important to understand how customer expectation is formed in
order to identify the factors of service satisfaction.

This research aims to explore the performance of butler department in hotels and
evaluates its impact on customer satisfaction. To achieve this aim the objectives of this
research were to: (1) review the literature in relation to customer satisfaction in hotels and

2
 Peer-reviewed Scientific Journal of Faculty of Tourism and Hotel, Alexandria University

highlights the vital role of butler department in hotels; (2) analyze the butler service in
hotels using Greater Cairo hotels as a case study; (3) investigate the guest satisfaction of
the butler service in hotels by comparing guest perceptions of hospitality services in both
hotels with butler service and hotels with no butler service; (4) establish a conclusion and
a set of recommendations which will enable hotel managers best achieve customer
satisfaction using butler service.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE:

The literature review is divided into two main parts: part one focuses on the role of
service employees in service quality and customer satisfaction in hotels whereas part two
provides an overview of butler and highlights its role in hotels. Since very little has been
written and published about butlers and butler service in hotels, this study aims to
contribute to the literature in relation to butler service in hotels. This study is among first
attempts that highlights the importance of butler department and identify its role in
customer satisfaction in hotels.

The role of service employees in service quality and customer satisfaction in hotels

The direct relationship between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction is

established based on the theory of emotional contagion (Sutton and Rafaeli 1988,
Hatfield et al., 1992, Hatfield et al., 1994, Barsade 2002). Emotional contagion is defined
as the tendency of a person to automatically mimic and synchronize expressions,
postures, and vocalizations with those of another person and, consequently, to converge
emotionally (Hatfield et al., 1994). This process occurs through the conscious or
unconscious induction of emotion states and behavioral attitudes (Schoenewolf, 1990).
Service employees with a high level of job satisfaction will appear to the customer more
balanced and pleased with their environment, leading to positive influence on the level of
customer satisfaction (Homburg and Stock 2004).

3
 Peer-reviewed Scientific Journal of Faculty of Tourism and Hotel, Alexandria University

Service employees are a key input for delivering service excellence and productivity,
both of which can be important sources of competitive advantage (Bartlett and Ghoshal,
2002). Yet, among the most demanding jobs in service organizations are these so-called
front-line jobs where employees are expected to be fast and efficient at executing
operational tasks, as well as friendly and helpful in dealing with their customers. From a
service organization's perspective, the service level and the way service is delivered by
the front line can be an important source of differentiation as well as competitive
advantage (Bartlett and Ghoshal, 2002). In addition, the strength of the customer-front-
line employee relationship is often an important driver of customer loyalty (Bove and
Johnson, 2001; Castro et al., 2004).

Due to the importance of customer satisfaction, satisfied customers not only provide a
positive word of mouth, recommendation to their friends and relatives but also are much
more likely to come back and remain loyal (Kotler et. al., 2002). Researchers (e.g.
Oliver, 1980; Leveque and Mc Dougall, 1996) agreed that satisfaction is an attitude or
evaluation that is formed by the customer comparing their pre-purchase expectations of
what they would receive from the product to their subjective perceptions of the
performance they actually did receive. According to Schiffman & Karun (2004) customer
satisfaction is defined as the individual’s perception of the performance of the products or
services in relation to his or her expectations.

Regarding the relationship between customer satisfaction and service quality, Oliver
(1993) suggested that service quality would be antecedent to customer satisfaction
regardless of whether these constructs were cumulative or transaction-specific. Some
researchers have found empirical supports for the view of the point mentioned above
(Anderson and Sullivan, 1993; Fornell. 1992; Spreng and Macky 1996); where customer
satisfaction came as a result of service quality. Satisfaction and service quality have
certain things in common, but satisfaction generally is a broader concept, whereas service
quality focuses specifically on dimensions of service (Wilson et al., 2008).

4
 Peer-reviewed Scientific Journal of Faculty of Tourism and Hotel, Alexandria University

Research in consumer psychology has shown that exposing customers to happy

employees results in customers having a positive attitudinal bias towards a product
(Howard and Gengler 2001). Likewise, research in organizational behavior has revealed
that the hostility of service employees has a direct impact on the hostile mood of
customers (Doucet 2004), leading to customer dissatisfaction regardless of the
performance of the core tasks of the services delivered to fulfill customer needs.

An overview of butler and its role in hotels

The International Guide of Professional Butlers (IGPB) (2014) stated that the history of
butler services dates back to the biblical times even before Joseph interpreted a dream for
pharaoh. The IGPB (2014) also added that the word ''butler'' was derived from the French
word ''boutiellier'' meaning ''bottle bearer''. In turn it came down to the English word
''Butt'' meaning a large cask, thus relates to both bottles and casks. Eventually the
European butler emerged as a middle ranking member of the servants of a great house in
charge of a storeroom or pantry of wines. Those with the same title but in service to the
Crown enjoyed the position of administrative power and managed the other household
staff.

Ferry (2004) defined butler as the chief male servant of a household, usually in charge of
serving food, the wines, liquors and the care of silverware, etc. The main role of a butler
is that a personal assistant, anticipating guests needs rather than waiting to be asked. In
addition to housekeeping, food and beverage service, the butler requires to be well versed
in personal care and valeting. Nowadays, modern butlers manage the services of guest in
private households, luxury resorts, yatchs/ aircrafts and at major events. One can even
rent a butler for a day. In some hotels the butler department can be a sub-department of
the front office department, whereas in some others it is a separate department.

Starkey (1989) stated that the butler's job is mainly highly relevant to customized service
and focused on creating the proper conditions within the hotel to guarantee guests’
satisfaction. Starkey (1989) mentioned that through the butler daily assistance, he is able

5
 Peer-reviewed Scientific Journal of Faculty of Tourism and Hotel, Alexandria University

to gather data that contribute to creating the guest's profile, applying and validating
different service strategies as required and establishing a scale for the attributes of each
service requested, thus determining different degrees of quality in connection with them.

Ferry (2004) argued that the butler is a multi-skilled professional trained to assist all
departments within the hotel. He or she is not tied to any one department but has only one
goal in mind: guest satisfaction. It is only with butler service that a truly seamless service
can be achieved, since the butler is trained to pass and act on information received from
the guest or other departments concerned with guest satisfaction. With an effective
reporting procedure in place the butler becomes the eyes and ears of senior management,
thus ensuring that management can monitor guest satisfaction throughout the stay.
Therefore, any problems can be resolved immediately whilst guest is in the hotel.

Ferry (2004) described the butler as a professional who hold some of the expertise of
valet, concierge, housekeeping, room service, reservations and even management, add the
traditional butler service standards, and apply these all to a select group of individuals
who are willing to pay top rack rates for the convenience of having all these functions.
These all will bring greater solvency for the hotel as guests pay more for the service,
repeat visit, spread the name of the hotel and bring new business – all of which is job
security for all the staff. The same author mentioned that butlers depend completely on
the other employees doing their job very well in order to provide butler service to guests.

IGPB (2014) stated the butlers had a direct line to every department head as well as
procedures for reporting to senior management any issues that could not be resolved at a
department head level. Also add it that the close relationship between the guest and his
butler made many of the problems and issues to be prevented as well as a very high
service level achieved since the butler could build up knowledge of each guest’s
preferences, likes and dislikes and these will reflect the concept of service excellence.
THE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

6
 Peer-reviewed Scientific Journal of Faculty of Tourism and Hotel, Alexandria University

To achieve the aim and objectives of this research a number data collection methods were
used. The methods include: (1) a survey of hotels offer butler service in Greater Cairo;
(2) personal interviews, one-to-one, with chief butlers and butlers in the hotels offer
butler service; (3) guest questionnaire distributed to a sample of foreign and Egyptian
guests who stayed in the hotels offer butler service to understand their perceptions of
butler service provided.

The survey of butler hotels in Greater Cairo was conducted to investigate the hotels that
offered the butler service in Greater Cairo. The investigation showed that there were only
five hotels offered butler service, namely Kempinski Nile Hotel, Fairmont Heliopolis
Hotel, Fairmont Nile City Hotel, Sofitel El Gizera Hotel and Intercontinental City Stars
Hotel. The butler service in these hotels was analyzed. In addition, a comparison study
was conducted between the five hotels in relation to the butler service.

Personal interviews were conducted with chief butlers and butlers. These interviews were
face to face with five chief butler and ten butlers relying on a series of closed and open-
ended questions. The interviews were designed into two sections; the first section was
about the butler service concept and the butlers’ job specifications, job duties and
department hierarchy. The second one was about the role of butler performance in
achieving customer satisfaction. Interviews were digitally recorded and manually
analyzed. For ethical reasons no personal details were presented in this study and
anonymity of interviewees was considered. Thus, codes were used instead of hotel or
interviewee’s name.

Guest questionnaire was designed and distributed to a sample of foreign and Egyptian
guests who stayed in the five butler hotels to understand their opinions concerning butler
service. The questionnaire form consisted of fourth sections. The first section includes the
demographic data. The second section has two questions to understand whether guests
tried butler service before or not and how many times they tried this service. The third
section of the questionnaire asked the respondents whether they have experience in hotels
without butler service. The purpose of this section is to compares between the hotels

7
 Peer-reviewed Scientific Journal of Faculty of Tourism and Hotel, Alexandria University

offered butler service and other hotels that do not offer this service from customer
perspective. The fourth section asked respondents to state their level of satisfaction (using
five-point Likert Scale where 1 = strongly satisfied and 5 = strongly dissatisfied in
relation to hospitality service in butler and non butler hotels (i.e. appearance, friendliness,
responsiveness, ability to solve the problems, ability to offer suggestions or cleanliness
and neatness).

The guests’ questionnaire was designed to be distributed among foreigners and Egyptians
who stayed only in the five hotels offered butler service. A number of (185) forms were
distributed, (164) of them were valid for analysis. Questionnaire forms' distribution took
nearly more than two months from 2nd November 2012 till the beginning of February
2013. Table (1) showed the number of questionnaire forms which were distributed in
each hotel.

Table (1) Number of guest questionnaire distributed in hotels offered butler service

Hotel Name Number of forms distributed Valid

1- Kempinski Nile Hotel 67 64
2- Fairmont Helipolis 33 31
3- Fairmont Nile City 30 24
4- Sofitel El Gezira 27 23
5-Intercontinental City Stars 28 22
Total 185 164

With regard to the questionnaire analysis, a Software Package for Social Sciences (SPSS
19) was used. Paried sample t-test was used to compare guest perception of hospitality
services in hotels with butler services and hotels without butler service. The reliability of
the measure was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha. The instrument yielded an alpha level
of 0.90, i.e. acceptance reliability of above 0.60 (Nunnally, 1978).

8
 Peer-reviewed Scientific Journal of Faculty of Tourism and Hotel, Alexandria University

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The results of the research study were divided into three parts: part one shows the results
of the survey study of the five hotels offered butler service. Part two shows the results of
interviews with chief butlers and butlers. Part three presents the results of guest
questionnaire.

The results of surveying study of butler hotels in Greater Cairo

The survey of hotels offer butler service in Greater Cairo showed that there were five
hotels: Kempinski Nile Hotel, Fairmont Helipolis Hotel, Fairmont Nile City Hotel,
Sofitel El Gizera Hotel and Intercontinental City Stars Hotel. The survey focused on the
hospitality services offered in these hotels particularly the butler service i.e. working
hours, room orientation, receiving and delivery laundry (see Table 2).

A lot of similarities and some differences could be found between butler departments in
the five hotels. As shown in Table 2 the butler service offered in Kempinski Nile Hotel
were in all floors for all guests while the butler service offered in Fairmont Helipolis
Hotel and Fairmont Nile City Hotel were in the executive floors (3 floors only) and for all
suites. On the other hand, the butler services offered in Sofitel El Gezira Hotel were in
the Luxurious rooms and suites starting from floor 16 up to floor 27 and in
Intercontinental City Stars Hotel were in the executive floors only.

Guests can even rent a butler for a day. In all five hotels the butler department was a sub-
department of the front office department. The main role of a butler is that a personal
assistant, anticipating and meeting or even exceeding guest needs. In addition to
housekeeping, food and beverage service, the butler requires to be well professional in
personal care and valet.

Investigating the avilabilty of butler service in the concerned hotels revealed the
following:

9
 Peer-reviewed Scientific Journal of Faculty of Tourism and Hotel, Alexandria University

 The buttler service is offered 24 hours in all hotels.

 The butler service and duties that are available in all concerned hotels are:
offering welcome drink – room orientation – shoe shine – receiving and
delivering laundry – packing & unpacking – bubble bath preparation - morning
service – making guest preference.
 “Separate check in” and “Express check-in and out” are available onluy in two
hotels, i.e. Sofitel El Gezira and the Intercontinental City Stars hotel while absent
in the other three properties, i.e. Kempinski Nile Hotel, Fairmont Nile Hotel and
Fairmont Heliopolis.
 “Refilling Mini bar” and “Wake up call” were available only in Kempinski Nile
Hotel and are absent in the remaining hotels.

From these results it could be noticed that Kempinski Nile hotel misses only two of the
butler services and duties. Meanwhile, the other four properties miss four of them each as
shown in Table (2).

10
 Peer-reviewed Scientific Journal of Faculty of Tourism and Hotel, Alexandria University

Table 2 Similarities and differences between the butler departments in the five hotels

Kempinski Nile Hotel Fairmont Nile City Fairmont Helipolis Sofitel El Gezira Intercontinental City Stars

Executive Floors (3 floors) Executive Floors (3 floors) Luxurious rooms and suites
Floors All Floors Executive Floors only
only and All suites only and All suites Starting from F16 up to F27

Working Hours 24 hours 24 hours 24 hours 24 hours 24 hours

Welcome Drink Offering Offering Offering Offering Offering

Room Orientation Available Available Available Available Available

Shoe Shine Available Available Available Available Available

Receiving & Delivering
Available Available Available Available Available
Laundry
Gift Wrapping Available Available Available Not Available Not Available

Room or Suite Change Available Available Available Not Available Not Available

Packing & Unpacking Available Available Available Available Available

Separate Check-In Not Available Not Available Not Available Available Available

Express Check- in & Out Not Available Not Available Not Available Available Available

Bubble Bath preparation Available Available Available Available Available

Morning Service Available Available Available Available Available

Refilling mini bar Available Not Available Not Available Not Available Not Available

Wake Up Call Available Not Available Not Available Not Available Not Available
Making Guest Preference Available Available Available Available Available

11
 Peer-reviewed Scientific Journal of Faculty of Tourism and Hotel, Alexandria University

The results of interviews with chief butlers and butlers in the hotels offering butler
service

The interviews were divided into two sections; the first section was about the butler
service and the role of butlers. Interviewees were asked about the butler service concept.
The purpose of this question was to understand how the chief butlers and butlers define
butler service. Among their comments;
It is valuable service, offer new definition of engaging and
personalized service (CBK1)

It is service that provide the most discerning guests with a subtle

and extraordinary standard of luxury (CBF1)

Butler service is the quality of service focuses on exceeding

customer expectation and therefore reaching the satisfaction and
achieving the profit (BK1)

Butler service means giving attention to details and creating an

atmosphere that make a '' WOW'' impression on the guests (BK2)

It could be seen from these comments that Chief butlers and butlers correlated the
concept of the butler service as service quality and personal service that aims to achieve
customer satisfaction. This is very important matter in butler service because the main
issue is butler is customizing the service to meet or exceed the guest expectations and
achieve their satisfaction.

Interviewees were asked about the main specifications for choosing the butler staff. The
purpose of this question is to identify the main specification that chief butlers used during
their choice of butler service staff. Chief butlers and butlers divided the specification into
essential and non-essential or an advantage. Among the interviewees’ comments:
Fluency in verbal and written English is an advantage;
Administration skills essential; Proficiency in computers (Ms
Office, E-mail etc.) is a must; Knowledge of Opera/Fidelio
operating system is an advantage; Excellent communication skills
and pleasing personality is a must; Previous experience as both
Front desk agent and Food and Beverage in a hotel is preferred;
Leader experience is an advantage; Ability to focus attention on
details; Ability to multi-task and work under pressure; Ability to

12
 Peer-reviewed Scientific Journal of Faculty of Tourism and Hotel, Alexandria University

maintain confidentiality of all guests and hotel information; Ability

to think clearly, quickly and make concise decisions.(CBK1)

Interviewees commented also on the labor turnover in the butler department. The
interviewed chief butlers said that as the butler job is very interesting, so there is stability
in the manning and the turnover is very low. This is very critical issue in the hospitality
industry where the industry has been among the top staff turnover industries.

Interviewees were asked about the hierarchy of butler department in the five hotels and
their duties. The results of interviews with the butlers and chief butlers showed that the
hierarchy of the butler department is as followed:

Figure 1: the hierarchy or butler department

The interviewees were also asked about the main duties and responsibilities of butlers.
All the interviewed butlers and chief butlers agreed that the butlers have to do the
following duties and hold these responsibilities:
 To maintain good working relationship with own colleagues and all other
departments.
 To maintain a high standard of personal appearance and hygiene at all times.

13
 Peer-reviewed Scientific Journal of Faculty of Tourism and Hotel, Alexandria University

 To answer the telephone calls as per the hotel standards.

 To make sure the guest rooms are clean and tidy at all times.
 To make sure guest requests are recorded accordingly and delivered perfectly and
promptly.
 To keep confidential all guests and hotel information.
 To update and maintain all guest history file.
 To have a complete understanding of and adherence to the hotels policies and
procedures regarding fire, emergencies, security, health and safety.
 To make and recommend to butler supervisor any suggestions and ideas.

The second section of the interview was about the role of butler performance in achieving
customer satisfaction. Interviewees were asked if have previous experience in hotels
without butler service and if yes what are their opinions regarding how the butler
department make the difference regarding the guest satisfaction. Most of the interviews
butlers and chief butlers said that they have experience in hotels without butler service
and this helped them more in performing this job. They said that it is the butler
responsibility that whenever possible to recognize established guest not only by name but
also by need which is personalized service or service customization. The butlers strive
constantly not only to meet customer requirements but also to exceed their expectations.

The interviewees commented that butlers are committed to make a difference every day,
continually and working together with other department to be the best. The chief butlers
and also interviewed butler said that they ensure that the first impression for each guest to
be genuinely warm and friendly, welcoming and complimented with enjoyable stay.
Interviewees were also directly asked about the impact of butler department performance
on customer satisfaction. Among the interviewed chief butlers and butlers’ comments
about this issue:
Butler's perfect performance has positive direct impact on
customer satisfaction and on their returning back to the hotel
(BK1)

14
 Peer-reviewed Scientific Journal of Faculty of Tourism and Hotel, Alexandria University

The trained butlers, who are knowledgeable, are able to advise

and assist the guest property and will also be able to exceed their
guest expectation and get him or her satisfied (BK12)

Butler satisfaction is one of the most important department that

will lead to customer satisfaction (CBK1)

These comments reflect the effects of butlers not only on customer satisfaction but also
on their repeat visit. The interviewees said this will depend upon butlers’ skills,
qualifications and experience.

Interviewees discussed the relationship between butlers’ satisfaction and customer

satisfaction. Among their comments:
Employees who believe that management is concerned about them
as a whole person - not just an employee - are more productive,
more satisfied, more fulfilled…… Satisfied employees mean
satisfied customers, which leads defiantly to profitability (BK3)

We try from time to time to make something like interviews with all
the hired butlers to understand their challenges, listening to their
ideas and giving them all the support (BK10)

It could be seen from these comments that chief butlers and butlers argued that there is a
relationship between butlers' satisfaction and customer satisfaction and this concurs with
Howard and Gengler (2001) who stated that exposing customers to happy employees
results in customers having a positive attitudinal bias towards a product. This finding also
agreed with Homburg and Stock (2004) who mentioned that service employees with a
high level of job satisfaction will appear to the customer more balanced and pleased with
their environment, leading to positive influence on the level of customer satisfaction.

Interviewees were asked if they have any suggestions and recommendation for improving
butler service. Most of the interviewed chief butlers and butlers mentioned that the butler
service is a great tool to attract most of the customers to return back to the hotel and
achieve more profit. As most of the investigated hotels don't offer the butler service for
all guests they said that it isn't advantage but if we offer this service for all guests we will
make something special for every customer. Butlers said that is must to make a meeting

15
 Peer-reviewed Scientific Journal of Faculty of Tourism and Hotel, Alexandria University

from time to time with their managers to listen to their ideas. They also suggested that the
management should make training for butlers on all matter that relate to the satisfaction
for customers.

Guests’ questionnaire distributed on a sample of foreign and Egyptian guests who

stayed in the hotels offering butler service

As shown in Table (3), male respondents (53%) were slightly higher than female
respondents (47%). The majority of convention participants were middle aged as 62% of
the respondents aged between 20 and 40 years and 34% of the respondents were more
than 40 years. In addition, most respondents (84 %) were holding bachelor degrees (or
equivalent degrees). Most of participants (94%) were foreigner guests, mainly British,
French and German and only 6 % were Egyptians.

Table 3: The profile of respondents

Frequency Percentage
Gender Male 86 52.4%
Female 78 47.6%
Age Less than 20 6 3.7%
From 20 to 40 102 62.2%
More than 40 56 34.1%
Education Secondary School 2 1.2%
Bachelor 138 84.1%
Master and doctorate 24 14.6%
Nationality Egyptian 10 6.1%
Forigner (Mainly British 154 93.9%
and French and German)
Trying Butler Service Yes 134 81.7%
No 30 18.3%
Number of Visits Once 22 16.4 %
Twice 72 53.7 %
More than two times 40 29.9 %
Experience in hotels without Yes 142 86.6%
Butler service No 22 13.4%

16
 Peer-reviewed Scientific Journal of Faculty of Tourism and Hotel, Alexandria University

Respondents were asked whether they tried butler service before or not. The responses
showed that the vast majority of respondents (82%) tried this service before. It seems that
respondents who tried butler service were more interested in staying in hotels with this
service. The same respondents were asked how many times thy tried this service before.
It is interesting that 84% of them tried this service two times or more than two times.
Respondents were also asked whether they tried hotels with no butler service. The results
showed that 87% of the respondents answered yes and 13 % said no.

The guest questionnaire was used to investigate guest perceptions of the butler service in
a number of Cairo hotels. Paired sample t-test was used to compare between hospitality
services offered in hotels with butler service and hotels without butler service. Table 4
shows that the paired-sample t-test revealed, interestingly, twenty significant differences
between hotels without butler service and hotels with butler service in terms of Attributes
(welcoming, efficiency in check-in; efficiency in check-out; room cleanliness; room
facilities; friendliness of staff; courteous, well mannered staff; language fluency ; ability
of staff in dealing with guest requests; enthusiasm of staff; sympathetic handling of
complaints; neat appearance of staff; confidence of staff; staff performing services
adequately in the first time; accurate of message handling; service punctuality; timely and
accurate billing; value for money; serving food and beverage; and overall satisfaction).

The results showed that guests in hotels with butler service were more satisfied with the
quality of services than hotels without butler service regarding welcoming, efficiency in
check-in, efficiency in check-out, room cleanliness, room facilities, friendliness of staff,
courteous, well mannered staff, language fluency, ability of staff in dealing with guest
requests, enthusiasm of staff, sympathetic handling of complaints, neat appearance of
staff, confidence of staff, staff performing services adequately in the first time, accurate
of message handling, service punctuality, timely and accurate billing, value for money,
serving food and beverage. It is interesting that guest were overall more satisfied with
services in hotels with butler services than hotels with no butler services. This reflects the
importance of butler department and its impact on customer satisfaction in hotel industry.

17
 Peer-reviewed Scientific Journal of Faculty of Tourism and Hotel, Alexandria University

Table 4: A summary of the Paired Sample t-test between hospitality services offered in
hotels with butler service and hotels without butler service
Hospitality services Guests’ Evaluation Mean T Sig.
attributes score (2tailed)
Hotels without Butler Service 2.1268
Welcoming 21.024 .000*
Hotels with Butler Service 1.0986
Efficiency in Check-in Hotels without Butler Service 2.3380
23.864 .000*
Hotels with Butler Service 1.1127
Efficiency in Check-out Hotels without Butler Service 2.3099
22.951 .000*
Hotels with Butler service 1.1408
Room Cleanliness Hotels without Butler Service 2.6197
16.107 .000*
Hotels with Butler Service 1.3239
Room Facilities Hotels without Butler Service 2.5634
16.786 .000*
Hotels with Butler Service 1.2817
Friendliness of staff Hotels without Butler Service 2.4366
14.242 .000*
Hotels with Butler service 1.5070
Courteous, well mannered Hotels without Butler Service 2.3662
12.004 .000*
staff Hotels with Butler service 1.5352
Language Fluency Hotels without Butler Service 2.6549
17.855 .000*
Hotels with Butler service 1.4507
Ability of staff in dealing Hotels without Butler Service 2.5070
14.346 .000*
with guest requests Hotels with Butler service 1.5352
Enthusiasm of staff Hotels without Butler Service 2.3944
18.228 .000*
Hotels with Butler service 1.3803
Sympathetic handling of Hotels without Butler Service 2.6056
14.230 .000*
complaints Hotels with Butler service 1.5352
Neat appearance of staff Hotels without Butler Service 2.3944
13.839 .000*
Hotels with Butler service 1.5211
Confidence of staff Hotels without Butler Service 2.5493
17.491 .000*
Hotels with Butler service 1.4085
Staff performing services Hotels without Butler Service 2.5282
adequately in the first Hotels with Butler service 16.990 .000*
1.4085
time
Accurate of message Hotels without Butler Service 2.4789
15.291 .000*
handling Hotels with Butler service 1.4225
Service punctuality Hotels without Butler Service 2.5000
20.320 .000*
Hotels with Butler service 1.3521
Timely and accurate Hotels without Butler Service 2.5915
17.982 .000*
billing Hotels with Butler service 1.4366
Value For Money Hotels without Butler Service 2.4366
18.827 .000*
Hotels with Butler service 1.3099
Serving Food and Hotels without Butler Service 2.2394
Beverage 19.369 .000*
Hotels with Butler service 1.1831
Overall Satisfaction Hotels without Butler Service 2.2817
25.991 .000*
Hotels with Butler service 1.0845
* P-value< 0.05= Significant

18
 Peer-reviewed Scientific Journal of Faculty of Tourism and Hotel, Alexandria University

CONCLUSION

This research addresses a gap in knowledge in relation to butler department and its
impact on customer satisfaction. The study contributes to the general body of academic
literature on service excellence in hotels using butlers as a case study. This research
focused on butler service department in Greater Cairo hotels using a surveying study to
investigate the hotels that offered the butler service. The investigation showed that there
were five hotels offered butler service: Kempinski Nile Hotel, Fairmont Helipolis Hotel,
Fairmont Nile City Hotel, Sofitel El Gizera Hotel and Intercontinental City Stars Hotel.
These surveys showed the hospitality services offered in these hotels particularly the
butler service i.e. working hours and customer care.

Personal interviews were conducted with fifteen chief butlers and butlers in the five
hotels. The interviews confirmed that butler department play very critical role to
customer satisfaction. The questionnaire was used to investigate guest perceptions of the
butler service. The paired sample t-test was used to compare between hospitality services
offered in hotels with butler service and hotels without butler service. The paired sample
t-tests showed that guests in hotels with butler service were more satisfied with the
quality of services than hotels without butler service regarding welcoming, efficiency in
check-in, efficiency in check-out, room cleanliness, room facilities, friendliness of staff,
courteous, well-mannered staff, language fluency, ability of staff in dealing with guest
requests, enthusiasm of staff, sympathetic handling of complaints, neat appearance of
staff, confidence of staff, staff performing services adequately in the first time, accurate
of message handling, service punctuality, timely and accurate billing, value for money,
serving food and beverage, and overall satisfaction Again this reflects the importance of
butler department and its impact on customer satisfaction in hotels.

The study showed that the butler department assists all departments within the hotel to
achieve customer satisfaction. The butlers had a direct line to every department head as
well as procedures for reporting to senior management any issues that could not be
resolved at a department head level. The butlers resolve any problems immediately whilst

19
 Peer-reviewed Scientific Journal of Faculty of Tourism and Hotel, Alexandria University

guest is in the hotel. They anticipate customer needs and aim to exceed customer
expectations. The study also showed the crucial role of butler department in providing
personal service and service customization that meet or exceed customer expectations
and achieve customer expectations in hotels.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

The study suggests a number of recommendations for offering quality butler service and
future research:
 Butler service should be offered in all hotel floors and for all guests.
 Chief butlers should make regular meeting with his staff to listen to their ideas
and recommendations for improving the service.
 Chief butlers should regularly train all butlers on all subjects in order to maintain
the satisfaction for all customers.
 Chief butlers should support and promote formal and informal relationships
between crewmember and their supervisors both inside and outside the
workplace;
 Chief butlers should create an attractive work environment, share information and
develop capability;
 Chief butlers should design an effective reward system and annual increases for
increasing his staff satisfaction.

REFERENCES

Anderson, W., and Sullivan, W. (1993). The Antecedents and Consequences of Customer
Satisfaction for Firms. Marketing Science, 12(2), 125–143.

Babakus, E., Yavas, U., Karatepe, O., and Avci, T. (2003). The effect of management
commitment to service quality on employees’ affective and performance outcomes.
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 20(10), 1–15.

20
 Peer-reviewed Scientific Journal of Faculty of Tourism and Hotel, Alexandria University

Barsade, S. G. (2002). The ripple effect: Emotional contagion and its influence on group
behavior. Administrative Science Quarterly, 47(4) 644-675.

Bartlett, C. and Ghoshal, S. (2002). Building completive advantage through people. MIT
Slogan Management Review, 43(2) 34-41

Baum, T. (2002). Skills and training for the hospitality sector: a review of issues. Journal
of Vocational Education & Training, 54 (3), 343-364.

Bendall-Lyon, D., & Powers, T. (2001). The role of complaint management in the service
recovery process. Joint Commission Journal on Quality Improvement, 25(5), 27-286.

Bove, L. and Johnson, W. (2001). Customer relationships with service personnel: do we

measure looseness, quality and strength?. Journal of Business Research, 54 (3) 189-197.

Castro, C.B., Armario, E. and Ruiz, D.M. (2004). The influence of employee
organizational citizenship behavior and customer loyalty. International Journal of
Service Industry Management, 15 (1) 27-53.

Chow, I. H., Lau, V. P., Lo, T. W. Sha, Z. and Yun, H. (2007). Service Quality in
Restaurant Operations in China: Decision- and Experiential-oriented Perspectives.
International Journal of Hospitality Management. 26 (3), 698-710.

Dale, B. G. (2003). Managing Quality. 2nd edition. Hemel Hampstead, Prentice-Hall.

Doucet, L. 2004. Service provider hostility and service quality. Academy of Management
Journal, 47(5) 761-772.

Dube, L., Renagham, L. M. and Miller, J M. (1994). Measuring Customer Satisfaction for
Strategic Management. The Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 35
(1), 39-47.

Fornell, C. (1992). A National Customer Satisfaction Barometer: The Swedish

Experience. Journal of Marketing, 56 (1), 6–21.

21
 Peer-reviewed Scientific Journal of Faculty of Tourism and Hotel, Alexandria University

Gronroos, C. (1984). An Applied Service Marketing Theory. European Journal of

Marketing, 16 (17), 30-41.

Gronroos, C. (1988). Service Quality: the Six Criteria of Good Perceived Service Quality.
Review of Business, 9 (3), 10-13.

Hatfield, E., Cacioppo, T. and Rapson. L., (1992). Emotional Contagion. eds. Review of
Personality and Social Psychology. CA, Newbury Park, 151-177.

Hatfield, E., Cacioppo, T., and Rapson L., (1994). Emotional Contagion. Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge: England.

Homburg, C., M. and Stock, R. (2004). The link between salespeople's job satisfaction
and customer satisfaction in a business-to-business context: A dyadic analysis. Journal of
The Academy of Marketing Science, 32 (2) 144-158.

Howard, D. and Gengler, C. (2001). Emotional contagion effects on product attitudes.

Journal of Consumer Research, 28, 189-201.

International Guide of Professional Butlers (IGPB) (2014). History of butler service

(Internet) available from http://www.guildofbutlers.com/index.php/hotel-butler-
service/history-of-butler-service, (Accessed on 12.3.2014)

Kotler P., Armstrong G., Saunders J. Wong V. (2002). Principle of Marketing, 3rd
edition, Pretence Hall $Europe.

Lee, Y. L. & Hing, N. (1995). Measuring Quality in Restaurants Operations: An

Application of the SERVQUAL Instrument. International Journal of Hospitality
Management, 4 (3-4), 293-310.

Levesque, T. and Mc Dougall , G. (1996). Determinants of customer satisfaction in retail

banking. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 14 (7)12 - 20

Mohr, L., & Bitner, M.J. (1995). The role of employee effort and satisfaction with service
transactions. Journal of Business Research, 32(2), 335–349.

22
 Peer-reviewed Scientific Journal of Faculty of Tourism and Hotel, Alexandria University

Nunnally, J.C. (1987). Psychometric theory. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Oliver, R. L. (1980). A Cognitive Model of the Antecedents and Consequences of

Satisfaction Decisions. Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. XVII, November.

Oliver, R. L. (1993). Cognitive, Affective, and Attribute Bases of the Satisfaction

Response. Journal of Consumer Research, 20, 418–430.

Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A. & Berry, L. (1985). A Conceptual Model of Service

Quality and Its Implications for Future Research. Journal of Marketing, 49 (4), 41-50.

Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, A., and Berry, L. (1991). Refinement and reassessment of the
SERVQUAL Scale. Journal of Retailing, 67 (4), 420-50.

Pettijohn, S., Pettijohn, E. and Luke, H. (1997) An Evaluation of Fast Food Restaurant
Satisfaction: Determinants, Competitive Comparisons and Impact on Future Patronage.
Journal of Restaurant and Foodservice Marketing, 2 (3), 3-20.

Qu, H. (1997) Determinant Factors and Choice Intention for Chinese Restaurant Dining:
Multivariate Approach. Journal of Restaurant and Food service Marketing, 2 (2), 35-49.

Ruyter, K. and Wetzels, M. (2000). Customer equity considerations in service recovery:

Across-industry perspective. International Journal of public sector Management, 19(7),
659-672.

Scanlon, L. (1998). Quality Restaurant Service Guaranteed: A Training Outline. Canada,

Wiley & Sons.

Schiffman, G. and Kanuk, L. (2004). Consumer Behaviour. 8th edition. New Jersey
Pearson Education Inc, Upper Saddle RiverTitus

Schoenewolf, G. (1990). Emotional contagion: Behavioral induction in individuals and

groups. Modern Psychoanalysis, 15, 49-61.

23
 Peer-reviewed Scientific Journal of Faculty of Tourism and Hotel, Alexandria University

Sobaih, A.E., Coleman, P., Ritchie, C. and Jones, E. (2011). Part-time restaurant
employee perceptions of management practices: an empirical investigation. The Service
Industries Journal. 31 (11), 1749-68.

Spreng, R. A., and Mackoy, R. D. (1996). An empiric al examination of a model of

perceived serviced service quality and satisfaction. Journal of Retailing, 72(2), 201–214.

Ferry S, (2004). Hotel Butlers, the Great Service Differentiators. BookSurge Publishing,
North Charleston.

Stevens, P., Knutson, B. and Patton, M. (1995) DINSERV: A Tool for Measuring Service
Quality in Restaurants. The Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 36
(2), 56-60.

Sutton, R., and Rafaeli, A. (1988). Untangling the relationship between displayed
emotions and organizational sales: The case of convenience stores. Academy of
Management Journal 31 (3) 461-487.

Wall, A. & Berry, L. (2007). The Combined Effects of the Physical Environment and
Employee Behaviour on Customer Perception of Restaurant Service Quality. The Cornell
Hotel and Restaurants Quarterly, 48 (1), 59-69.

Wilson A., Zeithaml A., Bitner J., Gremler D. (2008). Services Marketing, McGraw-Hill
Education.

Yoon, M., Beathy, S., and Suh, J. (2001). The effect of work climate on critical employee
and customer outcomes: An employee level analysis. International Journal of Service
Industry Management, 12(5), 500–522.

24

View publication stats