TMHM3 – LESSON 1

Knutson (1990) reflected in his research that the intense competition in the hospitality industry has led
many businesses to look for ways on how they can profitably differentiate themselves from their
competition and capture the highest quality. Similarly, Weiermair (2000) noted that in the tourism
sector, even though the production and distribution of services involve different experiences on both
parts of the tourists and the suppliers, the ultimate goal is still to achieve the highest quality possible.

To determine the highest quality" one must first understand the concept of "quality." For our guests in
the tourism and hospitality industry, one will be using specifications, standards, and other measures to
evaluate quality. This is now a piece of evidence that quality can be understood, defined, and measured.
Especially for our guests, sometimes if asked on quality, they could not define it but would immediately
know one when they see one. It will now be critical for quality to be seen. To illustrate, as what the
quote says, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," so is quality, and more importantly, our guests define
it.

Joseph Juran, one of the pioneers in "quality" research, defined quality as "fitness for use." This means
that the concept of quality is variable to the one defining it. We cannot say that the service of a casual
dining restaurant has high quality if we have no intention of dining in the said restaurant. It is because
we are not intended for the said restaurant, so we have no means in determining quality. A dining staff
member that has no experience in the kitchen cannot decipher the difference whether a kitchen knife is
of good quality or not. It is because it is not fit for him/her to use it. The International Organization for
Standardization (ISO), the world body for standard formulation, also defined quality as "the totality of
features and characteristics of a good or service that bear on its ability to satisfy a given or implied
need." In the definition, it is clear that a "given or implied need" should be addressed and this is usually
defined by the user, in our case, our guest or restaurant staff from which he/she will address the criteria
for quality,

SERVICE PRODUCT: GOODS AND SERVICES

Many have been mentioned already with the concepts of products and services. But let us add another
term: goods. These three terms are often confused with each other. For the purposes of this book, we
will be taking the marketing perspective of the terms. A product can be defined as anything that we can
offer to a market for attention, acquisition, use, or consumption that could satisfy a need or want.
However, the definition of product does not only involve tangible goods such as those that are
purchased in restaurants like burgers, fries, or drinks. The definition of product must be extended to
include intangible objects as well because they can also be offered to a market. Burgers, fries, and drinks
are what embody the next term, which is goods. Goods, according to Hill (1999), refer to physical
objects for which a demand exists; their physical attributes are preserved over time; and their
ownership can be established, can exist independently of the owner, and can be traded on markets,
Services, meanwhile, have four features. Lovelock (1983) connoted this as the IHIP characteristics:
intangible, heterogeneous, inseparable, and perishable.
Services are intangible in nature. It means that they cannot be touched as they are not physical and can
only exist in connection to other things. For example, the warm smile and grateful service of a food
attendant in a restaurant cannot be touched but can be felt and can only exist because you have
ordered a food item in a restaurant. Similarly, services are heterogeneous due to their dependence on
the workforce which does the act. In hospitality, this concept is sometimes referred to as
"inconsistency." The service that a hair therapist renders to his/her client at 10 am would be of different
quality and dimension as to when he/she does the service at 8 pm. This is why the industry has the
concept of "service recovery" in place. Just like when a famous pizza house delivers its pizza on time, if it
fails to do so, the pizza would be free. The concept of heterogeneity is also brought about by the
differing likes and dislikes of the guest. Even though a standard is set, the satisfaction of each guest
varies greatly and course, as previously stated, the guest defines the concept of high quality that is why,
commonly, the service staff adheres to the request of the guest. Inseparability, meanwhile, means that
the production (act of delivery of service staff) and the consumption (guest experience) cannot be
separated from each other. In a spa, for example, the service rendered by a spa therapist cannot be
done while the guest is still at the office. The guest should be present for the massage service to be
done. Using technical criteria to define services, Smith (1776) states that a service will perish in the very
instant of its performance, and seldom leave any trace or value behind them for which an equal quantity
of services could afterwards be procured." This is especially true for hotels where the main product is
the sale of its guest rooms. For example, if the sales team of a particular hotel does not perform its job
properly, usually the chance where a room can be sold is lost forever. The sale cannot be brought back
again for that specific day and time. Because of these characteristics, implications exist.

Now that we have distinguished the differences between goods and services, it is now time for us to
develop the service product concept. Ford (2011) mentioned that goods and services could not be
separated from each other. In the delivery of services, one cannot be performed properly without the
use of tangible items.

For example, for a spa therapist to be able to conduct a full-body massage, he/she needs a cozy bed that
would ensure comfort to his/her guest, essential oils to apply to the body for the massage, or glasses
when conducting ventosa service. A tour guide needs maps, flags, or other collaterals for him/her to
deliver his/her commentary. Thus, it is essential that these components be purchased as a package.
With this, the concept of service product was conceptualized.

DIMENSIONS OF QUALITY FOR SERVICE PRODUCTS

Garvin (1987), in an article in Harvard Business Review, mentioned that because of the competition for
high quality goods and services and with the internationalization of said concepts, the following
dimensions for quality should be observed and considered:

1. Performance - It refers to a service product's primary operating characteristics. Usually in the

hospitality and tourism industry, as we are catering to intangible dominant concepts, performance often
means prompt service. This dimension of quality has very measurable attributes that is why brands can
usually be ranked objectively on their respective aspects. Although measurable, it is quite hard to
measure overall performance rankings as they involve benefits that not every consumer needs.

2. Features - Features are dime ions of quality, which are usually cited as a secondary aspect of
performance. They are secondary in such a way that they supplement the basic functioning of a service
product. Examples would include free drinks on a plane, free Wi-Fi service in guest rooms, and a
complimentary hot tea after a full-body massage. Sometimes, identifying features from the primary
performance characteristics is difficult as they accentuate the actual performance indicators. But what is
important to know is that features involve objective and measurable attributes that can be clearly
observed which sometimes affect their translation in quality differences.

3. Reliability - It refers to the ability to perform the promised service product dependably and
accurately. This means that being able to provide service as promised is one of the main considerations
in assessing this dimension. The guest assesses quality by gauging that when he/she is promised to for
his/her pizza to be delivered in 30 minutes, it should be delivered in less than or exactly 30 minutes.
When the guest is promised for a mouth-watering dining experience, then the ambiance, service, and
food should all be complimentary to deliver the said experience. Reliability can also mean dependability
in handling guests' service problems, in that every challenge or difficulty that may arise be treated right
the first time.

4. Conformance - This quality dimension means that a service product's design and characteristics
should meet the standard set. Juran became one of the pioneers who specialized on this area. Service
products to be accomplished and performed properly need to have specifications. When new product
offerings or service provisions are developed, dimensions are actually set to become standards for
evaluation. These specifications are treated as the "targets" to be met in a specific service product.

5. Durability - This dimension is more detectable in goods rather than in services and it has both
technical and economic dimensions. Technically, durability can refer to the amount of use before a
specific product deteriorates. For example, a commercial oven can be measured by the number of years
it may service a specific kitchen inside a restaurant, or an espresso machine in the case of coffee shops.
In the case of service aspect, in both personal and company reputation, costs in training and hiring of
qualified and complementary staff may be considered within this dimension.

6. Serviceability - The sixth dimension of quality, again more inclined toward goods rather than services,
is serviceability or the speed, courtesy, competence, and ease of repair. Guests are concerned with the
breakdown of the products that are actually offered to them. But most importantly, they are concerned
with how fast the standard they paid for can be restored. Connecting to service concepts, this dimension
can also cover how fast a hotel can transfer a guest to another hotel after he/she was declined because
the initial hotel was fully booked, or how the restaurant management can deal with accidents and give
service recovery at the soonest possible time.

7. Aesthetics - This dimension, along with the last dimension, are highly subjective. Aesthetics—how a
service product is perceived—is clearly a matter of personal judgment. It reflects how a guest is as an
individual. Even with this fact, there appears to be some patterns in guests' likes and dislikes when it
comes to basis of tastes. Their tastes of course are affected by a variety of factors, including their
demographic and psychographic characteristics. Because of this, hotels, resorts and other hospitality
and tourism establishments need to conduct market segmentation to develop their target segments; as
what the quote says, "You can't have it all." In the case of some famous hotel chains, they have
segmented their properties or brands to cater to differing needs of the guests.

8. Perceived Quality - Guests usually do not have a complete guide on a service product's dimensions;
unknowingly, they are indirectly measuring and this measurement is the only basis for them to compare
brands. A tour experience for example cannot be observed directly; it usually must be gauged by a
number of tangible and intangible aspects of the tour package. Because of this, images, advertising, and
brand names can be critical. Some brands even ship from outside the country to maintain service quality
and to deliver value as they promised it to their guests. Corporate reputation is its most prized
possession and is the focus of perceived quality

NOTABLE PEOPLE IN SERVICE QUALITY

With the emerging demand for studies in total quality management and services marketing leading to
the study of service quality, the following people were involved in the evolution:

1. Walter A. Shewhart was an American physicist, engineer, and statistician. He is also known as the
Father of Statistical Quality Control and also related to the Shewhart cycle.

2. William Edwards Deming was an American engineer, statistician, professor, author, lecturer, and
management consultant. He championed the work of Walter Shewhart, including statistical process
control, operational definitions, and what Deming called the "Shewhart cycle" which had evolved into
Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA).

3. Joseph M. Juran made many contributions to the field of quality management in his more than 70
active working years. His book, Quality Control Handbook, is a classic reference for quality engineers. He
revolutionized the Japanese philosophy on quality management and in no small way worked to help
shape Japan's economy into the industrial leader it is today. Dr. Juran was the first to incorporate the
human aspect of quality management which is referred to as Total Quality Management (TQM).

4. Philip B. Crosby was a businessman and author who contributed to management theory and quality
management practices. He initiated the Zero Defects program at the Martin Company. As the quality
control manager of the Pershing missile program, Crosby was credited with a twenty-five percent (25%)
reduction in the overall rejection rate and a thirty percent (30%) reduction in scrap costs.

5. Armand V. Feigenbaum was an American quality control expert and businessman. He devised the
concept of Total Quality Control (TOC) which inspired Total Quality Management (TOM).

6. Kaoru Ishikawa is notable for rejuvenating the norm in the workplace. He always believed that quality
should not stop in reinventing a product alone. He was one of the few people who believed that
delivering quality does not stop in purchasing the product; it goes beyond the transaction itself. Thus, he
highlighted and reinvented the concept of customer service, giving us the concept of after-sale service
and warranty. He was also the one who coined the "Ishikawa" or "fishbone" diagram that highlights the
cause and effect of the activities and processes while in constant search of quality in operations

7. Genichi Taguchi was an engineer and statistician. From the 1950s onward, he developed a
methodology for applying statistics to improve the quality of manufactured goods. Taguchi methods
have been controversial among some conventional Western statisticians, but others have accepted
many of the concepts introduced by him as valid extensions to the body of knowledge.

In services marketing and management, the following have made significant contributions noteworthy
to be recognized:

1. James H. Donnelly, in his works, highlighted the differences between the marketing "channels" used
for services and those used for physical goods and implications for marketing strategy

2. A. "Parsu” Parasuraman, Valarie A. Zeithaml, and Leonard L. Berry developed their pioneering "gaps
model" of service quality which highlighted the importance of efforts made to assess quality in services.

3. Mary Jo Bitner and Bernard H. Booms developed their expanded "marketing mix" for services which
took into account the distinctive characteristics of service identified in the "crawling out" stage
intangibility, inseparability, heterogeneity, and perishability. They added three more Ps to this original
marketing mix to make it more appropriate to services: people, process, and physical evidence,

4. Christopher Lovelock was best known as a pioneer in the field of Services Marketing among other
titles, such as author professor, and consultant. He was also known for his excellent case studies.

5. Theodore Levitt was an economist and professor at Harvard Business School. He was also an editor of
the Harvard Business Review who was especially noted for increasing the Review's circulation and for
popularizing the term globalization. In 1983, he proposed a definition for corporate purpose: Rather
than merely making money, it is to create and keep a customer

6. Walt Disney and the Disney Company while crafting their concept for theme parks also pioneered the
thought of the service providers not only as team players but also as "cast members" just like in a movie
or theater.

7. Bruce Laval, an industrial engineer of the Disney Company, conceptualized the term "guestology and
the guest point of view (GPOV) when viewing service quality in the tourism and hospitality industry.

GUESTOLOGY

Dickson (2010) defined guestology as the scientific study of the behaviors, needs, and expectations of
people in a service environment, and how to use that knowledge to optimally manage a service
organization. The concept that Bruce Laval, the father of guestology, introduced has now become a
science that deals with understanding the guest.
Guestology entails studying the totality of the guest experience, from their expectations down to the
results and feedback. Klein (2014) mentioned in her study that guestology involves knowing the guests
or clients and their needs and wants, perceptions, and expectations. Her approach toward guestology
entails involving every person with whom the service provider has in the workplace. As tricky as it is,
identifying the actual needs and wants, perceptions, and expectations will really seal the deal. Long ago,
it seemed that establishments operated under assumptions that they already had an idea of what these
needs and wants were, but these assumptions might have fallen anywhere from pairing the guests'
beliefs or being completely different. Any establishment would want to realize that what it actually
needs is to find a way to quantify the answer of answering the question, rather than to assume.

CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS

For customer satisfaction and customer service to be achieved, a complete and proper understanding of
customer expectations is very important. Unless the establishment already knows what the customers
want, what they expect, and who they are, it will be very difficult to match up to the expectations. A
guest who will dine in a restaurant for the first time will have a different expectation than a guest who
has been in the restaurant for a couple of times. The expectation of a frequent flier for business
purposes may also have a different expectation with that of a family on a trip to another country.
Companies should make it a practice to always inquire from their customers whether they have met
their expectations and put all of this data into their internal research. It is important that we note of
their likes, dislikes, needs, wants, and profile as these would be the baseline of our entire operations.
The reality right now is that customer expectations are continuously changing, and unless companies are
attuned to them, they will fall short of these expectations, leading to customer dissatisfaction and
attrition.

Planning for customer satisfaction is really important in this case as this will be the platform for the
design of the experience. This is the role of the guestologist. It is very important that everything is in
place when the guest's senses first come in contact with anything about your establishment, so the role
of the guestologist is very critical. Much more in the Philippine culture, where there are different sets of
beliefs and ideals, there are also different sets of expectations. A conference set in Hong Kong would
have all its meals in cocktail style; however, if you have Filipino guests, this cannot be acceptable
because a typical acceptable meal for them would entail a proper table setup with plush seating and
ambiance. So, different expectations would determine what kind of planning and design you would want
to have for your guests.

Establishments geared toward delivery of services in tourism and hospitality should always be careful
not to over-deliver the said services. As our guest becomes more exposed to what we offer, he/she
becomes more complex and, as such, is accustomed to rely on our decision-making skills to look what
best to give to them. If a guest were to enter a fast-food restaurant with tables lined with expensive
linen, he/she would be expecting the levels of a casual or fine dining restaurant. Some would say that
this is delighting the guest, but it is also important to think that a guest may also think that this
restaurant is too expensive to dine in. Guests would want that their expectations to be met, no more, no
less.
Food attendants or waiters should literally "wait" for their guest when dining in a restaurant.
Anticipating guest needs is one of the primary responsibilities of a waiter and that he/she should be
good at it. It requires full attention so that whenever a guest needs something, he/she could
immediately handle the concern and attend to the guest's request. But it does not mean that the waiter
should be in close vicinity of the guest that the guest could actually see and notice that the waiter is on
"tiger look" at him/her. A guest needs ample space so that he/she could get the privacy that he/she
wants. He/she needs a cozy environment that he/she could enjoy and spend it with people he/she
would want to be with. So, imagine if the waiter exaggeratingly anticipated the needs to the highest
level, the guest would be disappointed and it would ruin the experience. The effort was too much. Thus,
the management team needs to constantly strategize and take into full account the expectations
needed to run this ever-changing and demanding industry.

Depending on the service desired, most of our guests have general similarities when it comes to their
expectations. Their usual expectations would be that the establishment be clean and the staff be
courteous, responsive, reliable, and friendly. These expectations usually go up if the establishment's
level of service also goes up. Unfortunately, not all high-end or luxury establishments have maintained
this kind of service. Ekiz et al. (2012) noted in their article that even in luxury hotels, there are still basic
problems that are actually unresolved, and with social media around, guests have easy access to flaunt
these problems which sets a springboard for other problems. They enumerated a number of problems in
their article which are the following:

1. Rooms - with concerns extending from small sized rooms to rooms with no modern technolog

2. Arrogant and/or clueless staff - with comments ranging from staff being rude and no answers to
questions posed

3. Failure to respond - mainly covering staff's failure to respond to guest complaints

4. Poor delivery - covering complaints such as late service or wrong room service and long process for
check-ins/outs

5. Cleanliness - with criticisms on soiled linen, carpet stains, and hair trapped in bathtubs

6. Amenities and utilities - with problems associated to the lack or inadequacy of toiletries and items in
minibar

7. Billing - with guests grumbling about having them charged extra for parking, Internet, gym, and the
like

Issues like these are typically simple to resolve but management should allot time and enforce policies in
monitoring these problems and ensure that guest service is really a top priority.