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Article
Publication date: 6 July 2018

Yucheng Zhang and Stephen J. Frenkel

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how part-time waiters perceive and respond to abusive supervision by the owner-manager of a small restaurant.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how part-time waiters perceive and respond to abusive supervision by the owner-manager of a small restaurant.

Design/methodology/approach

An ethnographic approach was used to collect data. One of the authors worked as a participant observer for three months. In addition, 13 interviews and three focus group discussions were conducted.

Findings

Data analysis showed how neutral identification based on a primary identity—liu xu sheng (overseas student)—overshadows employees’ occupational identity (waiter), which helps waiters to cope with abusive supervision.

Originality/value

Development and application of the concept of neutral organizational identification orientation encourages emotional suppression and reframing, leading to waiters’ indifference and acquiescence in abusive supervision. Implications are drawn for theory and the practice of managing part-time and temporary workers.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 40 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 April 2008

Chu‐Mei Liu

The purpose of this paper is to see whether people who serve and people who receive service in restaurants are aware of the factors that researchers and restaurant professionals…

4514

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to see whether people who serve and people who receive service in restaurants are aware of the factors that researchers and restaurant professionals believe affect the size of tips.

Design/methodology/approach

The research comprises two studies. Study 1 focuses on waiters – an anonymous questionnaire was used. Study 2 was designed to assess the attitudes and beliefs of customers about the same variables that waiters had earlier reported on.

Findings

The findings confirmed a number of hypotheses. Respondents claim that they themselves tip more than most people. Results indicate that waiters‐customers were more generous tippers and were more accurate in the bill than customers. Although waiters and customers share many beliefs about tipping, waiters may be more aware than customers of the relevant characteristics of the situation and of the individual involved.

Research limitations/implications

Additional research is needed to help managers to identify dissatisfied customers by training to watch customers and read customers' non‐verbal signals of dissatisfaction. The study may be a useful approach to studying other occupations as well.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that management should not rely on tips as the only motivation for service, and as an indicator of waiters' performance and level of customers' satisfaction.

Originality/value

This current effort was undertaken using the new dyad, non‐waiter customer versus waiter‐customer, to capture the effect of experience and understanding of the waiters' role in the tipping process.

Details

Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 22 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0887-6045

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 August 2020

M.J. Jerez-Jerez and T.C. Melewar

Purpose- This study aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between waiters’ professional identity and its antecedents such as work interaction, identity…

Abstract

Purpose

Purpose- This study aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between waiters’ professional identity and its antecedents such as work interaction, identity interferences, stigma, standardisation brand, authenticity, extroversion and education. “Salience” will be used as a moderator of this relationship to explain the prominence of the stimuli. The consequences of professional identity on passion and turnover intention will be analysed.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a qualitative methodology, which encompassed 3 focus group discussions (18 participants) and 11 in-depth interviews. Participants will be based on Michelin-starred restaurants in London. Founded on analysis of the qualitative data, the antecedents and consequences of professional identity were formulated.

Findings

Findings demonstrate that the main factors of the formation of waiters’ professional identity are work interaction, identity interferences, stigma, standardisation brand, authenticity, extroversion and education, its consequences (passion and turnover intention) and salience as a moderator of this relationship to clarify the relevance of the stimuli. These factors have been demonstrated to have an effect on the formation of professional identity.

Originality/value

This study is relevant because the repercussion of perceptions, such as identity and identification for emerging exclusive job roles, is still under-examined in certain conditions. Restaurateurs need to work with and comprehend the quality individual framework of waiters in job roles because these have a stimulus on the fundamental interests, such as passion for work and turnover of the waiting workforce. Moreover, within the hospitality industry, there has been a predisposition to prominence more on chefs than waiting staff.

Details

Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, vol. 23 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1352-2752

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 July 2014

Adam Dennett, Derek Cameron, Colin Bamford and Andrew Jenkins

The purpose of this paper is to investigate, through metaphor analysis, the complex nature of the work undertaken by waiters and pursers on-board cruise ships. This is an…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate, through metaphor analysis, the complex nature of the work undertaken by waiters and pursers on-board cruise ships. This is an under-researched field and empirical research has produced some interesting perceptions that these groups of workers have of themselves, of others, and of the world in which they work and live.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 20 semi-structured interviews were conducted over the telephone from a sample of international participants. The data were analysed using a metaphor analysis.

Findings

There were three clusters of metaphorical illustration found: metaphors of the ship, metaphors of the environment, and metaphors of their occupation. The metaphors of the environment were split into two sub-clusters. One explored how participants understood the ship's space or work setting, and the second identified the strategies used as participants negotiated their way through their working and social lives. The stories collected from the workers have produced a very different but realistic perspective of the working lives of waiters and pursers.

Research limitations/implications

Metaphors can only offer a partial view of a social phenomenon, rather than an all-encompassing view, which are furthermore specific to the research setting. Notably, for half of all participants English was not their first language, and consequently this may have had an impact upon their use of metaphors.

Practical implications

This research highlights the socio-employment relationship and complexities of working on cruise ships. In particular, it recognises behavioural learning practices and organisational bureaucratic utilities, which the industry relies upon for managing employees.

Originality/value

This study contributes new knowledge in an under-researched context exploring the sociological lives of hospitality cruise ship workers. The use of metaphor analysis has provided an interesting and useful route to extend understanding of cruise ship work.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 36 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 July 2013

Yves Van Vaerenbergh and Jonas Holmqvist

Despite the importance of the interaction between consumers and service personnel for how consumers perceive quality, service research assumes that both customers and service…

2762

Abstract

Purpose

Despite the importance of the interaction between consumers and service personnel for how consumers perceive quality, service research assumes that both customers and service provider are perfectly able to interact with each other. This might not be the case on bilingual markets. This paper aims to examine customers ' behavioral reactions to being served in their first versus second language. Specifically, the paper tests whether bilinguals who are served in their second language are less likely to tip the service provider. Moreover, it seeks to examine the mediating role of speech accommodation, and the moderating roles of bilinguals ' perceived second language proficiency and political considerations.

Design/methodology/approach

Study 1 tests the main hypothesis using a scenario-based experiment with adult consumers in two bilingual countries (Belgium, Finland). Study 2 further elaborates on these findings using a retrospective survey of actual customer experiences in Belgium.

Findings

Driven by perceptions of speech accommodation, the results consistently show that consumers are more likely to tip if served in their native language compared to when served in their second language. Moreover, this relationship is not dependent on consumers ' perceived second language proficiency, but rather upon their political considerations.

Originality/value

This is the first study of bilingual customers ' behavioral reactions to being served in their second language, among bilingual customers from different countries. Given that more than half the countries in the world are multilingual, service providers need to take customers ' native language into account when serving bilingual customers.

Article
Publication date: 17 April 2009

Nancy Bouranta, Leonidas Chitiris and John Paravantis

The purpose of this paper is to provide experimental evidence supporting the view that internal service quality has a direct effect on external service quality.

31652

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide experimental evidence supporting the view that internal service quality has a direct effect on external service quality.

Design/methodology/approach

The study focuses on the restaurant industry in Greece. Waiters are considered as internal customers and kitchen personnel as internal suppliers. Inferential analysis included factor analysis on individual waiter and customer data as well as canonical correlation analysis on a restaurant level.

Findings

Factor analysis of external service quality revealed six factors including product, organizational image, safety and choice, empathy, reliability as well as responsiveness. Internal service quality factors, additional to those found in external service quality research, included professionalism and internet. Canonical correlation revealed that the internal service quality dimensions of safety, reliability and internet exert a direct positive influence on the external service quality dimensions of organizational image, empathy and responsiveness.

Originality/value

The paper shows that service firms should focus on internal service quality in order to improve external service quality.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 21 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 August 2007

Martha G. Robinson and Paul A. Lynch

The purpose of this paper is to explore issues of control, fake solidarity and breakdown in hospitality. Following Robinson and Lynch, the need to explore the subjective…

846

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore issues of control, fake solidarity and breakdown in hospitality. Following Robinson and Lynch, the need to explore the subjective experience of hospitality through literature is identified as being highly important to the understanding of this social phenomenon. One poem was chosen as a means of exploring subjective dimensions of hospitality and a detailed study was undertaken.

Design/methodology/approach

From a total of 60 published poems on hospitality originally identified, one poem was selected owing to the interesting conceptual issues it raised, “Coffee with the meal” by Ogden Nash. The method of analysis is a sociolinguistic study from a critical discourse analysis perspective.

Findings

Issues are elicited concerning management control, the micro‐ and macro‐universes affecting hospitality (as defined in Robinson and Lynch), the significance of forms of discourse in the construction of hospitality, issues leading to a breakdown in the consumer's perception of the hospitality experience. In Ogden Nash's poem, the breakdown is presented at the inter‐personal level between the service provider (the waiter) and the customer.

Research limitations/implications

The investigation of sociolinguistic discourse from a critical discourse analysis perspective, applied to textual analysis provides a potentially valuable tool for analyzing literature in the search for insights into the assumptions and cultural discourse about hospitality. In this case, the chosen poem suggests that experiences of hospitality in commercial hospitality settings are subject to control by service deliverers. The insights provided can be instructive as comments on the experience of being a guest in commercial contexts. The poem is illustrative rather than representative.

Practical implications

The analysis of these poems can be useful in developing a sensitive awareness of service breakdowns and the perceptions of customers. The research can assist in the development of a more customer‐centric approach to guest and host relations in commercial settings. Discussion focuses upon the significance of discourse, how we know hospitality, curriculum implications and means of advancing qualitative research methods used in hospitality.

Originality/value

The use of literary criticism of poems is a unique approach which suggests that the study of hospitality can be informed invoking a multidisciplinary approach, by insights from fields of study not immediately linked to the management of commercial hospitality operations.

Details

International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, vol. 1 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6182

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 December 2007

Yang Xiang and Wanlei Zhou

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a wireless web‐based ordering system called iMenu in the restaurant industry.

1085

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a wireless web‐based ordering system called iMenu in the restaurant industry.

Design/methodology/approach

By using wireless devices such as personal digital assistants and WebPads, this system realizes the paradigm of pervasive computing at tableside. Detailed system requirements, design, implementation and evaluation of iMenu are presented.

Findings

The evaluation of iMenu shows it explicitly increases productivity of restaurant staff. It also has other desirable features such as integration, interoperation and scalability. Compared to traditional restaurant ordering process, by using this system customers get faster and better services, restaurant staff cooperate more efficiently with less working mistakes, and enterprise owners thus receive more business profits.

Originality/value

While many researchers have explored using wireless web‐based information systems in different industries, this paper presents a system that employs wireless multi‐tiered web‐based architecture to build pervasive computing systems. Instead of discussing theoretical issues on pervasive computing, we focus on practical issues of developing a real system, such as choosing of web‐based architecture, design of input methods in small screens, and response time in wireless web‐based systems.

Details

International Journal of Pervasive Computing and Communications, vol. 3 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1742-7371

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1995

Xuejian Yu

This paper presents an analysis of interview data and field notes from participant observation collected during a four‐month period to discover different work‐related cultural…

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of interview data and field notes from participant observation collected during a four‐month period to discover different work‐related cultural assumptions between Chinese and American co‐workers in a multicultural organization. The paper also addresses how those different cultural assumptions which guide the ways Chinese and American workers conceptualize their jobs and job behaviors lead to conflict as the employees go about their daily business. The contrasting cultural assumptions discussed in the paper are (1) Chinese and American views of the role of manager and the practice of “managing,” (2) Chinese and American conceptualizations of good service, and (3) Chinese and American perspectives of compensation. Finally, the paper discusses some theoretical and methodological implications of the current study and its research method for future studies of cultural and conflict in multicultural contexts.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 6 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

Article
Publication date: 29 July 2014

Carmen Padin and Goran Svensson

The purpose of this paper is to describe a framework and illustration to assess and manage the perceived content and experiences in hospitality processes through the lens of…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe a framework and illustration to assess and manage the perceived content and experiences in hospitality processes through the lens of teleological actions. Teleological actions are movements into the future that are believed to move either towards a predictable/known or unpredictable/unknown state or condition: transformative – ad hoc and present-based actions; formative – pre-determined and past-based actions; and rationalist – goal-directed and future-based actions.

Design/methodology/approach

A framework of teleological actions and its underlying logic illustrates how critical hospitality processes may be assessed and managed in both research and practice.

Findings

The lens of teleological actions offers a non-traditional and unusual, potentially unique, perspective on hospitality processes. It reveals additional insights to assess and manage critical incidents in hospitality processes between service providers and service receivers.

Research limitations/implications

Assessing and managing hospitality processes through the lens of teleological actions makes both a contribution to and provides opportunities for further research in the field of hospitality management.

Practical implications

It opens up the possibility of examining different hospitality processes based upon the lens of teleological actions. It provides interesting and valuable insights in relation to contemporary approaches to assess and manage critical incidents in the literature of hospitality processes.

Originality/value

It sheds a different and additional light upon current theory and practice in hospitality management. It explicitly addresses the meaning of time and how to relate to the content and experiences of previous, current and forthcoming hospitality processes.

Details

International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, vol. 8 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6182

Keywords

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