For a service company to survive the emerging world without borders it is essential for them to offer service quality (Kundu & Vora 2004). But it is s problem for customers and providers to define the true nature of service because of its abstact nature. (Berly et al 1985). Service providers encounter difficulty in distinguishing their offering from those of their competitors. At the same time, customers also encounter that same difficulty because they cannot evaluate the service before it is acquired and consumed. Unlike physical product, services are temporary, to the extent that they can only be consumed as long as the activity process continues. (Berly et al 1985). When the activity or process discontinues, the services ceases to exist. Services are also consumed at the same time they are produced. Deliveries of most service are considered heterogeneous because it involves human interaction and labour intensity. Because of this service quality can vary considerably from one situation to another even if it is in the same organization – there is lack of standard. To become competitive and always on the top, the company must have service trainings for their employees.(Dominguez, 1999).
Service training are activities that will enhance the capability of the people giving the service. A strong training program is critical to good organizational performance. That is why continuous training especially those related to technological change must comply to assure quality, including the following
(1) The permanent change in knowledge, skills and abilities;
(2) An evident change in the cognitive, affective and behavioural aspects;
(3) improvement in the quality of the performance in the work (Ford & Kraiger 1995)
But not all training programs are created equal. That is why we must know what is the best approach for improving service quality.
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Statement of the Problem:
The research under study aims to know the effect of different training approach to the improvement of quality service. Specifically it will answer the following problems:
What is the effect of the following approaches to the improvement of quality service
scenario training approach
home alone approach
hit them hard and leave them wanting more” approach
no training
Is there a significant difference between the three training approach?
How important is service training in the improvement of quality service?
Rationale of the Study
Delivering quality service in a hospitality industry is a huge challenge especially for the managers because of the growing competition in the hospitality market . What must one company do to survive the growing trend? Since quality is the product that this company is selling. They should be selling the best of the best. So how can they do that? Delivering quality service for the customer will make the customers return to the company. They should be trained to do the right things to attract customers and increase sales for the company. There are three training approaches that will be use in this research study. The scenario training approach, the home-alone approach and the “hit them hard and leave them wanting more” approach.
In scenario training, the subject will be trained in an environment that is the exact replica of the workplace situation in which the employee will perform.
In home alone approach, the subject will be given manual and cd’s to listen to that contains the training materials.
In “hit them hard and leave them wanting more” approach, the subject will participate in a one day training seminar under a good instructor.
Aims and Objective
The aim of this report is to measure the importance of service training to the improvement of quality service and to find the best service training approach that works.
The following objective will be use to achieve the aim:
§ Evaluate the service quality of selected hotels in United Kingdom
§ Assess their performance as a service-oriented company
§ Examine the impact of different type of service training to the selected hotels
§ Determine the best approach that will help in the improvement of quality service.
This objectives will be use as a guide in the research study, this will help a lot in
drawing conclusion as on the importance of service training to the improvement of service quality in the hospitality industry.
Significance of the study
This research study is for the growth and development of the hospitality industry. Specifically it will help the following people/institution/ organization
Hotel Administrators and Manager – will serve as their guide in choosing the service training that will improve the service quality for their company. Through this research they will be able to know the needs of their clients and employees.
Trainers and Speakers – for those who are in the field of training design for hospitality industry. This research will help them better understand the needs of the employees and managers that will undergo training. This research will help them design a good training program that will help the company increase their sales through quality service.
Future researcher – this will serve as their guide in their research in the field of hospitality industry.
PRELIMINARY LITERATURES
Quality Service
Kundu & Vora (2004) suggested that effective delivery of quality service involves finding customers, identifying their needs and meeting or exceeding their expectations. There are five distinct gaps in an organization that influence consumer’s perception of service quality (Zeithaml, et al., 1988).
These gaps describe differences in:
Expectation of consumer and perception of management of consumer expectation;
Perception of management of consumer expectation and specifications of service quality;
Specification Service quality and the actual service delivered
Delivered service and what is communicated about the service to consumer;
Expectation of Consumer and the perception of delivered service.
Service Training
A continuous training is needed to be able to cope up with changes and effects (Prieto, et al 1996) In developing a service training program that will be helpful in the improvement of service quality, we should know first the nature of delivering quality service. According to Zeithaml (1991) the most critical step in delivering service quality is to know what the customer wants. Because there is no definite and standardize construct in this concept.
In a study conducted in Rabinson Hotels Worldwide, they developed a comprehensive training seminar using training manuals and videotapes for the managers and employees of the hotel to support the service guarantee program that they will implement. The improvement in their service quality using service training before implementing a new program made the Radison hotel recognized as the “Star of the Industry” in 1998 (Hill et al, 1998)
METHODOLOGY
The purpose of this study is to examine the importance of service training to the improvement of service quality. The effect of the three training approaches in the improvement of the service quality will be examined. Factorial design will be employed to examine the effect of the different treatment. This will take the following form:
where:
T – Experimental Group having the treatment
C- Control Group having no treatment
O1- Rating result from customers
O2 – Observation (measuring) result from the supervisor
O3 – Ratings from the subject
There will be one control group (no training), and three treatments: Treatment 1- the scenario approach; Treatment 2 – the home alone approach; and Treatment 3 – “hit them hard and leave them wanting more” approach. Sample random sampling will be use to get the sample population needed for this study.
To measure the importance and effect of the three training approach, a survey questions using semantic differential design will be sent to customers to rate the performance of the employees; The designated supervisor will also rate the individual performance of the employees and the employees themselves will rate their performance. Gathered data from this research will be subject to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to see measure the effect of service training to the quality of service.
