Service,emotional labor,and mindfulness

From the seclusion of monastic life to the noise of Silicon Valley, the ancient practice of mindfulness has ‘come out of the cloister.’ As an antidote to mindless cognition and behavior, the practice of mindfulness—with its principle of grounding attention in the present moment—has been shown to have powerful and positive effects at both the individual and the collective level and in fields as wide-ranging as medicine, schooling, prison programs, law and negotiation, business, and even the army. This installment of Marketing & Technology introduces mindfulness to managers and explores its potential for enhancing the service encounter. We begin by reviewing the two main conceptualizations of mindfulness: the cognitive and the contemplative. We then explore the service encounter from the perspective of emotional labor and show how mindfulness can change surface acting into deep acting, thereby significantly improving the service encounter for both the consumer and provider. We also explore the other benefits of mindfulness and their application to the service encounter: adaptability, flexibility, and creativity. We conclude by sharing resources for managers interested in implementing mindfulness training.     

Comparing perceived insecurity among customers and retail staff during service encounters

The study compares perceived insecurity by customers and retail staff during service encounters. The topic is important, because retailers invest millions of dollars in security. The framework of the study divides perceived insecurity into financial, physical, psychosocial and time-related insecurity. A total of 39 consumers participated in seven focus group discussions, and 34 retail staff members responded semi-structured interviews. The study confirms that from both customer and staff perspectives a high quality service encounter has an influence on perceived insecurity, and it diminishes disturbance and criminal activity. However, there are differences between customer and staff perspectives in many areas.     

Switching intention model development: Role of service performances,customer satisfaction,and switching barriers in the hotel industry

The intricate relationships among core service and service encounter performances, customer satisfaction, and switching barriers in the formation of satisfaction and switching intention were examined in this study. A field survey was conducted at upper-midscale hotels. The results of the structural analysis revealed that both core service and service encounter performances significantly affected customer satisfaction, and satisfaction completely mediated the effects of service performances on switching intention. In addition, findings from the tests for metric invariances indicated that components of switching barriers (switching costs, relational investment, and lack of alternatives’ attractiveness) moderated the relationships between satisfaction and switching intention. In particular, the role of satisfaction derived from service performances in decreasing hotel guests’ intention to switch is greater when they perceive high switching costs, relational investment, and lack of alternatives’ attractiveness. Based on study findings, theoretical and practical implications are identified and discussed.     

华北油田冀中电网输配电线路存在的主要问题及应对措施

本文论述了华北油田冀中电网输电线路存在的老化、线路下方违章建筑物、树木顶线、杆塔缺土、施工车辆、挖掘机、吊车误碰导线跳闸等情况,并提出了应对措施。     

Analysis of Employee Performance during Cross-cultural Service Encounters at Luxury Hotels in Hawaii,London and Florida

Globalization has motivated managers and scholars in the tourism industry to focus more attention on the problems and characteristics of the cross-cultural service encounter. During these interactions, differing cultural norms and values often create misunderstanding and conflict, which can result in an unhappy customer, a frustrated service provider and lost business. Therefore, the focus of this study was to analyze the effect of intercultural sensitivity on tourism employee performance in cross-cultural service encounters in three similar, but distinct service-dependent markets: the Hawaiian Islands, Greater London (UK) and the state of Florida. The results indicate that tourism employees with high intercultural sensitivity generally scored significantly (p < 0.05) higher than employees with low intercultural sensitivity in terms of service attentiveness, revenue contribution, interpersonal skills, job satisfaction and social satisfaction as they relate to cross-cultural encounters. There was no significant difference in results for motivation to work, tenure (years at present organization) and primary rewards (compensation, recognition, etc.). Implications of the findings are discussed.     

詹姆斯·乔伊斯《偶遇》中的矛盾冲突

在《偶遇》中,乔·迪伦不是一个可有可无的人物,他是所有冲突的开始。他是一个伏笔。对于这些教会私立学校的学生来说,其行为规范全包括在巴特勒神父所说的那些话当中,就是说,他们始终处于某种压制之下。他从某种意义上可以看作促成＂我＂寻找冒险动机的一个重要因素。我计划并终于开始了我的冒险：拜访鸽子房,不过最终没能达成,意味着一个表面的冒险的受阻和未完成。不过正是这个中断,才促成另外一个冒险,也就是真正冒险的开始——偶遇。这个过程体现了各种各样的冲突：＂我＂和马赫尼,我和所处社会都柏林以及自我和本我的冲突等。     

自助服务技术质量内涵及构成

界定了"自助服务技术质量"概念,并通过实证开发了其测量量表。研究结果表明:包含5个维度的自助服务技术质量测量量表具有较好的内部一致性信度、收敛效度、区别效度和律则效度,并且5个构成维度能够很好地收敛于自助服务技术质量这一更高层次的概念。     

Emotional labor in a non-isolated service encounter - The impact of customer observation on perceived authenticity and perceived fairness

Emotional labor is a frequently discussed topic in the service literature because of its varying effects on customers' evaluation processes. Previous research has primarily investigated the effects of emotional labor from an employee-customer perspective. This article considers customer copresence and argues that the observed interaction between an employee and another customer affects the focal customer's evaluation process. An extended customer-employee-customer model is presented and empirically tested in a pharmacy setting. The findings show that distinctive emotional labor affects customers' perceptions of authenticity and fairness. This study presents a more nuanced account of the effectiveness of emotional labor and provides managers with advice to enhance point-of-sale interactions.