The effects of nonverbal communication of employees in the family restaurant upon customers’ emotional responses and customer satisfaction

The purpose of this study was to understand interrelationships among customers’ perception of nonverbal communication, customers’ emotional responses and customer satisfaction in the family restaurant. A total of 333 customers in Korea participated. The results showed that employees’ kinesics and proxemics among nonverbal communications have a significant effect on customers’ positive emotions, while employees’ kinesics and paralanguage affect customers’ negative emotions. Also, it was found that whether customers feel positive or negative determines their satisfaction. Limitations and future research directions are also discussed.