Introduction
Sociological theories are applicable for understanding people’s behavior in general and for an improvement of commercial services, for example, restaurant services. lhelalat, Habiballah, and Twaissi (2017) wrote an article titled ‘The impact of personal and functional aspects of restaurant employee service behavior on customer satisfaction,’ which presents the authors’ research results. This essay will analyze the sociological theories used in the study by lhelalat, Habiballah, and Twaissi (2017) and discuss their practical application.
Sociological Theories
The researchers also apply theories specific to the meal and service industry. lhelalat, Habiballah, and Twaissi (2017) cite the Five-Factor Meal Model (FFMM) by Gustafsson (2004) as the basic theory that explains the consumer restaurant experience. According to FFMM, the atmosphere and the meetings factors are central in shaping the restaurant visitors’ experience. The latter element includes all interpersonal interactions that occur during the visit, including communication with the waiters and other guests.
From a broader perspective, the effect of interpersonal communications on people is described within the social exchange theory paradigms. This theory suggests that all interactions between people are based on an exchange and the benefit that individuals receive from this communication (Deux and Snyder, 2018). Hence, most relationships have weaknesses and advantages, and people subconsciously weigh the two to determine if an exchange is worthy. For example, in the service industries, if people perceive the service as inadequate or unworthy, they will avoid this relationship. Considering that the service industry implies an employee-customer relationship, investing in the development of communication and people skills of the employees, for example, waiters, contributes to the business’s profits.
Application
In the social environment, the theories used in this research apply as well. The quality of interpersonal relationships is shaped by the attitudes of people and their social skills, such as friendliness or smiling. A study by Boninsegni, Furrer, and Mattila (2020) and Mahara (2020) show that friendliness affects the interpersonal relationships and perception of services positively. Moreover, Glikson et al. (2017, p. 614) state that during “face-to-face contact, smiling individuals are perceived as warmer and as more competent than nonsmiling individuals.” Hence, this research and the underlying social theory suggest that interpersonal relationships and impressions are shaped by the behaviors of a person, and smiling or friendliness can affect it positively.
This approach is applicable for understanding interpersonal relationships that develop via digital mediums. Glikson et al. (2017) state that the use of smiley faces, on the contrary to a smile during face-to-face interactions, has a negative impact on the first impression of a person. Moreover, a smiley face emoticon was associated with lower competence. Hence, the perceptions of people’s emotions vary depending on the medium of communication.
In the business environment, the examined study and the underlying theory help understand how to establish workplace practices for hiring and training that result in high levels of customer satisfaction. Since lhelalat, Habiballah, and Twaissi (2017) examine the service industry, it is best to apply the findings to the restaurant businesses. According to the social exchange theory, all relationships between individuals are based on the exchange (Deux and Snyder, 2018). The goal is to maximize the benefits at a minimum cost. For example, when applying it to the service industry, the goal would be to invest the minim amount and receive the best possible levels of customer satisfaction.
This article, in particular, focuses on restaurant businesses. From it, one may conclude that in restaurants, the behavior and attitudes of the waiters, together with the quality of the meal, are the central components that affect the satisfaction of restaurant visitors. Woo and Chan (2020) also discuss the implications of interpersonal relationships and their effect on the perception of services. The authors studied the population of the Chinese Millenials and found that they perceive the nodding and smiling of the waiters and hotel hosts as authentic behavior. Moreover, this enhances their perception of the quality of services (Woo and Chnag, 2018). Hence, the type of phenomenon studied in the research article in question occurs outside the restaurant industry and with diverse populations, proving that social theories help enhance the quality of the services and customer satisfaction.
Modern-day social science has a range of practical applications. According to Watson (2017, p. 1), sociology has a “potential as a resource that people can use in making sense of what is happening to the work aspects of their lives.” Hence, the social theories and research can help make services better and more tailored towards the needs and expectations of the consumers. On the other hand, for the people at work, the application of this theory can enhance their work experience and work satisfaction as well by allowing them to focus on the most meaningful aspects of what they do. Hence, social science studies can make work-life better for people and help improve the quality of the services for the consumers.
Methods
Social science methods used to collect and apply the theories in the examined study are data collection and quantitative analysis. lhelalat, Habiballah, and Twaissi (2017) used a questionnaire as their primary method of collecting data, which is a quantitative technique. These questionnaires were self-administered and to the restaurant visitors and involved quotations about each aspect of waiter-visitor communications: competency, attention to the guests, and nonverbal communication. Likert type of scale was used to assess the respondents’ answers, which includes a gradation of possible responses from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.” Through the analysis of the collected data, the researchers can determine the correlation between various factors in relation to the independent variable—customer satisfaction.
Outcomes
In this research, the outcome is the assessment of the importance that two types of factors: functional and personal, have on the visitor’s experience. The former category includes factors such as knowledge of the menu, hygienic practices, preparation of menu items, and speed of service (lhelalat, Habiballah, and Twaissi, 2017). The latter is the interpersonal set of factors, such as smiling, attention to the visitors, facial expressions, and comforting practices. Both categories showed comparable levels of importance to the visitors.
There some outcomes applicable for the particular setting that this study took place in since the authors examined tourists visiting Jordan. As a result, the tourists believed that the personal characteristics of the waiters are more important and better manifested in Jordanian restaurants when compared to the functional ones (lhelalat, Habiballah, and Twaissi, 2017). In summary, this study shows that the restaurant visitors were more satisfied with their dining experiences when they perceived the personal characteristics and behaviors of waiters as positive, and these personal characteristics were more significant when compared to functional ones. Hence, service quality is affected by the approach that the service provider chooses.
This research points to several implications regarding the interactions of different social groups. Social groups are other communities of people with one or more common characteristics, and in the examined study, there are two groups: the waiters and the visitors. First and foremost, interpersonal communication is shaped by the behaviors of people. For example, smiling and friendliness result in a better first impression and perception of the individual (Wang et al., Hirshleifer et al., 2020). Secondly, these conclusions apply to the business setting as well, and this behavior affects the attitudes towards the service that a person offers. Hence, this study suggests that interactions of different social groups depend on soft skills, such as friendliness, attentiveness, ability to smile, and other factors.
This research can be applied to the organizational setting by improving the HR practices. Similar recommendations are offered by Rimondini et al. (2019) for the healthcare workers, where the researchers found that patient’s perception of quality is shaped by the first impression they have about their caregiver. Hence, organizations, where the profits depend on the interactions between the employees and the managers should be aware of the effect that the employee’s behavior and attitudes have on customer satisfaction. This principle should be the basis of human resource (HR) practices. For example, HRs should offer training to employees to expand their soft skills and communication capabilities. Another implication is that the quality of the service itself, for example, meal at a restaurant, is only one factor that the consumers perceive as important. Hence, apart from the functional aspects, organizations should pay attention to HR management as it impacts the satisfaction of the consumers significantly.
Conclusions and Recommendations
The main conclusions and recommendations from this research are that service industry companies can benefit from using social theories and research and applying them to their employee hiring and development practices. lhelalat, Habiballah, and Twaissi (2017) recommend service companies and restaurants, in particular, to adjust their human resource (HR) practices to improve the service behavior of their personnel. Moreover, to reinforce this behavior, organizations should develop reinforcement programs. As for recruiting, HR managers of restaurants should pay attention to the candidate’s interpersonal skills and personal hygiene as the study found these two to be very important to the visitors (lhelalat, Habiballah, & Twaissi, 2017). The next set of recommendations concerns the marketing activities that restaurants use because most marketing activities focus on the function factors, for example, price. This study showed that the cost factor is the least significant for the tourists, and therefore, the focus of promotion should be on delivering the friendliness and communication skills of the waiters.
In summary, this paper reviews the research by lhelalat, Habiballah, and Twaissi (2017) about the impact of waiter-visitor interactions on customer satisfaction. The FFMM theory describes the effects of meal quality and interpersonal communication as central elements that shape the experience of visitors. Other sociological theories, for example, the social exchange theory, also contribute to the comprehension of this research because the quality of interactions is central to shaping a person’s opinion in accordance with this concept. This paper analyses the study by lhelalat, Habiballah, and Twaissi (2017) concerning the social exchange theory, the FFMM theory, and other studies to define the implications of this study for organizations and people.
References
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