managing the hospitality .

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Managing The Hospitality Experience

Assessment 3

Emotional Labour and Its Influence on Customer Experience At Ruby Red Flamingo

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Contents Executive summary Page 3 Introduction Page 4 Literature Review - Experience Economy Page 5 - Emotional Labour Page 5 Discussion - Initial Impression Page 6 - Ruby Red Flamingo Experience Page 6 - 8 Conclusion Page 9 Recommendations Page 10 References Page 11 Appendix Page 12

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Executive summary This report sought to consider the understanding of ‘emotional labour’ and how it influences the customer experience in the hospitality industry. Emotional labour is performed by service staff and involves the display of organizational and customer desired emotion which infer a willingness of service, despite the actual emotions the service individual might be experiencing (Anderson et al. 2002, p. 1). A visit to the restaurant Ruby Red Flamingo revealed that emotional labour was evident through displays of both surface and deep acting in the service provided and that this contributed significantly to providing a positive and meaningful experience. Finally it was found that even though emotional labour contributed to delivering a positive experience, recommendations were given to ensure that service staff could maintain the ‘performance’, by avoiding burnout and continue to deliver a high level of quality service to ensure the continued success of the restaurant.

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Introduction This report provides analysis, discussion and recommendations, which considered the performance of emotional labour by workers at Ruby Red Flamingo during a dining experience at the restaurant. Consideration will be given to the core business and nature of hospitality offered with comparison of initial impressions before the visit and the reality of the actual experience. Furthermore the report will consider the relationship between the concepts of ‘emotional labour’ and how this can positively influence the customer experience in todays ‘experience economy’. Finally recommendations will be presented as to how the restaurant could further enhance the role of emotional labour to deliver a higher level of service quality.

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Literature review Experience Economy: Pine & Gilmore’s concept of the ‘experience economy has become a key focus for the hospitality and tourism industries and it is suggested that, beyond the tangible product or intangible service provided, stagging experiences that are engaging and memorable are paramount to delivering positive customer satisfaction (Pine & Gilmore 1998, p. 98). Mehmetoglu & Engen (2011, p. 241) suggest that in order to gain a competitive advantage, it is critical for companies to offer experiences that the market demands and that engage the individual in a personal way. The literature details numerous possible dimensions that may constitute an experience and how these can be made meaningful and extraordinary, however for the purpose of this study the focus will be on how the effective use of emotional labour can deliver a positive customer experience. Mossberg (cited in Mehmetoglu & Engen 2011, p. 242) suggests that an experience is a process for a customer, of which the staff and fellow customers are part of the experiencescape. , And that the interactions between these elements all affect the customer's emotions, absorption, and overall experience. It is suggested that key to this is the customer’s involvement in creating the experience and as such it is a critical role that the service personnel play to help create a welcoming participative environment within the hospitality setting. Emotional Labour: Following form this understanding of the importance of creating a positive experience is the role workers in the hospitality industry play as ‘front-line’ service workers. Their jobs involve direct customer contact and the nature of speaking and acting in such work involves displaying emotions, which demonstrate a willingness to be of service. This management of emotional display is referred to as ‘emotional labour’ (Anderson et al. 2002, p. 2). Anderson et al. (2002, p. i) suggest the performance of emotional labour involves the display of organisationally desired emotion, such as friendliness, by customer service workers in their interactions with customers or clients and that the skill with which emotional labour is performed, and the personality of service providers has significant impact on the perception of service quality and subsequently the overall level of satisfaction with the experience. Hochschild (cited in Anderson et al. 2002, p. 4) explains that emotional labour is performed in one of two ways: Surface acting, which involves simulating emotions that are not actually felt; And deep acting, which involves attempts to actually experience the emotions one is required to display.

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Discussion Initial Impression Ruby Red Flamingo is restaurant set in an old Manse in North Adelaide that has been converted into a funky Italian restaurant. Ruby Red is a full service restaurant, whit a very relaxed and welcoming environment. As well as offering the restaurant the venue also has a small cocktail lounge upstairs that services both dining and non-dining guests. Initial impressions of Ruby Red Flamingo were very positive due to the large amount of ‘hype’ that had been created when talking with family and friends that had frequented the restaurant. Reports had been that the food was exceptional, and the environment exciting and fun, although very busy. Ruby Red is a non-booking restaurant and due to its popularity I had been warned that there could be a long wait for a table, but it would be worth it. The thought of this did instill some hesitation in my mind as to visiting the restaurant however, on assurances from friends I decided to give it a go. Reading reviews on both Urbanspoon (2015) which reviewers ranked at 86% positive experience and Trip Advisor which ranked the restaurant in the top 30 venues in Adelaide helped to set high expectations of Ruby Red Flamingo. Some of my hesitations were however triggered again in reading that some reviewers did not particularly enjoy the somewhat ‘hectic’ nature of the experience. Ruby Red Flamingo Experience The concept of emotional labour was very applicable to the restaurant as it is a full service restaurant where it is expected that staff will make the customer feel welcome and a part of the experience. Vans, Smith & Cooper (2011, p. 39) explain emotional labour as ‘the management of emotional display by staff to satisfy organisational expectations during interpersonal interactions’. Emotional labour is primarily a service industry phenomenon where the emotional display of the service provider becomes an essential and marketable component of a restaurant’s offerings. Due to the nature of hospitality service, display rules in hospitality organizations require employees to exhibit positive emotions and suppress negative ones and as such employees it is expected that customers are greeted in friendly and welcoming manner (Lee & Ok 2013, p. 6). Upon arrival at Ruby Red, it was evident that this was the case, with a very hospitable welcoming at the front door by the Maître d’ who was enthusiastic and well paced despite what appeared to be an extremely busy and hectic restaurant behind him. It was explained that there would be a wait of approximately

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45 minutes and that we could wait in the bar area upstairs and he would come and let us know when a table was ready. This situation appeared to present a direct example of emotional labour concept, where the Maître d’ despite being run of his feet displayed a calm and welcome emotion that was surely in conflict with his authentic or experienced feelings of stress and pressure due to the busy nature of the restaurant through the use of ‘surface acting’ or ‘deep acting’ (Hochschild cited in Shani et al. 2013, p. 151). The use of both ‘surface’ and ‘deep’ acting was displayed throughout the evening from all staff members who remained very friendly and created a fun and involving environment and experience. Shani et al. (2013, p. 151) suggest that surface acting involves the employee feigning emotions, such that the displayed emotion differs from what they actually feel, and that deep acting involves changing emotions to feel empathetic toward the customer by imagining themselves in the customer’s position. The use of surface acting was evident in all the service employees who maintained positive, friendly attitudes despite pressures from demanding and disruptive customers. Surface acting was most evident when our waitress encountered a particularly unhappy customer on the table next to us who had received a large size plate instead of the small plate he had ordered (Dishes come in either large or small sizing’s). The waitress maintained a cool and calm exterior despite the irate ranting’s of the customer, apologised for the confusion and advised them that they would only be charged for the small serve. Shortly after this the waitress approached our table to take our order and appeared completely unfazed by the situation, which through the use of surface acting appeared to us the customer to have had no negative impact on her display of emotion, suggesting the direct employment of emotional labour. Deep acting was also witnessed during our experience in our interactions with the maître d’, who appeared to have a very could grasp of the positive impact of appropriate displays of emotional labour. The Maître d’ empathized with us as he invited us down to the table to eat, stating that he realized the wait was slightly longer than anticipated and understood that impact that had on our experience. He appeared to place himself in our shoes to display an emotion of empathy and make us feel that he too was impacted by the slight delay we experienced. We explained that this was not a problem and that we had enjoyed the time at the bar and were adequately entertained by the barman who put on a great show. Once he realized we were not put out his display of emotion quickly changed and his relief was evident, displaying what appeared to be almost genuine emotion in suggesting that he too enjoyed sitting at the bar for a drink. Emotional Labour was evident in all our interactions during our experience. All the service staff were prompt, friendly and welcoming and particularly well groomed in making the customer feel special and as if they were a part of the staged experience.

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Pizam (cited in Lee & Ok 2013, p. 6) suggests that service staff are required to remain polite and friendly in unpleasant situations, such as irate customers or hectic work pace, that would normally give rise to negative emotional reactions. All staff were able to apply the concept of emotional labour to ensure that the experience was positive and rewarding for the customer. Having a considerable amount of experience working in the hospitality industry I could see how hectic the restaurant was and the level demand that the service staff were under, however at no stage did any of the staff display any negative impact of this and it made the experience seem controlled and fun despite its busy nature.

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Conclusion Lee & Ok (2013, p. 2) suggest that he ability of customer contact staff to deliver quality service is critical to customer satisfaction levels and presenting a positive customer experience, and as such should be of significant concern for hospitality companies. This is especially the case in the restaurant industry where the personal interaction component of services is generally a primary contributor to the customers overall satisfaction. The customer forms an impression of their service experience based on the quality of service received from the customer contact employees and not the products or amenities offered by the establishment. With this considered the overall experience at Ruby Red Flamingo was an extremely positive and memorable one due in part to the high quality of food and beverage provided, but overwhelmingly as a result of the outstandingly high level of service provided. Emotional labour was employed and the use of surface and deep acting by all service staff ensured that the customer was at the centre of the experience and was made to feel welcome, involved and relaxed in an otherwise busy and hectic environment.

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Recommendations It is suggested that Ruby Red Flaming considers the following recommendations to assist in maintaining and further enhancing the quality of service of the restaurant and to deliver continued success. Firstly it is recommended that the organisational policies and practises are structured in the following ways to ensure a motivated and effective service delivery team of staff as discussed by Anderson et al. (2002, p. ii). 1. Employee Selection: criteria for selection should consider the interpersonal skills and personality of new employees, in a manner that is conducive to the enhancement of service delivery and that are inline with the skills and personalities that are already employed. 2. Training: related to selection, areas in which consideration for training of current and new staff should include elements that focus on effective communication and conflict resolution skills. 3. Organisational culture: a supportive environment in which workers can share experiences with managers and co-workers to help them cope with the challenges of customer service work and in turn display a more consistently welcoming attitude toward customers. The overall experience at Ruby Red Flamingo was an extremely positive one, however it is suggested that due to the high level of stress and pressure placed on the service staff, negative impacts could be felt through sustained levels of surface and deep acting inline with the required emotional labour. Consideration should be given to the possibility of ‘Burnout’ of staff due to emotional and physical exhaustion, which can lead to the deterioration in the quality of service (Anderson et al. 2002, p. i). It is thus suggested that employees be given ample time away from the workplace to manage an effective work life balance and recover from the impacts of emotional labour. Furthermore it is recommended that they are encouraged to be themselves as much as possible in the workplace to ensure that a sense of identity is not lost.

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REFERENCE: Anderson, B, Chappel, S, Provis, C & Tourism, CR 2002, The recognition and management of emotional labour in the tourism industry, CRC for Sustainable Tourism, Gold Coast, Qld. Lee, J & Ok, C 2013, 'Examination of Factors Affecting Hotel Employees' Service Orientation: An Emotional Labor Perspective', Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, vol. 20, no. 10, pp. 1-32. Mehmetoglu, M & Engen, M 2011, 'Pine and Gilmore's Concept of Experience Economy and Its Dimensions: An Empirical Examination in Tourism', Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 237-255 Pine, BJ & Gilmore, JH 1998, 'Welcome to the experience economy', Harvard business review, vol. 76, no. 4, pp. 97. Shani, A, Uriely, N, Reichel, A & Ginsburg, L 2013, 'Emotional labor in the hospitality industry: The influence of contextual factors', International Journal of Hospitality Management, vol. 37, pp. 150-158. Van, PA, Smith, LD & Cooper, BK 2011, 'Are you for real? An evaluation of the relationship between emotional labour and visitor outcomes', Tourism Management, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 39-45.

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Appendices

Ruby Red Flamingo Shared Banquet

$45 Pp $50 Pp w Desserts

First Course

Manzo Tonnato thinly sliced scotch fillet filled & tuna sauce

Gnudi ricotta & spinach dumplings in neapolitan sauce . V

Carpaccio Di Mare local seafood carpaccio . GF

OR

Arancini Risotto balls filled w calamari , mushroom & peas

Second course

Mafalde Ragu thick ribbon pasta w chicken , turkey & tomato .

Maccheroni Eggplant big penne pasta w smoked scamorza , dry ricotta , eggplant &

tomato . V .

Third course

Spiedini chargrilled calamari & prawns w radicchio & cos

Paillard chargrilled veal w roast potatoes & spinach

Desserts

Tortino Al Cioccolato self melting pudding w wild berries & fresh cream

Semifreddo zabione , torone & amarena semi frozen ice cream