Restaurants rely on satisfied customers for repeat visits, leading many to continuously raise their service standards to meet and exceed customers’ expectations. However, service quality that is too high can backfire, with behaviours such as kneeling and excessive politeness arousing suspicion and discomfort in diners. Filling a research gap and providing practical guidance for restaurant managers and operators, Dr Yuchen Xu and Professor Catherine Cheung of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), working with two co-authors, offer a novel theoretical lens for examining how customers respond to such “over-service” in restaurants.
High-quality service is a cornerstone of hospitality. As satisfied customers are critical to commercial success in the industry, service providers often strive not just to match but to exceed guests’ expectations. “Attentive, affable, and customised service has become a common standard within the contemporary service industry”, the researchers note. However, the service paradigm of “going above and beyond” can have a sting in the tail. “Services exceeding expectations do not always bring about favourable outcomes”, the researchers warn.
Although customers may be pleasantly surprised when service levels moderately exceed their expectations, over-attentiveness can be perceived as stressful and suspicion-arousing. “Behaviours such as offering overly caring services, providing excess in formation and reminders, and being overly polite may be perceived by restaurant consumers as over-service”, note the authors. Examples include the kneeling service provided at high-end Japanese restaurants and the famously frequent changing of plates at the Chinese hotpot restaurant Haidilao.
“As perceived service quality increases up to a certain threshold, consumer experiences improve; however, surpassing this threshold negatively impacts consumer experiences”, the researchers explain. This can make customers reluctant to return and injure service providers’ reputations, as well as unnecessarily increasing service cost. Given the potentially detrimental consequences of over-service, it is vital to theoretically and empirically clarify why these negative outcomes arise.
To date, however, research on this topic has shown several conspicuous gaps. “In the food service industry, empirical evidence for causal relationships between over-service and consumer satisfaction and loyalty remains limited”, the researchers tell us. Second, although there is reason to expect consumers to perceive over-service as stressful, it remains unclear whether perceived service stress is indeed a psychological mechanism through which over-service affects consumer behaviour.
Finally, as consumers experiencing over-service may perceive themselves as lacking control over their environment, those with a stronger desire for control may be more sensitive to such service behaviours. “However”, the researchers say, “despite the anticipated moderating role of the desire for control, no research has yet linked it to over-service”.
The authors’ first step in filling these gaps was to develop hypotheses tailored to the restaurant industry. “Over-service normally pertains to the excessive or superfluous service behaviours displayed by restaurants that go beyond the actual needs of consumers”, they summarise. “These behaviours tend to evoke consumer suspicion and psychological resistance, consequently diminishing the overall dining experience”. It was thus intuitive to hypothesise that diners are less satisfied with and less likely to return to a restaurant if they experience over-service.
Service stress was also theorised to play an important role. When restaurant consumers encounter stressors such as service failure or the need to make a face-to-face complaint, they tend to adopt coping strategies such as avoiding visiting that restaurant in future. Over-service may prompt diners to experience service stress, which in turn leads to reduced customer satisfaction and revisit intention.
Another key factor is desire for control. Consumers who wish to control their environment are more likely to perceive over-service as stressful and intrusive, leading to reduced satisfaction and revisit intention, while those with a low desire for control are less affected by (or may even benefit from) over-service. Thus, the researchers hypothesised that the desire for control influences how stressful over-service feels and thus how it impacts satisfaction and loyalty.
To test their predictions, the researchers first conducted a cross-sectional study (Study 1) in which they invited 171 participants to reflect on their dining experiences. The respondents were asked to describe instances of over-service they had encountered and to rate their perceptions of over-service, service stress, satisfaction and revisit intention on well-established 7-point scales. The researchers also controlled for variables such as social anxiety, frequency of dining out, gender, age, education and income to ensure that they could isolate the impact of over-service on customer perceptions.
Complementing the survey, the researchers designed two scenario-based experiments to more rigorously examine the causal relationships involved. In these experiments, the participants were randomly assigned to two conditions – experiencing either over-service or normal service –through detailed textual stimuli. Study 2 tested the main effects observed in Study 1 with perceived service stress as the underlying mechanism, while Study 3 focused on the role of customers’ desire for control.
The results of Study 1 confirmed the researchers’ hypotheses. “That is”, they say, “over-service adversely affected restaurant consumers’ perceived service stress, thereby leading to diminished consumer satisfaction and revisit intention”. Interestingly, Study 2 revealed that although consumer suspicion in response to over-service had less effect on their behaviour than perceived service stress, suspicion still partially explained the indirect effect of over-service. “This finding hints at the possibility that consumers may have multiple psychological response mechanisms to over-service”, say the researchers.
As well as replicating the results of Studies 1 and 2, Study 3 showed that – as expected – desire for control exerted a moderating effect. “Specifically, for consumers with a high desire for control, the impact of over-service on perceived service stress was intensified,” report the authors. “This may be due to the fact that over-service threatens one’s sense of control over outcomes, thereby intensifying perceived service stress and ultimately resulting in negative service outcomes”.
As one of the first studies to empirically test the consequences of over-service in the context of the restaurant industry, this work not only contributes meaningfully to the literature but also offers novel insights for restaurant managers and operators. “First”, say the researchers, “it is necessary to discern the specific service behaviours that manifest as instances of excessiveness”. For example, restaurants could use customer questionnaires to create lists of behaviours to be avoided at all costs.
Second, as different customer segments have very different expectations of service quality, restaurant managers and operators should empower employees to tailor their interactions with diners based on diners’ individual preferences, “rather than adhering to standardised restaurant service processes”. This flexibility will help to cultivate a satisfied and loyal customer base.
The authors’ third and final recommendation arose from their finding that a strong desire for control intensified customers’ sensitivity to over-service, reducing their satisfaction and revisit intention. “Since desire for control may vary due to political orientation and cultural background”, say the researchers, “restaurant managers and operators should tailor their service strategies accordingly”. Training programmes may help service personnel to identify and understand consumers’ authentic needs, while maintaining an appropriate service distance and frequency.
Wenjing Li, Yuchen Xu, Ting Jiang and Catherine Cheung (2024). The Effects of Over-service on Restaurant Consumers’ Satisfaction and Revisit Intention. International Journal of Hospitality Management, Vol. 122, 103881.
High-quality service is a cornerstone of hospitality. As satisfied customers are critical to commercial success in the industry, service providers often strive not just to match but to exceed guests’ expectations. “Attentive, affable, and customised service has become a common standard within the contemporary service industry”, the researchers note. However, the service paradigm of “going above and beyond” can have a sting in the tail. “Services exceeding expectations do not always bring about favourable outcomes”, the researchers warn.
Although customers may be pleasantly surprised when service levels moderately exceed their expectations, over-attentiveness can be perceived as stressful and suspicion-arousing. “Behaviours such as offering overly caring services, providing excess in formation and reminders, and being overly polite may be perceived by restaurant consumers as over-service”, note the authors. Examples include the kneeling service provided at high-end Japanese restaurants and the famously frequent changing of plates at the Chinese hotpot restaurant Haidilao.
“As perceived service quality increases up to a certain threshold, consumer experiences improve; however, surpassing this threshold negatively impacts consumer experiences”, the researchers explain. This can make customers reluctant to return and injure service providers’ reputations, as well as unnecessarily increasing service cost. Given the potentially detrimental consequences of over-service, it is vital to theoretically and empirically clarify why these negative outcomes arise.
To date, however, research on this topic has shown several conspicuous gaps. “In the food service industry, empirical evidence for causal relationships between over-service and consumer satisfaction and loyalty remains limited”, the researchers tell us. Second, although there is reason to expect consumers to perceive over-service as stressful, it remains unclear whether perceived service stress is indeed a psychological mechanism through which over-service affects consumer behaviour.
Finally, as consumers experiencing over-service may perceive themselves as lacking control over their environment, those with a stronger desire for control may be more sensitive to such service behaviours. “However”, the researchers say, “despite the anticipated moderating role of the desire for control, no research has yet linked it to over-service”.
The authors’ first step in filling these gaps was to develop hypotheses tailored to the restaurant industry. “Over-service normally pertains to the excessive or superfluous service behaviours displayed by restaurants that go beyond the actual needs of consumers”, they summarise. “These behaviours tend to evoke consumer suspicion and psychological resistance, consequently diminishing the overall dining experience”. It was thus intuitive to hypothesise that diners are less satisfied with and less likely to return to a restaurant if they experience over-service.
Service stress was also theorised to play an important role. When restaurant consumers encounter stressors such as service failure or the need to make a face-to-face complaint, they tend to adopt coping strategies such as avoiding visiting that restaurant in future. Over-service may prompt diners to experience service stress, which in turn leads to reduced customer satisfaction and revisit intention.
Another key factor is desire for control. Consumers who wish to control their environment are more likely to perceive over-service as stressful and intrusive, leading to reduced satisfaction and revisit intention, while those with a low desire for control are less affected by (or may even benefit from) over-service. Thus, the researchers hypothesised that the desire for control influences how stressful over-service feels and thus how it impacts satisfaction and loyalty.
To test their predictions, the researchers first conducted a cross-sectional study (Study 1) in which they invited 171 participants to reflect on their dining experiences. The respondents were asked to describe instances of over-service they had encountered and to rate their perceptions of over-service, service stress, satisfaction and revisit intention on well-established 7-point scales. The researchers also controlled for variables such as social anxiety, frequency of dining out, gender, age, education and income to ensure that they could isolate the impact of over-service on customer perceptions.
Complementing the survey, the researchers designed two scenario-based experiments to more rigorously examine the causal relationships involved. In these experiments, the participants were randomly assigned to two conditions – experiencing either over-service or normal service –through detailed textual stimuli. Study 2 tested the main effects observed in Study 1 with perceived service stress as the underlying mechanism, while Study 3 focused on the role of customers’ desire for control.
The results of Study 1 confirmed the researchers’ hypotheses. “That is”, they say, “over-service adversely affected restaurant consumers’ perceived service stress, thereby leading to diminished consumer satisfaction and revisit intention”. Interestingly, Study 2 revealed that although consumer suspicion in response to over-service had less effect on their behaviour than perceived service stress, suspicion still partially explained the indirect effect of over-service. “This finding hints at the possibility that consumers may have multiple psychological response mechanisms to over-service”, say the researchers.
As well as replicating the results of Studies 1 and 2, Study 3 showed that – as expected – desire for control exerted a moderating effect. “Specifically, for consumers with a high desire for control, the impact of over-service on perceived service stress was intensified,” report the authors. “This may be due to the fact that over-service threatens one’s sense of control over outcomes, thereby intensifying perceived service stress and ultimately resulting in negative service outcomes”.
As one of the first studies to empirically test the consequences of over-service in the context of the restaurant industry, this work not only contributes meaningfully to the literature but also offers novel insights for restaurant managers and operators. “First”, say the researchers, “it is necessary to discern the specific service behaviours that manifest as instances of excessiveness”. For example, restaurants could use customer questionnaires to create lists of behaviours to be avoided at all costs.
Second, as different customer segments have very different expectations of service quality, restaurant managers and operators should empower employees to tailor their interactions with diners based on diners’ individual preferences, “rather than adhering to standardised restaurant service processes”. This flexibility will help to cultivate a satisfied and loyal customer base.
The authors’ third and final recommendation arose from their finding that a strong desire for control intensified customers’ sensitivity to over-service, reducing their satisfaction and revisit intention. “Since desire for control may vary due to political orientation and cultural background”, say the researchers, “restaurant managers and operators should tailor their service strategies accordingly”. Training programmes may help service personnel to identify and understand consumers’ authentic needs, while maintaining an appropriate service distance and frequency.
Wenjing Li, Yuchen Xu, Ting Jiang and Catherine Cheung (2024). The Effects of Over-service on Restaurant Consumers’ Satisfaction and Revisit Intention. International Journal of Hospitality Management, Vol. 122, 103881.
Press Contacts
Ms Tiffany Chan, Marketing Manager
School of Hotel and Tourism Management
- (852) 3400 2293
- tiffany-sm.chan@polyu.edu.hk
