Survey finds customer appreciation enhances employees’ service performance during the pandemic

Professor Henry Fock, Head and Professor of the Department of Marketing at HKBU (first from right); Professor Kimmy Chan, Professor of the Department of Marketing at HKBU (first from left); Ms Quince Chong, Chairman of HKACE (second from left); and Mr Lawrence Kwok, Vice-Chairman of HKACE (second from right) share that customer appreciation enhanced the performance of service industry professionals during the pandemic.

A new survey jointly conducted by HKBU and the Hong Kong Association for Customer Service Excellence (HKACE) has found that customer appreciation enhanced the performance of service industry professionals during the pandemic.

While it was also revealed that the stress levels and workloads of service industry employees increased amid the COVID-19 pandemic, fortunately the empathy and care expressed by their supervisors, colleagues, employers and customers enabled them to commit to their duties. The top three industries most appreciated by customers throughout the pandemic were healthcare, delivery and catering services. 

The “Appreciation Drives Service Excellence under the COVID-19 Pandemic” survey was conducted by a team led by Professor Henry Fock, Head and Professor of the Department of Marketing, and Professor Kimmy Chan, Professor of the Department of Marketing, in collaboration with HKACE between January and February this year, with 518 customers and 502 service industry employees interviewed by questionnaire. The survey aims to understand the culture of service appreciation during the pandemic as well as how knowledge and views on appreciation drive quality services.

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