The effect of chefs’ nonverbal communication in open kitchens on service quality

ABSTRACT

Based on societal changes in dining experiences, a survey was conducted to explore the dynamics between a chef’s nonverbal communication in hotel open kitchen restaurants and the customers’ perceptions of service quality. The analysis of 216 returned questionnaires revealed that chefs’ nonverbal communication, including paralanguage, kinesics, proxemics, and physical appearance, was pertinent to service quality and that kinesics and proxemics most strongly affected the service quality. These results suggest that chefs and frontline employees need to perform better in their nonverbal communications and provide a valuable insight into how restaurant businesses can increase their performance effectiveness.

KEYWORDS:

• Chef
• communication
• nonverbal
• open kitchen