• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.167-174
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to categorize customers types in accordance with current shop masters' perception of difficult customers and to identify their responding techniques and know-hows in dealing with those customers in detail, a qualitative study is carried out by conducting thorough interviews with the shop masters. The interview contained questions on occupational hold-ups of shop masters, types of hard-to-handle customers, techniques in handling difficult customers, their know-hows in customer managements and what they perceived as the qualities of a shop master. T The results were as follows: 1) Customers who are perceived as difficult by shop masters are categorized into six types, making unreasonable demands, pointing out product defects, disregarding salespersons, making no purchase after testing products, having no personality and having no response. 2) Responding techniques for difficult customers were categorized into three types, 'active response', 'standby' and 'polite refusal'. 3)The result from the question on know-hows of shop masters in customer management can be divided into 4 groups, providing special treatment or information, building one-to-one relationship with the customer, suggesting garments in accordance with the customer's taste and providing friendly customer service. 4) For the question on perceived qualities as a shop master, individual quality, customer management capacity, work experience and occupational knowledge were answered.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.81-101
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• 2021

Traditional department stores have been struggling to attract customers for several years. Many retail stores have closed in recent years, even before the COVID-19 pandemic. The reinvention of in-store shopping value and experience is imperative to attract customers and reinvigorate retail business. The purpose of this study was to discover which in-store components can improve customer experiences and loyalty while also identifying dissatisfaction issues in consumer experiences in department stores. The data was collected from two consumer groups-luxury department store (Selfridges) customers and mid-market department store (Debenhams) customers-to identify the types of value and experiences they seek most often. The findings showed that to enhance their store patronage, Debenhams should reposition their brand image in a way that allows customers to connect with their self-image and lifestyle by improving efficiency and convenience and prioritizing the utilitarian and social value types. By contrast, Selfridges should enhancetheir store atmosphere, visual merchandising and sensory experiences by maximizing slow retailing experiences and emphasizing the aspirational self-concept image for symbolic and hedonic value. This research uncovered the existence of numerous overlappingvalue dimensions, each of which contributed to the enhancement of the others. Several young customers expressed their support for ecologically responsible, cost-effective second-hand luxury products. Instead of focusing merely on conventional value dimensions, department retailers should determine how environmental and ethical objectives can be fulfilled. This study explained how department stores can craft their in-store environments to appeal to their customers' preferred value types to ensure success in a competitive market.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.49-61
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• 2022

Advancements in technology and the proliferation of digital services have highlighted the importance of luxury brands in service environments. Based on the social exchange theory, this study investigated the interaction between customers and luxury brands in a traditional offline service encounter and a digital online service encounter. The interaction area was classified into three parts: human-human, human-digital, and human-physical environments. We qualitatively investigated the practitioners' working experiences with luxury brands. The study determined that both online and offline service encounter interactions between luxury brands and customers have become diverse. First, forming a special relationship with customers and frontline employees in traditional service encounters is important. Second, luxury brands should focus on the interaction among customers. Third, various digital tools should be considered to provide information about the brand to customers. Fourth, the exclusive benefits of offline service encounters should be maximized to stimulate positive experiences. The findings provide valuable insight to scholars and marketers on the new interaction phase between customers and luxury brands in the digital age.

• Journal of Information Technology Services
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.43-72
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• 2010

The Korean mobile telecommunication service market is faced with a tremendous competitive period, in which the market is entering into the maturity stage with launching of the 3rd generation service and with introduction of mobile number portability. In general, it is more important to sustain the old customers than to attracting new customers, as the life cycle of an industry is entering the maturity stage in which the growth rate of new customers is decreasing gradually or becoming stagnant. Until now, many researches had tested whether the customer satisfaction and loyalty were the core factors of sustaining customers or not. Also service quality and switching cost were given a remarkable attention for their possibility of exogenous factors, which could exercise effects to customer satisfaction and loyalty. In the same context, mobile telecommunication business has to seek a way to maintain the existing customers instead of promoting new customers. So this study investigates whether the service quality and switching barrier of mobile telecommunication could have effects on the customer satisfaction and loyalty, which are recognized as an efficient means to sustain the current customers. In order to test the hypothesis on the effects of service quality and switching barrier of mobile telecommunication to customer satisfaction and loyalty in Korean telecommunication industry, this study collected the questionnaire response data of students including middle and high school students and undergraduates, who are regarded as the major customers in that mobile telecommunication industry.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.91-106
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• 2002

To achieve these goals constituent dimensions and structural elements of the Japanese restaurants service quality are being investigated through the review of the food service industry and service. The survey about the importance and the Japanese restaurants was also conducted with a questionnaire to identify the tendency of customers who visited restaurants. These results and satisfactions hypotheses are being tested in the restaurant and the empirical research aye both conducted to achieve time research purposes. Japanese restaurants, located in the metropolitan area, are being selected as the object limits of the survey. Eighty-seven questionnaires are being distributed three kinds restaurants which means total 250 for all, and from which 230 are being analyzed. Frequency and $\chi$$^2$test were applied for the general matters and the conditions of object while Cronbach's Alpha coefficient and factor analysis were applied for reliability and validity. t-test was attempted to fine the importance and the satisfaction of the service quality. Also ANOVA was utilized. After examining the results of this survey, few facts were apparent. First the number of male ana female customers in the Japanese restaurants are divided evenly in about 55% of male customers and 45% of female customers. However, these people have a wide variety of jos. Another evident fact present on this survey shows that customers eating at a less expensive restaurants have a income of 1,000,000 won where as the expensive or high-end restaurants have customers with higher income than average. The price sensitive customers studied in this survey shows that they spend on average 30,000 to 70,000 won per person in the less expensive establishments. Therefore, with some service quality restructuring, application of new systems and ideas these restaurants could efficiently maximize their profit margin. Customers also showed that lower prices in lunch time would be an appealing incentive to deviate from standard lunch time 〈12:00~13:00〉and menu specials would be of interest to deviate from busy dinner time. In conclusion, since restaurants in the middle range category are not so many restaurants in lower range have a chance to maximize their profit. This study clearly shows that even the lower-end restaurants could raise their profit margin by incorporating new marketing techniques and by improving the service level of their restaurants.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.14-31
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• 2004

The purposes of this study are to find influential factors on relations between customer quality and service quality of hotel foods & beverages, to find out factors influencing on customers' intention to revisit, to understand suggestive points in the side of operation of hotel's foods & beverages, and to offer basal materials for establishing marketing for hotel operators. The study results were proved followings; in factors of customer quality, the higher factors of customers' manner·etiquette, the higher pleasantness, trust, kindness, among factors of service quality of hotel foods & beverages. The higher factor of customers' social status, the higher typicalness, pleasantness, trust, kindness, among factors of service quality of hotel foods & beverages. The higher customers' economic level, the higher pleasantness, trust, kindness. The higher customers' manner·etiquette, customers' social status, customers' economic level, at corners selling foods & beverages in hotels, the higher typicalness, pleasantness, trust, kindness, among factors of service quality of hotel foods & beverages, the higher customers' intention to revisit. Therefore, in order to improve services of corners selling foods & beverages in hotels, customer quality must improve, and marketing strategies proper for maintaining improved customer quality. As customers think much of hotel employees' service quality, kindness, and care, kind and skillful employees need be distributed in hotels. In order to elevate quality of employees working at corners selling foods & beverages in hotels, which is adequate for images of hotels, supervisors of companies or relevant departments must implement the reward system to encourage hotel employees to work at parts adequate for employees' individual ability as well as get feeling of accomplishment, in order for employees to keep liveliness and self-confidence.

• The Korean Journal of Franchise Management
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.17-29
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• 2020

Purpose: As the untact culture has spread due to the recent COVID-19, the service industry as well as the beauty salon is shrinking. In order to overcome such a crisis in beauty salons, the lower dimension of beauty salon service quality is divided into servicescape, technical service, and employee service, and actions are taken with the 'perceived value of the customer' as a parameter. In this study, S-O-R(Stimulus-Organism-Response) theory was applied for customer-centered analysis, and gender and regularity were selected as moderator variables to add practical implications. Research design, data, and methodology: All constructs were measured using items developed and used in the previous study. A total of 261 questionnaires were collected online using NaverForm. The data were analyzed using factor analysis, correlation analysis, and measurement model analysis with SPSS 22.0 and AMOS 22.0. After testing the research model and hypothesis for the entire group, a multi-group analysis was conducted by dividing into male and female groups, regular customers, and non-regular customers. Results: First, this study showed that the service environment of beauty salon customers had a negative (-) effect on perceived utilitarian value, and the technical service and perceived hedonic value had a positive (+) effect on the customer's behavioral intention. Technical service and employee service had a positive (+) effect on perceived hedonic value, but perceived hedonic value did not affect customer's behavioral intention. Second, there is no statistically significant difference in each path between male and female groups. Third, there was a statistically significant difference between regular customers and non-regular customers, only the path that the servicescape influences the perceived hedonic value. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, technical service and utilitarian value should be considered in order to induce behavioral intention of customers, and technical service quality should be considered first. Also, operating a beauty salon requires a differentiated approach to the salon servicescape according to the ratio of non-regular and regular customers. The beauty salon servicescape generally showed negative practical value for non-regular customers, but positive for the Hedinic value for servicescape such as comfortable service and clean interior for regular customers.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.25-55
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• 2000

The Development of a new menu item in a restaurant usually begins when your chef prepares a creative "brainchild" that he serves to you, the owner. If you are satisfied with the new dish, It gets a "go-ahead" signal, under the assumption that what appeals to you will appeal to a significant number of your customers. While many excellent and successful items have been created this way, It is not reasonable to expect that your tastes can represent the wide variety of your potential guests tastes. The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that have an influence on customers′ menu evaluation. A menu is a marketing tool which delivers restaurant′s image and message to customers needs and wants to restaurant. So far, studies on menu have been done in an analytical way from a management′s viewpoint and inadequate to reflect customers′ needs and wants. In this study is to examine the factors that have an influence on customers′ menu evaluation. The factors affected the customers′ menu evaluation of hotel restaurant in the three factors. Three factors are food service factor, menu copy factor, value of food. Correlation between the evaluation of criteria and selection of menu was examined. All Three evaluation criteria have shown strong correlation with selection of menu of these criteria, menu-copy factor was found to be most strongly correlated with selection of menu. In conclusion, As a study on the Customer′s evaluation factors of the Korean restaurant menus in hotels, It raises to exert us strength in the menu management of Korean restaurant.

• Korean Management Science Review
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.125-139
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• 2003

City gas is becoming an essential resource in households due to its convenience and low price in comparison to other energy sources. However, in order to prepare for the gas market to be saturated, many city gas companies must pursue customer satisfaction management and develop happy call systems for a promising solution. In the development of the happy call systems, the difficult problem is that we cannot contact all customers because of limited resources and calling efficiency in the call center, We should find best customers according to their value. This paper suggests a methodology for the selection of happy call customers when city 9as companies consider two strategies. First, they should launch a new business area. Second, they must attempt to prevent current customers from moving from city gas to other fuels. We will discover important attributes and derive rules of weighting for the attributes through an exploration study that affect customer satisfaction and preference. Through a simulation model, we will show how many customers will be selected by our methodology.

• Journal of the Korean Operations Research and Management Science Society
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.115-135
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• 2008

An interesting problem in capacitated supply chains is how to guarantee customer service levels with limited resources. One of the common approaches to solve the problem is differentiating service depending on customer classes. High-priority customers receive a better service at the cost of low-priority customers' service level. One of common criteria to determine a customer's priority in practice is whether he has made a reservation before arrival or not. Customers with a reservation usually receive service based on the time the reservation was made. We examine the effect this advance information of customer arrival has on customer service levels. We show the trade-offs between the leadtime and other system characteristics such as the proportion of high-priority customers. when the service level is high. We also suggest how to differentiate service using the asymptotic ratio of the service levels for both types of customers.