Integration of Kano’s model into FQFD for Taiwanese Ban-Doh banquet culture

Recent studies show that hospitality and services can, if attractively designed, elicit positive responses from guests or customers. Although responses are individual and highly subjective, Fuzzy Quality Function Deployment (FQFD) may provide a competitive advantage to those who are able to read and interpret customers’ responses and needs in terms of hospitality services. This study introduces an integrative framework of Kano's model and FQFD applied to Taiwanese Ban-Doh banquet services. Kano's model with fuzzy sets was used and integrated into the FQFD method to show the relation between service attributes and customer responses. Kano's model categorizes service attributes into three major groups: Must-be, One-dimensional and Attractive. The findings of a case study involving six senior BanDoh chefs and 80 guests who attended Ban-Doh banquets are presented. By focusing on the quality of service characteristics that satisfy customers, this study enables service providers and managers to determine the extent to which they can prioritize the improvement of service design in Ban-Doh banquet services to satisfy customer expectations. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.