Exploring Haidilao Service Creativity: The Perspective of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 83 

2nd International Conference on Humanities and Social Science (HSS 2017) 

Exploring Haidilao Service Creativity: The Perspective of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Yan-hong LIU ¹,²,a,* and Xiao-wen JIE¹

* ¹Sichuan University, Business School, Chengdu 610064, China

²Shenzhen University, Normal College, Shenzhen 518060, China

a. 841226273@qq.com

Keywords: Service Creativity, Hierarchy of Needs, Haidilao.

Abstract. 

Developing an understanding of relationship between employees and customers is of central importance to enterprise management. In this study we seek to find how service creativity made by Haidilao Hot Pot to its staffs, and then how service creativity made by Haidilao staffs to their customers in return. Following in depth interviews, content analysis, and combing with theory by Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, We find that what Haidilao served for its employees with creativity at last had shifted all kinds of service creativities to customers. This study extends current knowledge of the shortsighted management of catering industry, and provides new perspective of treating employees. It provides a useful tool for restaurants human resource management. Furthermore, the result can serves as a reference for other Service-oriented businesses. 

Introduction 

China's catering industry has developed from extensive type to intensive and fine management, great changes have taken place in the demands of the market. With the continuous improvement of people's living standard, the transition of the social division of labor and consumption concept, the catering industry developed rapidly. But competition is so drastic that restaurants frequently go bankrupt. People's pursuit for daily food and beverage transfers from "do not have enough to eat" to "eat and be satisfied," from "eating well with taste satisfaction", gradually turned to "eating for fine service and atmosphere".

Haidilao Hotpot was founded by Zhang Yong with eight thousand RMB (about 1230 USD) in 1994 from Jianyang City, Sichuan Province. With swift development, it achieves more than 180 national chains, nearly twenty thousand employees andannual turnover of 5 billion RMB (about 0.77 billion USD). It becomes one of theTop 100 Chinese catering enterprises. Haidilao survived under the background of having neither enough customers nor enough money. It created its own advantages by practicing more, performing well with plenty of good ideas and creative designs. Not only to provide first-class service, but also to lead employees attentively launch creative services for customers. 

Enterprise Service Creativity for Employees

Haidilao treats employees as his loved ones, building infinite love action under the management of limited system. Haidilao provides creative services for employees on the basis of the five levels of Maslow’s demand theory. 

Satisfy the Physiological Needs of Employees

Haidilao employee compensation is relatively high compared with industry averagewages. As the aspect of improving labor conditions, Haidilao arranges employees living within 20 minutes walking distance of departure in high-grade community, in order to let employees have good rest after work. In staff accommodation area, Haidilao has special cleaning aunt do housework clean affairs, cook delicious food and snack for employees. Employees will receive special care in case of illness, couples will enjoy a separate room. Employee's children can learn in Haidilao schools, employee's parents will receive bonus for employees' work outstanding. 

Meet the Safety Requirements of Employees

Most of Haidilao staffs come from rural recruitment by introducing of friends and relatives. Haidilao offers salary and insurance for staff on time, formulates rules and regulations for the employees in a detailed and thoughtful way. Haidilao gets staff training tailor-made from the most basic safety knowledge to avoid employees distracted and confused about what to do for security issues. 

Satisfy Employees’ Social Needs

New employees can follow the teacher on post, ensure everything can find guidance. The new and old staffs care for each other. Whether internal staff and family members suffered serious illness, or encounter the threat from the outside, the manager and staffs are able to unite as one to find actively solutions. Timely communication between employees working experience to improve service quality and level has become classic Haidilao daily activities. 

Meet the Demand of the Respect of Employees

Haidilao gives employees adequate space and appropriate authorization in promotion system and incentive policy. Haidilao staff members can upgrade from low to high along with the level of the floating salary. Haidilao offers financial rights to managers at all levels, even Haidilao attendants are authorized to give customers special discount or free of charge. All this authorization is based on trust between staff employees, fully supervise and constraints system of cheating being severely punished. 

Meet the Demand of Employees Self-fulfillment

Haidilao calls on the workers to change their fates with both hands by hard working, motivates staff innovation service by material and spiritual double reward. Promote internal employees to management positions, form a happy management team, use high salary welfare and humanistic care to keep Haidilao independent cultivation management talent. The manager with fat salary can enjoy luxury chartered room, also can pursue further study in university at public expense. The series of policy make Haidilao the lowest staff turnover and the highest satisfaction in the cateringindustry, attract industry experts, professors' Haidilao investigation study at own expense. All of these inspire employees pride, enhance the cohesive affinity of Haidilao staffs.

Staff Service Creativity for Customer

Haidilao staffs get enterprise's benefits and transfer their plain emotion into loyalty to the enterprise. Haidilao employees provide creative services for customers on the basis of the five levels of Maslow’s demand theory. 

Satisfy Customer Physiological Needs

Haidilao employees warmly welcome customers, concentrate on demands of every customer, and make them feel at home. Half of the order style is available in order to let customers taste several more kinds of dishes. If customers ordered too much, the dishes could be canceled immediately to avoid waste. Helpful employees serve different taste soft drinks for different customers, offer apron and mobile phone bag free of charge. They take good care of those who are old, weak, pregnant, children. Romance is made for those who are in love or every one's birthday, wedding ceremony, etc. 

Satisfy the Customer Security Requirements

Haidilao staffs look for any chance of customers' safety requirements, create business opportunities. Haidilao launched hot pot takeaways and strictly trained staffs, provided hot pot of family services, create "HI to send" take-away brand during the SARS outbroke in China in 2003. Haidilao employees send hot pot door-to-door service, wear neatly tooling, bring their own shoe covers, help customers divide food, waiting for the customer outside and take away kitchen ware and waste at last. "HI to send "continued to be very popular after the "SARS" and 9 kinds of soups were developed in market. In "soup blending" crisis, Haidilao faced customers sincerely, released the production process, opened kitchen for public to visit production line, won majority customers' trust and support. Haidilao daily food samples are displayed in the refrigerator in the customer waiting area, all this deepens the impression of customers that Haidilao's food is safe. 

Meet the Customers' Social Needs

Haidilao sets up customer waiting area and makes it customer's social paradise and major factors of profit for the rate of turn table. The high satisfaction degree of customers comes from Haidilao's platform special made for different kinds of social demands. Haidilao provides free snacks, drinks, comfortable soft stools for the customer, and makes waiting area several parts which let customers feel enjoyable. Haidilao aims at fashionable women and respects women nature of loving beautiful as their social demand, creates for hands massage, manicure service, let women learn about how to care for themselves. As for children, parent-child paradise specially built to provide indoor children's amusement facilities let the children play together. As for old people, Haidilao employees not only chat with them, recommend their favorable dishes, but also hand in hand show them the way to restrooms, even offer back rubs massage. 

Meet the Demand of Customer Respect

In order to respect customer, Haidilao employees put forward dozens of valuable, creative ideas to implement. In Haidilao's clean, fragrant restroom, staffs provide customers with comb, hairdryer, toothbrush, toothpaste, toothpicks, cups, hairdressing, cleanser, band-aid, charger, etc. Hope that through this little corner, let the customer go out with dignity. Respect for business customers, Haidilao not only offer free parking and parking service, but also provide them with special suites with video screen, allowing customers to improve work efficiency. For customers forget their departure time, Haidilao does not hesitate to send careless customers to the railway station by manager's SUV car. Haidilao parent-child botanical garden launches plant adoption services and encourages children to breed potted plants, promoting the public consciousness of environmental protection. 

Meet the Demand of Customer Self Actualization

Haidilao uses i-pad as the dish order for customers to experience the advanced high-tech technology, colorful, varied, delicious dishes are presented for the customer simply with fingers' touch. Customers can systematically visit Haidilao waiting area, dining area and production area led by professional customer manager through appointment. Customers can see employees standardized operation and uniformed staff wearing white masks and caps. Posters shows work standards, procedures and employee promotion system. Hospitable staffs welcome customer with smile and courtesies. In the dining area, customers can watch performances of hand-pulled noodles and Sichuan opera face, experience the extensive and profound Chinese culture. Every customer in Haidilao feels himself as a God and accepts best wishes and services from Haidilao.

Conclusions 

Haidilao continuously insists on service creativity, keeping pace with era, making staffs and customers grow up together. Haidilao has become successful Chinese business case of Harvard Business School in 2009 and has been highly respected in the business world. “Made in China” should refer not only product but also service. Haidilao best elaborates that service creativity brought market desire for the catering industry as well as faithful customer and rich profits for Haidilao. The competitive advantage based on Haidilao service creativity both in enterprises as employees for enterprises becomes the sustainable development case in cultural tourism service innovation. It provides a useful reference to improve the steady growth of economic and social benefits of enterprises effectively.

 Acknowledgement

This research was financially supported by Guangdong Higher Education Teaching Reform Project Foundation. 

References

[1] Xu Ya-ming, What does Haidilao scoop for? (in Chinese) China Railway Press, Beijing. 2016. 

[2] Ding Ping, Build your team like Haidilao: Internal service class of Zhang Yong (in Chinese), The Wealth of China Publishing House, Beijing. 2015. 

[3] Huang Tie-ying, You cannot master the skill of Haidilao (in Chinese), CITIC Publishing House, Beijing. 2011. 

[4] Liu Xie-lin, Xu Xiao-dan, The Upgrading and innovation of catering industry—Taking Haidilao as an example (in Chinese), Journal of Industrial Technological Economics. No.3 (2014): 3-13. 

[5] L.J. Cheng, J. Wang, Relationship among perceived quality, customer satisfaction and customer retention: An empirical research on Haidilao restaurant (in Chinese), Industrial Engineering Journal. No.5 (2013):125-132. 

社会科学、教育与人文研究进展，第 83 卷

第二届国际人文与社会科学会议 (HSS 2017)

探索海底捞服务创造力：马斯洛需求层次理论的视角

刘艳红¹,²,a,* 和 介晓文¹

*¹四川大学商学院，成都 610064，中国

²深圳大学师范学院，深圳 518060，中国

a. 841226273@qq.com

关键词：服务创造力、需求层次理论、海底捞。

摘要。

了解员工与客户之间的关系对企业管理至关重要。在本研究中，我们试图发现海底捞火锅如何为其员工提供服务创造力，然后海底捞员工如何为其客户提供服务创造力。 通过深度访谈、内容分析，结合马斯洛需求层次理论，我们发现海底捞为员工提供的创造性服务最终将各种服务创意转移到了顾客身上。本研究拓展了目前餐饮业短视管理的认识，为对待员工提供了新的视角，为餐饮企业人力资源管理提供了有益工具，并为其他服务型企业提供了借鉴。

引言

我国餐饮业由粗放型向集约化、精细化发展，市场需求发生了很大变化。随着人们生活水平的不断提高，社会分工和消费观念的转变，餐饮业发展迅速。但竞争过于激烈，餐饮企业倒闭现象频发。人们对日常饮食的追求由“吃不饱”向“吃饱”转变，由“吃得好，吃得满意”，逐渐转向“吃得好，吃得好，吃得好”。

 海底捞火锅由张勇于1994年以8000元人民币（约1230美元）在四川省简阳市创立，发展迅速，目前已拥有180多家全国连锁店，员工近两万，年营业额50亿元人民币（约7.7亿美元），成为中国餐饮百强企业。海底捞在顾客不够多、钱不够多的背景下生存了下来，通过多实践创造了自己的优势，有很多好的想法和创意设计。不仅提供一流的服务，还带领员工用心为顾客开展创意服务。

企业为员工服务创意

海底捞视员工为亲人，在有限的制度管理下构建无限的爱心行动。海底捞以马斯洛需求理论的五个层次为员工提供创意服务。

 满足员工生理需求

海底捞员工薪酬与行业平均工资相比较高。在改善劳动条件方面，海底捞安排员工住在距离出发地步行20分钟以内的高档社区，让员工下班后得到充分休息。在员工住宿区，海底捞有专门的保洁阿姨，为员工做家务、打扫卫生、烹饪可口的小吃。员工生病时会得到特殊照顾，夫妻可以单独入住一间房间。员工子女可以在海底捞学校就读，员工父母会因员工工作出色而获得奖金。

满足员工安全需求

海底捞员工大多来自农村，通过亲朋好友介绍入职。海底捞按时发放工资和保险，为员工制定了详细周到的规章制度。 海底捞从最基本的安全知识开始，为员工量身定制培训，避免员工在遇到安全问题时，分心、不知所措。

满足员工社交需求

新员工可以跟随老师上岗，确保每件事都能得到指导。新老员工之间相互关心。无论是内部员工和家属患上重病，还是遭遇来自外部的威胁，管理者和员工都能团结一致，积极寻找解决方案。及时沟通员工工作经验，提高服务质量和水平已成为海底捞的经典日常活动。

满足尊重员工的需求

海底捞在晋升制度和激励政策上给予员工充分的空间和适当的授权。海底捞员工可以随着浮动工资的级别从低到高晋升。海底捞给予各级管理者财务权利，甚至海底捞服务员也被授权给顾客特别折扣或免费。所有这些授权都建立在员工与员工之间的信任之上，充分监督和制约了作弊行为的严厉惩罚。

 满足员工自我实现需求

海底捞号召员工用双手努力改变命运，以物质、精神双重奖励激励员工创新服务。提拔内部员工到管理岗位，组建幸福管理团队，用高薪福利和人文关怀留住海底捞自主培养管理人才。高薪经理可享受豪华包房，还可公费进大学深造。这一系列政策使得海底捞成为餐饮行业员工流失率最低、员工满意度最高的企业，吸引行业专家、教授自费到海底捞考察学习，激发员工自豪感，增强海底捞员工的凝聚力。

员工服务创意为顾客

海底捞员工从企业获益，将平淡的情感转化为对企业的忠诚，员工依据马斯洛需求理论的五个层次为顾客提供创意服务。

 满足顾客生理需求

海底捞员工热情接待顾客，关注每一位顾客的需求，让顾客有宾至如归的感觉。为让顾客多尝几道菜，可减半点菜，顾客点菜过多，可立即取消菜品，避免浪费。热心员工为不同顾客提供不同口味的软饮料，免费提供围裙和手机袋，照顾老弱病残、孕妇、儿童等，为热恋中的顾客或每个人的生日、婚礼等营造浪漫气氛。

满足顾客安全需求

海底捞员工寻找顾客安全需求的任何机会，创造商机。 海底捞推出火锅外卖，严格培训员工，提供亲情式火锅服务，并在2003年非典期间，创立“嗨送”外卖品牌。海底捞员工上门送火锅，穿着整齐的工装，自带鞋套，帮助顾客分餐，在外面等候顾客，最后把厨具和垃圾带走。非典过后，“嗨送”依然很受欢迎，开发了9种汤品在市场上销售。在“拼汤”危机中，海底捞真诚面对顾客，公开制作过程，开放厨房让公众参观生产线，赢得了广大顾客的信任和支持。顾客等候区的冰箱里陈列着海底捞每天的食品样品，加深了顾客对海底捞食品安全的印象。

 满足顾客的社交需求

海底捞特设顾客等候区，使其成为顾客的社交乐园，也是决定顾客转台率的主要盈利因素。顾客的高满意度源自海底捞为不同社交需求而专门打造的平台。海底捞为顾客提供免费小吃、饮料、舒适的软凳，并将等候区打造为让顾客感到愉悦的几个区域。海底捞瞄准时尚女性，尊重女性爱美天性作为她们的社交需求，推出手部按摩、美甲服务，让女性学会如何关爱自己。针对儿童，海底捞特设亲子乐园，提供室内儿童游乐设施，让孩子们一起玩耍。针对老人，海底捞员工不仅与他们聊天、推荐他们喜欢的菜肴，还会手拉手为他们指路去卫生间，甚至提供背部按摩。

满足尊重顾客的需求

为了尊重顾客，海底捞员工提出了几十个有价值的创意去实施。在干净、芳香的海底捞卫生间里，员工为顾客提供梳子、吹风机、牙刷、牙膏、牙签、杯子、美发用品、洗面奶、创可贴、充电器等。希望通过这个小小的角落，让顾客有尊严地离开。尊重商务顾客，海底捞不仅提供免费停车、代客泊车服务，还为他们提供带视频屏幕的专用套房，让顾客提高工作效率。对于忘记出发时间的顾客，海底捞不惜用经理的SUV车将粗心的顾客送到火车站。海底捞亲子植物园推出植物领养服务，鼓励孩子们养殖盆栽，提升全民环保意识。

 满足顾客自我实现的需求

海底捞使用i-pad点菜，让顾客体验到先进的高科技技术，只需手指轻触，色彩缤纷、种类繁多、美味可口的菜肴便呈现在顾客面前。顾客可以通过预约，在专业客户经理的带领下，系统地参观海底捞的等候区、用餐区和制作区。顾客可以看到员工标准化的操作，统一着装，戴着白色口罩和帽子。海报展示了工作标准、流程和员工晋升制度。热情好客的员工以微笑和礼貌迎接顾客。在用餐区，顾客可以观看拉面和川剧变脸表演，感受博大精深的中国文化。海底捞的每一位顾客都觉得自己是上帝，接受海底捞的祝福和服务。

结论

海底捞始终坚持服务创新，与时俱进，让员工和顾客共同成长。海底捞在2009年哈佛商学院中国商业案例评选中获得成功，在商界备受推崇。“中国制造”不仅指产品，也指服务。海底捞充分阐述了服务创新为餐饮业带来了市场需求，也为海底捞带来了忠实的顾客和丰厚的利润。海底捞以服务创新为企业和员工创造的竞争优势，成为文化旅游服务创新可持续发展的案例，为有效促进企业经济效益和社会效益的稳步增长提供了有益的借鉴。

致谢

本研究得到广东省高等教育教学改革项目基金的资助。

参考文献

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