Emotional Intelligence in Customer Service

Abstract

This thesis explores how service quality mediates the relationship between emotional intelligence and customer satisfaction in hospitality settings. It employs a quantitative approach using emotional intelligence theory, which includes four main dimensions: self-emotion appraisal, other's emotion appraisal, use of emotion, and regulation of emotion. Structured surveys were conducted to gather data from 153 hospitality professionals and 26 customers. The data was collected and assessed for reliability using SmartPLS 3 software. This empirical findings indicates that emotional intelligence includes self-emotion appraisal, other’s emotion appraisal, use of emotion, and regulation of emotion, which have significant effect on service quality, and service quality has also significant impact on customer satisfaction. The research confirms that emotional intelligence theory applies to the relationship between emotional intelligence and customer satisfaction. This study suggests that managers should consider emotional intelligence to enhance service quality in organizations, because it has consequence effect on customer satisfaction. It is also stated that companies can train employees in the hospitality industry regarding emotional intelligence, which is the fundamentals of customer satisfaction.