Frontline Employee Service Behaviour Scale

What it measures

Measures customer perceptions of frontline employee service behaviour across loyalty behaviours (employee commitment), service delivery quality (reliable, attentive, personalised service), and cooperation. Frontline employee behaviour is the most critical determinant of guest experience quality in hospitality — the human element of the servicescape.

Response format

Likert (1–7, strongly disagree to strongly agree) — rated by customers

Scale items

In-Role Behaviour — required service tasks (Likert 1–7, strongly disagree to strongly agree)

• The employee delivered the service with the accuracy required.
• The employee fulfilled all the responsibilities specified in their job.
• The employee adequately completed their required duties.
• The employee performed tasks that are expected of service employees.

Customer-Oriented Citizenship Behaviour — going beyond the call of duty for customers

• The employee voluntarily assisted this customer even though it was not required.
• The employee went out of their way to make the customer feel welcome.
• The employee helped this customer even when not required to do so.
• The employee showed genuine care and consideration for this customer.

Sportsmanship — tolerating problems without complaining

• The employee avoided unnecessary complaints about their job.
• The employee was cheerful even when the situation was difficult.
• The employee maintained a positive attitude throughout the service encounter.
• The employee did not complain about trivial matters that came up during service.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Three subscale scores. Service Delivery is the most impactful dimension on customer satisfaction. Important for research on emotional labour, service climate, and HRM practices in hospitality.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Bettencourt, L.A., & Brown, S.W. (1997). Contact employees: Relationships among workplace fairness, job satisfaction and prosocial service behaviors. Journal of Retailing, 73(1), 39–61.

Keywords