To Adopt the QFD Model in the Taiwan's Skin-care Service Industry

Abstract

During a beauty-business transaction, customers' needs are generally satisfied via the consumption of the goods and services provided by the beauty-business. However, consumption at this level may hardly take care of customers' higher-order service-related needs, such as status, emotional responses, power and self-identify. For this reason, in the present study, efforts were made to modify the QFD model so as to increase the skin-care industry's services capability at this higher, i.e., psychological, level. The results of this study will aid in establishing systematic links between service quality and customer values and attitudes. Based on a sample of 534 customers from thirty beauty-salons which offered skin-care services in Taiwan, a majority of the hypothesized relationships are strongly supported. The study was grounded in the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) model and was based on consumers' influential requirements' for satisfaction (i.e., consumer values, consumer attitude, service quality, and satisfaction). In this study, which is an attempt to provide guidelines for consumers' satisfaction and service quality, the QFD model was employed to explore consumers' internal needs stemming from their values and attitudes. This study, thus, will enhance the structure and systematic approach in the Taiwan's skincare and cosmetic industries.