The term “service science” refers to a needs-oriented approach that aims to incorporate rigorous scientific methods and professionalism across different fields into service industry operations to develop service processes that are tailored to the needs of customers and thereby enhance service efficiency. Professor San-Yih Hwang and Professor Jack Shih-Chieh Hsu of the Department of Information Management attempted to uncover the historical origin, cultural aspects, and main ingredients of traditional street food. They picked steamed stuffed buns and bamboo-tube sticky rice as the main targets and create a database with their professional expertise and experience in service science. Their goal was to help consumers find their favorite vendors and motivate the owners to improve their food and thereby boost local economic development. 

 

Professor Hwang points out that human-centered thinking and co-creation of value are core concepts of service science. Realizing that signature street food in Taiwan exhibits significant variations in the way it is eaten and what ingredients are added due to different historical origins and regional characteristics, the two professors singled out steamed stuffed buns and bamboo-tube sticky rice for further analysis. They collected background information (e.g., origins, main and additional ingredients, preparation techniques, and food-related festivals) through analysis of the academic literature, media coverage, the Internet, and books. They then used (a) in-depth interviews with local elders, culinary experts, and food makers and (b) content analysis of consumer comments to infer the required features of these food. Based on their findings, the professors developed an inventory framework and scoring charts.

 

For instance, scoring items for steamed stuffed buns included appearance, taste, smell, texture, shop environment, cooking utensils, variety, preparation process, service quality, shop location, popularity, and price-performance ratio. All main items are further divided into subitems and scoring rubrics have been formulated for each item and subitem. Finally, trained interviewers were dispatched to the actual vendor locations to taste and score the snacks, and a database of vendors and scoring results was created. One of the scoring items is shown as an example in the table below:

 

Main item	Subitem	Scoring rubrics
Texture	Soft crust of the bun	3 points: Pleasantly chewy 2 points: Ordinary texture without being mushy 1 point: Mushy texture (possibly caused by excessive moisture)

 

Professor Hwang’s research team applied concepts of service science to local street food in Taiwan with an emphasis on the culture, history, and preparation techniques of steamed stuffed buns and bamboo-tube sticky rice. The team aimed to direct the attention of academic research and industry-academia collaboration to these two common snacks. In addition to rating the snacks, the team also rated the vendors. Vendors who want to know what attributes consumers care about can consult the rating results. This could help them improve their service and food quality.