INTRODUCTION

Las Vegas is a favorite destination for Asians, from groups of budget travelers to high-stake gamblers who can individually affect a casino’s bottom line. Gaming is part of the Asian culture and eighty-five percent of the high rollers that play in Las Vegas come from China, Taiwan and Japan.1
The latest available statistics from in-flight surveys reported by the U.S. Department of Commerce Tourism Industries shows that in the year 2000, Japan sent 511,000 visitors to Las Vegas, first among overseas markets. South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong are also on the top of the list of Pacific Rim visitors.2

According to Shelly Mansholt, a representative of MGM Mirage, “Asians are well-known for being among the high-end gaming customers.”3 Sales increases at places such as The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace are directly associated to the Asian visitors. Maureen Crampton, marketing director of the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace states that Asians customers are very focused on quality and brand name of products that they purchase. Compared to customers from other nationalities, Asians tend to spend larger amounts of money when shopping.

The gaming industry is aware of the potential of Asian customers. Understanding their culture, needs and expectations can lead to an increase in customer service and therefore customer satisfaction, which is one of the factors that can generate repeated visits to the same casino.
A study published by Bear Stearns market analysts estimates that 3/4 of the Strip’s baccarat players come from Asia, “indicating that the health of Asian economies has a direct bearing on the bottom line of several Las Vegas casinos.”4
To increase these numbers, some gambling companies have strategically placed executives in potential Asian markets such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo in order to establish partnerships with local travel agents to send visitors to Las Vegas. But these efforts will only be worthwhile if a prepared team is ready to properly serve these customers when they arrive at the casinos. Getting to the casino is one thing. Having a positive experience while there is another.

SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

Statistics show that in Las Vegas, losses by Chinese have been extraordinary.5 Even though the volume of Japanese visiting Las Vegas is greater than the volume of Chinese visitors, the amount of money Chinese are willing to gamble is exorbitant. For example, some reports indicate that individual losses at a casino reached US$10 million over an 8-month time frame.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority does not offer data detailing the number of travelers from China to the US, but casinos report that in the past two years, the number of Chinese gamblers has increase dramatically, probably because it became easier for Chinese citizens to travel to the U.S. for business or conferences, and, according to tour operators, most of the visitors pass through Las Vegas.6 The Las Vegas McCarran International Airport statistics shows that in the year 2000, 45,000 Chinese landed there. (This includes only direct flights from Hong Kong; statistics of Chinese that landed in other US airports and then traveled to Las Vegas were not available).
Casinos consider the Chinese New Year the best gambling weekend in the year when thousands of Chinese come to Las Vegas to celebrate and gamble.7
All these factors have caught the attention of gaming companies for this emerging market. The Asian regional marketing director for Harrah’s Las Vegas, Bill Chu states that “Asians are the only growing segment of the casino market, and the Chinese are the only people in Asia with cash.”8
According to the Las Vegas Review Journal (March 2002), Las Vegas strip casinos reported gambling revenues of nearly $5 billion in 2001. MGM Mirage and Park Place Entertainment, the two operators with the biggest high-end operations, currently control three-quarters of the city’s $500 million to $700 million high-roller market and they already have marketing representatives in China.9
Considering the potential of Chinese customers and the potential difference that they can make on the casino bottom line, casino managers should be extremely interested in better understanding such customers. Therefore my research will focus on the Chinese.

GOAL OF THE RESEARCH

The goal of this research is to identify and discuss key aspects of Chinese culture in order to inform casino managers about how to deal with these customers specifically.
Understanding their behavior, communication methods, values and superstitions is extremely important so that the casino can create an environment that will induce Chinese customers to play and return to the casino. While many factors may influence a customer’s decision to play and return to a specific casino, customer satisfaction with the service provided plays an important role in the customer decision-making process.
A study by Bowen and Lawler10 suggested that companies can clearly benefit by increasing the lifetime spending of their customers. So by ensuring effective customer service casinos can increase customer loyalty which in turn will benefit the casino over the time. Therefore casino managers should pay special attention as to how to serve these customers effectively.

RESEARCH QUESTION

Several aspects might influence the decision to return to the same casino rather than choosing a new alternative upon returning to Las Vegas. Customer service is one of these factors and is strongly connected to cultural communication. Considering that cultural communication provides us critical information of how social interaction can be accomplished smoothly among people from different cultures, the research question for this study is: What cultural considerations need to be observed by casino managers to increase patronage among Chinese gamblers?

GAMING AND CUSTOMER PERCEPTION

Gaming resorts offer a complex entertainment experience. The entertainment experience is delivered through several elements, both tangible (such as quality of food, type of slot machines) and intangible (such as employee courtesy, ambience of the building). A casino visitor will determine his or her satisfaction with the trip and the desire to return not based on wining or losing at the gambling tables, but based on the entertainment value created from the whole experience related to his or her expenditures during his or her stay at the resort. The value of the gaming experience perceived by each customer will vary because of his or her individual background, variable expectations and valuation criteria, and perception of what happens during the time he or she spends at the casino.11 Therefore it is extremely important for casino managers to understand how to create and add value to the Chinese guest experience in the casino to ensure customer satisfaction with the products and services provided.

Customer satisfaction factors, as well as aspects that positively or negatively impact a visitor’s experience in the casino have been object of many studies. Richard and Adrian (1996) suggest that repeated visits to a casino is a function of the casino location, casino physical attributes, games offered, extra amenities of the casino, hospitality attributes and the attributes of the casino staff. According to the authors of this study, a single above-mentioned attribute cannot fully explain repeated purchase intentions, since consumers consider several attributes in their decision-making process regarding whether to return to a casino or choosing a different one.
According to a study by Brewer and Petrillose (2000), participants in a focus group questioned about what an excellent hotel experience would consist of, said that the most important factors determining an excellent experience are: courteous, friendly and helpful staff. Guests also suggested that the hotel and its employees should anticipate their needs, indicating that customer satisfaction is strongly connected to the service provide by the hotel staff and that power of well-trained, personable employees can’t be matched even by the most creative or thematic environment. On the other hand, when focus group participants were asked about what would constitute a negative hotel experience, they indicated that the following factors would ruin their experience at the hotel: 1) lack of cleanliness, 2) lack of security, 3) indifferent attitude by a hotel employee, 4) promises made by hotel and not honored, 5) poor quality food in restaurants, and, 6) long lines requiring long waiting periods.
In order to ensure that these traditional quality standards mentioned by the focus group participants are being provided, the implementation of periodic follow-up surveys with each guest was suggested to detect problems so that casino managers can take corrective actions prior to the guest’s departure. The effective use of customer feed back is very important to determine the need for customer compensation for eventual problems since compensations can mitigate the risk of losing the unhappy customer.12
Since an indifferent attitude by casino staff could cause a negative impression, and a “wrong” attitude (from the Chinese cultural perspective) could insult a Chinese guest, training programs should be developed to increase staff awareness of Chinese cultural values and particularities as well as communication methods so that the interaction between staff and customer can be as smooth as possible. For example, Chinese highly respect elders who should not be called by their first name. While in America calling somebody by their first name may represent friendliness, for Chinese this would be felt as a disrespectful way to communicate with an elder person.
Another important element for creating and maintaining customer loyalty and a positive reputation is consistency. Customers need to know that every time they visit the casino the same quality service will be provided.13 One way to maintain high performance consistently is the implementation of reward systems, because by establishing challenges and rewards, the staff will be constantly stimulated to deliver higher quality services.
Creating a memorable and lasting impression in the guest’s mind in order to positively impact his or her intent to return can only be made by deeply knowing the customer, what he thinks, what are his values and how he communicates.14

CHINESE CULTURE

Culture refers to a patterned way of living of a group of individuals who share similar traditions, beliefs, values and norms15. By reviewing Chinese cultural characteristics, casino managers can understand their expectations of what constitutes a proper or improper behavior in a given situation. Understanding the Chinese cultural “frame of reference” enables casinos to better interact with customers and at the same time create and deliver entertainment experiences that meet the needs and expectations of Chinese guests.

The Chinese culture has traditions of gambling and superstitions. Chinese records about betting on dice and Chinese chess matches date back to around 300 B.C. Some studies indicate that in China and Hong Kong, in the late 1800’s, everyone would gamble for everything. “Even the act of buying bread from a street vendor becomes a gambling game, where instead of simply paying for the bread, the client would gamble with the vendor, willing to risk getting nothing for the chance of possibly winning three times as much.”16

Several hypotheses have been presented to explain why Chinese love to gamble. Some observers have stated that throughout Chinese history, a large percentage of the Chinese population has been poor, therefore there always existed a hope for a miracle, a streak of good luck, a big win. Another theory relates the gambling tradition to the Confucian world-view that stresses that through prayers, favors can be secured by Gods. So Chinese people hoped to secure favors for their endeavors, in other words, to have good luck. Therefore, luck and the quest for good luck became important components of Chinese culture.17
Another aspect that could also explain Chinese propensity to gamble can be related to a study of American and Chinese proverbs by Elke Weber, Ph.D (Ohio State University). This study reported that Chinese proverbs and sayings encourage financial risk taking while American sayings encourage “penny saving” and careful money spending. Also, due to the collectivist nature of Chinese culture, the willingness to take financial risks can be linked to traditional norms such as group harmony and collaborative spirit that ensured the safety of group members. So gamblers would not be lead to the poorhouse, as it would be likely to happen in individualistic cultures where the sense of community and family protection is not as strong as in China.18

Some sources report that Chinese gamblers have particular characteristics such as the size of their bets and the ability to play for several days with no sleep19. The Chinese gambling style tends to be more intense and erratic compared to average North American gamblers. While North American gamblers tend to slowly adjust their bets at the gaming tables, Chinese gamblers, in contrast, tend to make huge bet variations as their sense of luck changes. Casinos report that it’s not unusual to see a Chinese player increase a $100 bet to $10,000. This willingness to risk large amounts of money on a single bet and the propensity to gamble for long periods of time make Chinese one of the favorite groups of customers for Las Vegas casinos.

HOFSTEDE’S CULTURAL DIMENSIONS

CHINA

Hofstede’s cultural dimension approach indicates that China is a long-term oriented culture, and, compared to other Asian countries, China ranks lower than any other in the individualism factor, which can be attributed primarily to the communist regime and its emphasis on a collectivist society.

ANALYSIS OF HOFSTEDE’S CULTURAL DIMENSIONS

1-Power Distance Dimension focuses on the degree of equality, or inequality, between people in the country's society. China’s high power distance rank indicates that inequalities of power and wealth have been allowed to grow within the society and that opportunity and equality for everyone is not embraced. Strict obedience and respect to people with more power or wealth is encouraged and the social structure is composed of castes that do not allow individuals to move upwards easily.
Casino staff should be aware that Chinese customers value seniority, rank and title therefore they would feel more valued when high executives of the casino show attention to their needs and respect to them in general. A formal treatment is appropriate and usually the senior Chinese or the one with the highest title will make the decisions for the group or family and the group members with lower status will accept such hierarchical and asymmetrical relations.

2- Individualism Dimension focuses on the degree the society reinforces individual or collective achievement and interpersonal relationships. China has an extremely low ranking for Individualism, which represents the strong emphasis on group over individual and promotes relational inter-dependence, in-group harmony and in-group collaborative spirit rather than promoting and valuing individuality. Low individualism indicates the tendency of people to belong to groups or collectives and to look after each other in an exchange of loyalty.
In practical terms, casino managers should know that Chinese tend to emphasize group-identity and group-relations; they see themselves as a ‘group’ and not as ‘individuals’. For example it’s more appropriate to offer a gift to the group as a whole rather than to one group member. Gifts can be given to individuals in private and not in front of group members to avoid embarrassment.

3-Masculinity Dimension focuses on the degree the society reinforces, or does not reinforce the traditional masculine work role model of male achievement, control, and power. China’s high masculinity ranking indicates that the country experiences a high degree of gender differentiation, where males dominate a significant portion of the society and power structure. Contrary to low masculinity cultures where there is a low level of differentiation and discrimination between genders, in China females are not treated equal to males in all aspects of the society.
Hofstede’s findings show that when communicating with members of a masculine culture, one should be aware of the norms and rules of complementary gender role behaviors which emphasize economic growth and achievement and are business driven.

4- Uncertainty Avoidance Dimension refers to the extent members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguity and uncertainty and the extent that they try to avoid these situations. China has a moderate ranking of uncertainty avoidance, which reflects a moderate concern for security and therefore the willingness to take risks.
This moderate uncertainty avoidance rank in addition to the cultural propensity to gamble can explain why the Chinese are a recognized group of players in Las Vegas.

5- Long-Term Orientation Dimension focuses on the degree the society embraces long-term devotion to traditional values. China’s extremely high long-term orientation ranking is based on Confucian dynamism and indicates the value of long-term commitments and respect for tradition. In this scenario, change does not occur rapidly since long-term traditions and commitments can become impediments to change20.
Chinese value long term relationships and outcomes so casino managers should invest some time to establish long term relationship with such customers as being a way to keep their business over the time. Contrarily to what happens in the U.S. where people ‘get down to business’ with no need of previous relationship development, in China its necessary to first develop a relationship so that the Chinese will feel comfortable to do business.

SOME ASPECTS OF CHINA’S CULTURE AND SUPERSTITIONS

Chinese and Asians in general have a stronger belief in the existence of good luck or bad luck when compared to North Americans. Chinese associate colors, numbers, animals and objects to good or bad luck. For example, red is a good color because it represents happiness. But some Chinese that I interviewed told me that writing in red is not appropriate. So here casinos can pay special attention when printing invitations or special material that would be sent to Chinese customers.
The number four is already known for being a bad luck number because its pronunciation is similar to the pronunciation of the word “death.” Many casinos have already removed seat number 4 from table games in order to adjust to this Chinese belief. Conversely the number 8 is considered a lucky number believed to attract wealth.
Roses and chrysanthemums are associated with perseverance and integrity and the lucky bamboo is a must-have plant that symbolizes health, love, and good luck. When decorating hotel rooms or gaming rooms that will be used by Chinese, casino managers should carefully study the most appropriate plant (type and color) to use so that it will create a comfortable environment for the Chinese customer.
Dining is considered a social event but usually Chinese don’t use it to discuss business. Never placing your chopsticks straight up in your bowl is a rule because doing so will remind your host of joss sticks which is believed to attract death. Also, dropping the chopsticks is considered a way to attract bad luck. When casino managers offers a dinner to Chinese customers, the common sense rule is to pay special attention to Chinese dining traditions and manners.
Gift giving is a delicate issue in China. It is acceptable to give gifts either in private or to a group as a whole to avoid embarrassment because of their collectivist orientation. The most acceptable gift is a banquet. Quality writing pens are also considered favored gifts. Some gifts and colors are associated with bad luck or death and should not be given to Chinese under any circumstances. Examples of unwelcome gifts and colors are: clocks, straw sandals, handkerchiefs, and anything white, blue or black. Casino managers should carefully review information about gifts and their meanings so a proper gift can be offered to a Chinese customer.

To better understand Chinese culture, I interviewed Prof. Robin Wang, Ph.D, an LMU professor from the Department of Philosophy with expertise in Chinese culture. She highlighted that Chinese value respect for older people so elders should always have a seat and may never be called by their first name. Chinese do not show their emotions publicly, therefore touching and hugging is inappropriate. A handshake is acceptable. This very formal communication style should be observed by casino staff when addressing Chinese customers.
Another aspect mentioned by Prof. Wang is that Chinese don’t differentiate business from friendship, so in order to do business with them, they expect you to first be their friend. Trust is very important and they need to trust you as a friend. If they trust you, every problem will be solved. On the other hand, if they don’t trust you, no matter what you offer it will be very hard to please an unhappy Chinese guest. Americans don’t mix business and friendship, but Chinese don’t have this sense of differentiation. So when dealing with Chinese customers, is important to establish a long-term relationship. In addition, when casino operators have earned their trust, the Chinese patrons may be a valuable source of information on how to better serve them.
Its also important to be a good listener, since Chinese are very proud of their history and economic accomplishments and want to share these feelings with outsiders. Casino managers should use these opportunities to strengthen connections with Chinese.
Prof. Wang also mentioned that Chinese don’t have the same sense of privacy that Americans do. They expect you to ask about their age, family, wives, etc., as this will show that you are becoming friends. Even though it may sound very uncomfortable for an American to ask such questions, he or she should be aware of what type of conversation will make a Chinese perceive him or her as a friend and try to adjust conversation topics accordingly.
As suggested by Prof. Wang, in order to make Chinese feel comfortable in the casino, the physical setting needs to follow Feng Shui recommendations but structure-wise, the Chinese customer needs to sense that the casino is like a family setting where casino staff is trustworthy and friendly.

FENG SHUI
A very important component of Chinese’s culture is Feng Shui, which is the Chinese discipline that says that object placement influences peace, prosperity and health. Feng Shui teaches how to attract and enhance life energy (called chi) according to how the home or the environment is arranged21. Understanding this discipline is important for casinos that want to offer an environment that will make Chinese feel comfortable because the combination of colors, materials, shapes and the location where objects are placed can strongly impact a Chinese perception of a “good” and comfortable environment. Especially for casino floor plan development and decoration this is a subject that should be carefully reviewed.

Feng Shui can be translated as ‘wind, water’ and traditionally symbolizes the space between heaven and earth, the environment where people live. The underlying philosophy recognizes that people and their environment are sustained by an invisible, yet tangible, energy that moves like wind and is called “chi22.”
Some companies hire Feng Shui consultants to ensure that the environment will be displayed accordingly. When doing a Feng Shui survey, the first thing performed is an external survey of the building in order to detect anything that can cause ‘problems’. This could be surrounding buildings, freeways, a flyover or other factors. Then, using the Lopan (Chinese compass), the consultant will make a Feng Shui chart that involves several calculations. From the results, one can tell which direction will bring good or bad influences. Each direction is associated with a particular star and number. Each star also has its own particular energy. For example, the number eight star corresponds to money. Other stars relate to illness, celebration, success, relationships, luck (good/bad), popularity, birth and death23.

The color chart below is a simplified illustration of a bagua. It is used in Feng Shui to find out which part of the home or environment correlates with a particular situation in a person’s life. This Feng Shui map, enables the consultant to evaluate and adjust the environment. Using this bagua chart, one can select and arrange objects in a room to create harmony and encourage the proper flow of energy. Each of the directions on the bagua is believed to govern a different aspect of life: health, wealth, fame, marriage, children, helpful people, career, knowledge and family. And each of these aspects is influenced by the five elements: earth, fire, wood, metal and water. Every object is characterized by a certain element. The way objects and their elements interact is believed to influence the environment24.

FENG SHUI BAGUA CHART WITH COLORS AND ELEMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH SECTOR25

During the personal interviews that I conducted with some Chinese people, I was told that many Chinese don’t like the Luxor casino because of its odd shape and the light in the top. Supposedly the light suggests that “your health can be sucked out”. They mentioned that square rooms are their preference because edges and odd shapes can disturb the flow of energy.

A Feng Shui consultant may be very useful but a few tips can be observed:

• Door and windows must face south (because they get more sunshine) and must be free of obstructions.
• Water flowing means prosperity so the placement of a fountain in areas heavily used by Chinese is recommended (but the fountain should not be placed anywhere, the Feng Shui consultant can determine the exact place where the fountain will be effective).
• If possible, a mirror should be placed in the wall facing the door to “reflect ghosts out”.
• Red is a good color for decorating the environment but, not black or too much white since white is for dead people.
• Plenty of sunlight to warm a place also is believed to encourage positive energy.
• The Lucky Bamboo is said to bring good fortune to those who own it and is one of the plants recommended by Feng Shui to create a space where people supposedly will feel safe and more energized.

CHINESE COMMUNICATION STYLE

China is a high context culture, which means that meanings are expressed through nonverbal communication, that is, the receiver of the message “reads between the lines.” Contrary to low context cultures, where the message is explicitly delivered through verbal messages, in high context cultures the message is delivered through the context (social roles and positions) and nonverbal channels (pauses, silence and voice tone). To better understand the Chinese communication style, it’s helpful to review the following chart comparing low context and high context communications style.26

Low Context Communication
Characteristics High Context Communication
Characteristics
Individualistic values Group-oriented values
Self-face concern Mutual-face concern
Linear logic Spiral logic
Direct style Indirect style
Person-oriented style Status-oriented style
Self-enhancement style Self-effacement style
Speaker-oriented style Listener-oriented style
Verbal-based understanding Context-based understanding
Ex: US, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom and Germany Ex: China, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Mexico

Understanding this framework is important for casino staff who will be directly dealing with Chinese customers because intercultural miscommunication happens when individuals ethnocentric-based interpretations are used to decode each other’s verbal messages and verbal style27.
The use of pauses and silence is also part of Chinese communication style. Silence occurs in interaction contexts but how it is perceived can vary across cultures and between persons. While in high-context cultures such as China silence holds a strong contextual meaning, in low-context Western cultures it can be perceived as an “empty pause.” In China’s culture, being quiet is often valued in some social environments and is often a sign if respect for the wisdom and expertise of others.
Chinese also avoid emotional expressions because of their concern with other people’s opinions and reactions. While individualistic cultures value spontaneous emotional expressions, collectivist cultures tend to monitor and censor their non-verbal emotional expressions28.
In regards to the use of gestures during conversations, Chinese tend to use fewer and more restrained gestures when compared to Americans. They prefer to focus on the interaction and consider the use of too many hand gestures as distracting, rude and undisciplined29.
Casino managers should have knowledge of both verbal and non-verbal communication aspects of Chinese culture. In addition it’s important to keep in mind that high-context communication cultures prefer indirect verbal style and status-oriented language.

Individuals tend to feel secure when communicating with people they view as supportive and with high sense of familiarity and they tend to experience vulnerability when interacting with people whom they view as unfamiliar. In order to address this issue, Sudhir H. Kale, Ph.D., suggests that casinos should understand communication-related information about each customer segment, (in this case Chinese customers) such as body language, how to address people, how they open or close their conversations, how people take turns in conversation, how to indicate that you are paying attention to somebody and tactics of exhibiting politeness.30 For example, introductions are formal and titles are used to introduce Chinese individuals. Presenting and receiving cards is also important and should be done with both hands. One should never write on a business card or put it in a wallet or pocket. The appropriate procedure is to place it in a small card case.

MIANZI AND GUANXI

In order to effectively interact with Chinese guests, Casino managers should also pay special attention to the following concepts related to Chinese culture.

Mianzi
In the Chinese context, Mianzi means “face,” that is the projected social image and social self-respect. Chinese are extremely concerned with “face” and group harmony is achieved through the maintenance of everyone’s face. Insulting, embarrassing or confronting a Chinese will put him or her in a situation where he might loose face and this should be strenuously avoided. Chinese seldom say what they think directly so speaking frankly sometimes needs to be avoided in order to preserve the Chinese face. In practical terms, when dealing with Chinese customers, the casino staff needs to be very careful to not create unpleasant situations where Chinese might loose face. Denying favors or requests, for example, should never be done in front of other Chinese but privately and in a very careful way. While in America people tend to express their message in a straight forward way, Chinese tend to “beat around the bush” and being too direct when dealing with Chinese should be avoided.

Guanxi
The Chinese word 'guanxi' means relationships and it refers to the concept of establishing connections in order to secure favors in personal relations. It is a relational network that Chinese cultivate energetically and it contains implicit mutual obligation, assurance and understanding. It is very important for the Chinese to have good relationships, since they consider good social relations as a symbol of personal ability and influence. Guanxi governs Chinese attitudes toward long-term social and business relationships. For Chinese, having connections with the appropriate individuals and authorities is extremely important, so doing and repaying favors is part of Chinese culture.
Developing and nurturing ‘guanxi’ requires time and resources but it’s not necessarily based on money. Treating someone with decency could result in a good relationship. Guanxi starts and builds on the trustworthiness of the individual or the company. So if a casino promised certain things and delivered as promised, it will show trustworthiness and the Chinese would be more inclined to deal with them again. Being dependable and reliable definitely strengthens the relationship.
In practical terms, when dealing with Chinese customers, casino staff should try to do their best to do favors requested by Chinese as a way to become part of their ‘guanx’i. 31

RECOMMENATIONS

The most important factors when serving a Chinese customer is to understand how they communicate and how they perceive the service provided by the casino. The communication and interaction between staff and guest during the time the guest spends at the casino is extremely important. Therefore, casinos should not only hire multi-lingual staff and interpreters but also address the cross-cultural communication issue effectively by promoting training sessions in order to make staff aware of Chinese cultural characteristics, communication methods, styles and etiquette. Training sessions should also address issues such as Chinese emphasis on long-term outcomes, social order and hierarchical respect, and trust. This way the casino can create an atmosphere of cultural understanding and the customer will feel respected.

Casinos should also continue to add items to appeal to Chinese visitors such as fine food, high quality entertainment and shopping. For example, the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace offers such a wide selection of designer clothes that shopping there is more appealing to Chinese than shopping at Orchard Road in Singapore or Nathan Road in Hong Kong32.
When it comes to food, casinos are also working hard to please Chinese customers. Park Place Entertainment sent its food and beverage managers to Hong Kong for a 3-month search in top restaurants to recruit chefs and culinary teams33. Restaurants like the Noodle Shop at the Mandalay Bay, Shintaro, Jasmine and Noodles at the Bellagio, offer the finest Chinese food. The Bellagio also tries to make Chinese gamblers feel at home by decorating baccarat rooms with antique Chinese art34.

Hiring a Feng Shui consultant is also recommended in order to design the casino according to the principles that will make Chinese feel comfortable since the combination of objects, colors and places where each object is located can impact the Chinese perception about the area.

From a practical point of view, I believe that casinos should continue to work to help casino guests obtain their visas to come to the U.S because facilitating this process as much as possible is very beneficial for the casino. There are some political and bureaucratic issues to be addressed here, but discussing them is outside the scope of this project.

To ensure that each customer’s needs will be met, some investments in technology may be necessary in order to develop systems to gather, store and track customer information so that casinos can improve their knowledge about Chinese culture and about specific guests as well.

CONCLUSION

Considering the potential that Chinese customers have to affect the casino bottom line, casino managers should pay special attention to customer service and how to communicate with such customers. Understanding Chinese cultural background and superstitions is necessary to properly serve them and thus increase patronage.

Training programs to increase staff awareness about Chinese culture are very important to ensure that the staff is prepared to serve and interact with these customers.

How to entice customers to visit and return to the property is an on-going challenge that has several aspects to be considered. While gaming may be the primary reason for visiting a casino, the importance of ‘auxiliary’ entertainment should not be overlooked such as providing fine dining, shopping and entertainment options according to Chinese guests needs and expectations.

Determining how to communicate and what are the customer satisfaction factors is the first step to providing quality and personalized service, because once the casino knows how the customer likes to be treated and what type of actions make him or her feel important and respected, tailored actions can be developed.

This paper provided information about Chinese cultural characteristics and several recommendations as to how to adjust customer service so as to increase satisfaction and in turn, increase patronage among Chinese customers.

REFERENCES

1 Downtown Las Vegas (April 24, 2002). ABC News
2 Basic statistics. Research Program, Office of Travel & Tourism Industries
3 Smith, H. (February 07, 2002). Casinos, retailers anticipate comeback in asian tourism. Las Vegas Review Journal
4 Biers, D. (March 22, 2001). Bright lights, high rollers. Far Eastern Economic Review
5 Pomfret, J. (March, 26,2002). China’s high rollers find a seat at table. The Washington Post
6 Biers, D. (March 22, 2001). Bright lights, high rollers. Far Eastern Economic Review
7 Chinese new year – vegas style. (February 06,2000). Go Vegas Guide
8 Pomfret, J. (March, 26,2002). China’s high rollers find a seat at table. The Washington Post
9 Simpson, J. (March 27, 2002 ). Casino executives dispute assertions about chinese gamblers in Las Vegas Las Vegas Review Journal
10 Bowen & Lawler (1995). Empowering service employees. Sloan Management Review
11 Macomber, D (2000). Preparing a marketing plan
12 Pertillose, J., Brewer, K. ( 2000). An exploitation of customer retention factors in Las Vegas casino resort properties
13 Macomber, D (2000). Developing a target guest entertainment experience delivery system.
14 Macomber, D (2000). Preparing a marketing plan
15 Tomey, S. (1999). Communicating across cultures
16 Nepstad, P. Gambling history and tradition in china (May,2000). The Illuminated Lantern
17 Nepstad, P. Gambling history and tradition in china (May,2000). The Illuminated Lantern
18 Taylor, C. (April 1999). Risky business. Psychology Today
19 Biers, D. (March 22, 2001). Bright lights, high rollers. Far Eastern Economic Review
20 http://www.cyborlink.com/China.htm
21 – 25 Wong, E (2001). Master Course in Feng Shui
26 – 29 Tomey, S. (1999). Communicating across cultures
30Kale, S. (Sept 15,2001). Communication with asian customers: it’s a question of context . Bright Ideas
31 Nazarechuck, A. (Jan 30, 2000). How to attract and service the asian player. Bright Ideas
32 Biers, D. (March 22, 2001). Bright lights, high rollers. Far Eastern Economic Review
33Smith, H. (February 07, 2002). Casinos, retailers anticipate comeback in asian tourism. Las Vegas Review Journal
34 Chinese new year – vegas style. (February 06,2000). Go Vegas Guide

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• American Gaming Association
• A Master Course in Feng Shui , Eva Wong
• ChineseCulture.about.com
• Communicating Across Cultures, Stella Ting-Toomey
• Consulate General of China in Los Angeles
• Feng Shui – Back to Balance, Sally Fretwell
• Gaming Studies Research center (UNLV)
• Gaming Research and Review Journal
• Guanxi and Business, Yadong Luo
• Hotel Online.com
• International Gaming Institute – Resource Center (UNLV)
• International Management – Culture, Strategy and Behavior, Richard M. Hodgetts & Fred Luthans
• Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority
• Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce
• Las Vegas McCarran International Airport
• Las Vegas Review Journal
• Nevada Development Authority
• Nevada Tourism Commission
• Office of Travel & Tourism Industries
• Urbino Net

Date Posted: 05-Oct-2002

Sandra Galletti
IMBA – Group 3
Loyola Marymount University – Los Angeles, CA
Instructor: Don Schroeder, Ph.D.