Validating Restaurant Service Quality Dimensions

Abstract

Service-based industries such as hotels and restaurants are spending a tremendous effort to measure and improve the service quality of their businesses. Service quality is one of the key factors in achieving competitive advantages in the restaurant industry since high service quality presumably results in increased customer satisfaction, and thus increased future patronage. The purpose of this study was to examine the two generic service-quality dimensions: physical quality and staff behavior/attitude in restaurants by employing the confirmatory factor analysis approach. The findings indicated that the two-factor model of restaurant service quality was successfully validated and also, the predictive accuracy of the model was established.     

Perceived Importance Factors of Restaurants in Relation to University Customers' Demographic Characteristics

Abstract

This research examines the attributes which influence customers' decisions to return to a restaurant for another meal. Quality of food was rated as the most important attribute, followed by quality of service, cost/value of the meal, and ambiance of the restaurant. Nutritional value was rated as the least important attribute. Male customers did not rate the attributes differently from the female customers.     

Empowerment and Customer Satisfaction Strategies in Multi-Cultural Hotel Restaurant Environments

ABSTRACT

The paper addresses empowerment issues for hotel restaurant managers, as they affect: (a) quality service, (b) customer satisfaction, and (c) financial implications. It investigates empowerment in restaurant management in Dubai five star hotels, how managers operating in Dubai's multi-cultural environment perceive empowerment in their operations, and how this perception relates to their organization's quest for service quality, customer satisfaction, and financial return. Primary data was collected in focus group interviews with (n = 24) managers. Findings suggest managers are well informed, see empowerment as beneficial, support its application, but harbour some concerns, and as literature suggests, there are ambiguities and disagreements over its application.     

Consumers' Choice Factors of an Upscale Ethnic Restaurant

The demand for ethnic foods has increased worldwide, due to the influences of ethnic diversity, globally sourced food, cultural experiences, and media exposure. Despite the importance of restaurant choice criteria and a growth in the popularity of ethnic foods, published research on consumers' restaurant selection behavior that focuses on the ethnic restaurant segment is sparse. This research aims to fill this gap in the literature by empirically identifying the factors (and their relative importance) that influence consumers to dine at an upscale ethnic restaurant.

Focus group discussions and the literature review assist in identifying a set of factors that influence restaurant choice. A mail survey is used to collect the data. Factor analysis is applied to refine the decision factors. Logistic regression analysis identifies five significant factors that influence restaurant choice: dining experience, social status, service quality, food quality, and value for money.     

Revisiting customers' perception of service quality in fast food restaurants

This research is an extension to previous work in fast food restaurant marketing. The population of this research consists of actual fast food restaurant customers. Following the literature, data are analyzed using Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Structural Equation Modeling, and Path Analysis. Findings of this work identify factors impacting customer satisfaction, as well as dimensions of service quality and their rankings in the fast food restaurant context. Results indicate that there is no direct way of increasing behavioral intentions through improving service quality for fast food restaurants. Rather, behavioral intentions can be improved through customer satisfaction as an intermediary. Further, this work finds evidence that customer satisfaction can be improved through service quality, food quality, and price-value ratio, which in turn would pave an indirect path toward improvement in behavioral intentions in this industry. Results of this research shed light on prioritizing managers’ focus and resource allocation for customer satisfaction and different dimensions of service quality and can be used by fast food restaurant managers to set guidelines and strategies in providing better service to their customers.     

An Evaluation of Fast Food Restaurant Satisfaction

Abstract

The researchers interviewed 300 customers of a fast food restaurant. The respondents indicated that quality, cleanliness and value are the three most important attributes of a fast food restaurant. The study reported the respondents' ratings of competitive brands. Cross-tabulations of satisfaction rating by various customer traits are provided.     

A Study of Factors Affecting Tip Size in Restaurants

Abstract

This study was undertaken to gain understanding of the tipping phenomenon in restaurants. The study reviews the phenomenon of tipping and the accompanying characteristics that determine the gratuity amount of consumers. An understanding of the relationship between tip size and factors such as food quality and level of service will help to determine what areas restaurant personnel should focus on to enhance customer satisfaction and facilitate those working in the restaurant industry. In this study, the researchers tested the hypothesis that the greater the tip size, the more satisfied the customer is with the food quality and service provided by server. The other hypothesis tested was: The greater the tip size, the greater the likelihood of a return patronage. Data were collected at a restaurant in Houston, Texas. This analysis found a strong relationship between tip size and service provided by server and return intentions, but did not find a significant relationship between tip size and food quality.     

Relative importance and combined effects of attributes on customer satisfaction

Customer satisfaction with a service experience is often determined by several critical attributes. Prior studies have suggested that food, physical environment, and employee service impose an important effect on diners' satisfaction with restaurant services. Although much research has looked at the direct effect of these attributes individually, little is known about them when they are considered together. This study investigates the relative importance and combined effects of the determinants of customer satisfaction in China's hospitality industry. The results show that food taste, employee service, and physical environment (in that order) all significantly contribute to diners' satisfaction, and that one attribute may substitute for another attribute in the satisfaction formation process. Generally, humanic attributes (employee service) can effectively substitute for less humanic attributes (physical environment).     

Value and Satisfaction Evaluations During a Service Relationship

Abstract

The research used a sample of credit union customers to determine (a) the relative importance of core and peripheral service attributes on customer evaluations of service value and customer satisfaction, and (b) how the relative importance of these criteria change over the life of the service relationship. For the overall sample, peripheral service attributes accounted for over three-fourths of the variance for service value and customer satisfaction. Dividing the sample into three sub-samples based on age of the customer's relationship with the credit union, peripheral service attributes drove evaluations of service value and customer satisfaction for the first stage of the relationship (ten years or less) and the middle stage of the relationship (eleven to nineteen years). Once the relationship aged to twenty or more years, core attributes drove evaluations of service value and customer satisfaction. Findings indicate that relationship strategies for the credit union may need to be customized based on the amount of time customers have had a relationship with a service firm.     

Using Focus Groups to Determine Specific Attributes That Influence the Evaluation of Quality Food and Service Quality in Continuing Care Retirement Communities

Abstract

Residents' perceptions of the specific quality attributes of food and service that affect the quantity of food consumed and their satisfaction with the dining service were explored. Eight focus groups composed of 45 residents were conducted in three continuing care retirement communities. When asked to identify the two most important attributes affecting food quality, the participants identified flavor/taste and texture/tenderness of meat. Appearance of staff and attentiveness of service were the most important attributes affecting service quality. These results can be used in identifying strategies to enhance the quality of food and service and overall satisfaction and developing an instrument to evaluate residents' satisfaction.     

Differences in Customers’ Online Service Satisfaction Across Cultures: The Role of Thinking Style

ABSTRACT

Online retailers constantly strive to improve customer satisfaction. However, satisfaction levels can vary significantly across cultures when customers experience mixed quality services, that is, services with a mixture of high and low quality service attributes. Based on two studies, we find that Westerners (e.g., European Americans) react more negatively than East Asians (e.g., Chinese) toward mixed quality online services. Our findings show that due to differences in thinking style, Westerners (analytic thinkers) are more likely to focus on negative service attributes than East Asians (holistic thinkers), who tend to consider the amalgam of high and low quality service attributes as an integrated whole when forming their overall perceptions and levels of satisfaction. Moreover, the results suggest that for online retailers marketing across cultures, providing superior quality on each individual service attribute may be more important to achieving satisfaction for customers from Western rather than Eastern cultures.     

A New Look at the Antecedents and Consequences of Relationship Quality in the Hotel Service Environment

Abstract

As economic conditions improve, hotels are investing in new ways to improve service quality and perceived value that hopefully will lead to better customer satisfaction and loyalty. This study took a new look, with newly developed scales, at the antecedents and consequences of relationship quality in the hotel service environment to shed new light on the factors hotels have to deal with to achieve their objective of satisfied and loyal customers. Using a structural equation model, it was determined that the tangible and intangible factors of perceived value, timeliness, and hotel facilities are antecedents of hotel quality. Hotel quality, subsequently, is a determinant of both customer satisfaction and loyalty. However, consistent with previous research, customer satisfaction is not a guarantee of customer loyalty.     

A Comparison of Alternative Measures of Service Quality

Abstract

This paper examines two alternative methods of operationalizing perceived service quality with respect to their ability to explain variation in customer satisfaction. A comparison of (1) gap analysis (expectations-performance perceptions) and (2) performance-based analysis suggests that the latter may represent the best approach to measuring service quality because of its ability to explain variation in customer satisfaction. Implications for managers and future research are discussed.     

Consumers' Online Information Search for a New Restaurant for Dining-Out

ABSTRACT

By Nelson (1970)'s categorization, purchasing a service such as dining-out at a new restaurant is ‘experience-oriented’ in its nature, and its quality cannot be easily searched before the actual consumption. However, it has been suggested that the interactive nature of the Internet will improve market efficiency by creating a new channel of communication that allows the provision of information about experience attributes in a readily available format (e.g., other consumers' rating online). The paper empirically investigates this notion by exploring consumers' online information search behavior for a new restaurant for fine dining. The extent of usage of various online information sources and the perceived importance of each source are investigated in the United States and in Taiwan. Results show that information from other consumers is considered more important than information from sellers, but that US consumers favor non-Internet sources of information while Taiwanese consumers favor online sources.     

Relational Perspectives of Perceived Service Quality in the Online and Offline Environments: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Today, service quality is a major driver enhancing and consolidating the relationship between consumers and their service providers. The diversity of research in this context revealed a gap between empirical results which investigated the relational consequences of service quality, and showed missing studies that allowed generalizing and specifying the perspectives of the service quality in the relational domain. So, this research suggests a Meta-Analytic Structural Equation Modeling (MASEM) to validate a synthetic model integrating perceived quality, satisfaction and loyalty. It is based on 43 recent academic research derived from 22 countries. The results validated the meta-analytic structural model and showed that the service environment moderates causal links between perceived quality, satisfaction and loyalty.     

Multi-Attribute Dimensions of Service Quality in the Fast Food Restaurant Industry

Abstract

As the fast food restaurant industry grows in the Western industrialized world, it has also become increasingly competitive. In such an environment, marketers are concerned about how to increase or maintain market share through better service quality and effective segmentation strategies. This paper reports a two-phase exploratory study conducted to determine the dimensions of service quality in the fast food industry, from the consumer's perspective. Factor analysis revealed 10 dimensions made up of 57 different attributes. The 10 dimensions were able to discriminate among three groups of fast food patrons, namely: frequent, less frequent, and more frequent patrons. Managerial implications of these findings, for market segmentation, targeting, positioning, and promotional strategies are discussed.     

Customer Satisfaction with Consumption Systems

ABSTRACT

Purpose: This research examines how satisfaction toward a product and its associated services offered together by a single provider jointly affects behavioral intentions toward the provider.

Design/methodology/approach: In this study, empirical tests were conducted using longitudinal data spanning 5 years from a multinational company that offers both products and associated services as part of a consumption system to their customers.

Findings: Results show a joint congruent effect of product and services satisfaction on behavioral intentions is linear and positive. It appears that offering great service cannot compensate for less-than-adequate satisfaction toward the product. The results further highlight decreasing customer sensitivity to improvements in both sources of satisfaction and imply that focusing on too high levels of one type of satisfaction for their customers can actually be counterproductive for firms.

Research Limitations: Our model was tested using the data obtained from a single firm. Future research could test this model with data from multiple firms in various different industries and establish broader generalizability to the findings.

Practical Implications: Findings provide managers with insights on how to allocate resources across product and service spaces and to manage product and services revenues over time. Results also indicate that customer behavioral intention ratings are more weighted on product quality over the service received by them. However, mere improvements in the product cannot provide the highest desired results and therefore quality improvements in the product need to be complemented by improvements in service quality.

Originality/Value: There is a rapid emergence of the phenomenon of manufacturers providing both products and services as an integrated consumption system to their customers. While the provision of both product and service subsystems by the same firm leads to certain synergies, there are obvious costs to the development of new service capabilities and coordination with existing product capabilities. Our research intends to address this issue.     

Understanding Mature Customers in the Restaurant Business

Summary

The study reported here examined die differences between intangible service experiences of mature and younger customers in quick-service, casual, and fine-dining restaurants. The authors used ten unpleasant service experiences to identify the significant experiences that can impede satisfaction in three types of restaurants. No unpleasant service experiences were significant for either mature or young customers. However, in the casual dining restaurants, the (1) lack of product knowledge and (2) inattentive servers created significantly unpleasant service experiences for mature customers. In the quick service restaurant, the (1) lack of product knowledge, (2) inattentive servers, (3) rudeness, and (4) lack of cleanliness produced significantly unpleasant service experiences which in turn impeded the satisfaction for the mature customer. The reasons for these findings are discussed, and the authors suggest that the restaurant industry pay more attention to the mature population in order to increase both customer satisfaction levels and profits. A literature review precedes a discussion of the characteristics and service requirements of mature restaurant customers.     

Effects of shopping centre re-investments and improvements on sales and visit growth

PurposeEstablished shopping centres have in recent years experienced increasing competition due to a steady increase in newer and bigger centres as well as online shopping. How could existing centres compete on such terms?Design/methodology/approachThis analysis is based on interviews with 96 shopping centre managers in charge of malls that existed in 2008 and 2014, about their improvements during a three-year period and the effects on sales and number of visitors from one year before and one year after that period. The investments and improvements are structured and analysed mainly along seven common categories of shopping centre attributes recognised as determinants of customer satisfaction and/or patronage behaviour in existing research.FindingsThe results show significant positive relationships between shopping centres' improvements and the growth in sales as well as visit rates. The effects are, however, more significant for sales than visit growth. The forms of investment that yielded the greatest positive effect are improvements in physical dimensions such as access, atmosphere the retail mix. Increased investments in less physical dimensions such as promotions, entertainment, refreshments and service had little or no effect.Originality/valuePresent studies on centre renovations and improvements are merely case studies or studies of single cases, but this study deals with larger number of cases and long-term effects. In contrast to previous research on shopping centres and the role of satisfaction and patronage, with recommend balance between physical and non-physical aspects, this study highlights the importance of physical capital dimensions.     

The Climate for Service

SUMMARY

We develop a framework in which internal employees' diagnoses of their firm's service climate determine their role behavior towards customers and, ultimately, customer satisfaction, loyalty, retention and shareholder value. Elements of the framework include: (1) foun dation issues (fundamental human behavior issues like the presence of necessary resources and the quality of leadership), (2) internal service (the quality of service employees report they receive internally from others), (3) service climate (the degree to which management emphasizes service quality in all of its activities), and (4) customer-focused service behavior. How this research is done is reviewed and research supporting elements of the framework is described. How the approach can be adapted for promoting CLV goals is explicated and answers to some frequently asked questions about change to an organization with a service quality and CLV focus are described.