Running head: ASSESSMENT OF THE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION FOR KDU CAFETERIA ASSESSMENT OF THE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION FOR KDU CAFETERIA Name of the Student Name of the University Author Note
ASSESSMENT OF THE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION FOR KDU CAFETERIA1 Executive Summary Food being an essential part of human life has emerged as a major market for economic benefit. It has expanded itself and is a major contributor to the world economy and one of the major part of the food industry is the institutional food that is aimed to satisfy the internal consumers of food within the institution. For the educational students the students and professors along with other associates of the institute are the customer. For the discussed study the area of research is the KDU and its cafeteria has been assessed. The assessment is aimed at determining the customer satisfaction in context with the quality and price of the food along with the services provided and ambiance of the cafeteria. For the discussed measure a survey was conducted through both online and offline questionnaire distribution and 152 responses were received based on which the study has been summarised to conclude with potential recommendations. The literary work had also been done to identify the current status of knowledge that is available on the topic of discussion post which the data analysis has been done. The tools used for data analysis is SPSS and Correlation along with descriptive analysis has been done to summarise the findings. The findings of the paper have revealed that the KDU cafeteria offers quality of food at a reasonable price with which its customers are satisfied. Additionally, the services offered and the ambiance of the cafeteria are also satisfactory but the cafeteria needs to improve it further. Other findings have also been determined and all of them had been summarised to conclude on the study with suitable recommendations that will help the cafeteria to gain a high level of customer satisfaction.
ASSESSMENT OF THE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION FOR KDU CAFETERIA2 Table of Contents Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................1 Introduction......................................................................................................................................3 1.1Research Background.......................................................................................................3 1.2Problem Statement............................................................................................................4 1.3Research Objectives..........................................................................................................4 1.4Research Questions...........................................................................................................5 1.5Significance of Study........................................................................................................5 Literature Review............................................................................................................................5 2.1Introduction.......................................................................................................................5 2.2Concept & Theory.............................................................................................................6 2.3Conceptual Framework...................................................................................................11 Research Methodology..................................................................................................................12 3.1Introduction.....................................................................................................................12 3.2Research Design..............................................................................................................12 3.3Conceptual Framework...................................................................................................13 3.4Study Site........................................................................................................................13 3.5Data Resources and Data Collection Method.................................................................13 3.6 Data Analysis and Interpretation.....................................................................................18 3.7Conclusion......................................................................................................................18 Data Analysis & Discussion..........................................................................................................19 4.1Introduction.....................................................................................................................19 4.2Demographics.................................................................................................................19 4.2Correlation of customer satisfaction and other Factors..................................................26 Discussion and Conclusion............................................................................................................40 5.1Discussion.......................................................................................................................40 5.2Conclusion......................................................................................................................44 5.3Recommendations...........................................................................................................45 References......................................................................................................................................46
ASSESSMENT OF THE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION FOR KDU CAFETERIA3 CHAPTER 1 Introduction 1.1Research Background Food is an essential part of a living organism; dating back to the Stone Age where food was hunted as a mean of survival. As time went on, with the development of culture and society, the tradition of food and consumption changes with it. According to Rasmussen et al. (2015) the first development of agriculture, from hunting and gathering, was identified to be between 14,500 to 12,000 BP (before present). With the progression of agriculture and food technology, more wide variety of food were discovered throughout the course of history along with more efficient ways of producing and providing them. In addition, multiple platforms on which food is served were increasing at different times; from medieval taverns to the modern convenient food trucks, food service has come a long way to where it is today. Food service is one of the biggest and fastest growing industries in the world today. Quoted by Lewis (2017), “few industries have been as influenced by changes, especially in the last decade, as the foodservice industry has. Driven by consumer demand, continuous releases of new technology and the ability to deliver products faster and more efficiently than ever before, the food service industry have, in reality, had no choice but to evolve—as consistently and successfully as possible.” With the ever growing pace, plenty of food establishments were formed to satisfy the on growing need. Gisslen, Griffin, and Bleu (2018) listed the establishments which involves food service; hotel, school, hospital, retirement home, lunchroom, airline, military, correctional institute, club, catering, fast-food restaurant, carry-outs, full service restaurant and private home. One of the biggest groups regarding food service is the institutional food service. Conner (2014) defined institutional food service as “entities that provide meals at institutions including schools, colleges and universities, and hospitals, as well as correctional facilities, public and private cafeterias, nursing homes, and day-care and senior centres.”
ASSESSMENT OF THE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION FOR KDU CAFETERIA4 1.2Problem Statement In recent years, there has been an influx of undergraduate students registering into universities. “Between 2000 and 2015, total undergraduate enrollment in degree-granting postsecondary institutions increased by 30 percent (from 13.2 million to 17.0 million). By 2026, total undergraduate enrolment is projected to increase to 19.3 million students” (National Centre for Education Statistics). With this in mind, institutes must be able to provide necessary facilities for the increasing number of students. According to Dollah et al. (2012), students has a strong influence in the food sector and their satisfaction is becoming more important and should not be neglected. In 2017, KDU introduced ‘Fresco!’ into the university cafeteria; with the vision of KDU promoting a healthy lifestyle. However, through observation, less students frequently visits the cafeteria in comparison to the previous businesses which provided Mamak food, Chinese style cooking, Malay cooking and fusion Western cooking. Levitz (2010) mentioned that improving food service quality are done by most food sectors to retain customers and spend other resources on getting new ones. This means that customer retention is important for the cafeteria to grow. Previous research has shown that 1.3Research Objectives Main Objective: 1.To analyse the correlation between price of food, quality of food, service provided and ambiance of KDU cafeteria to customer satisfaction. Specific Objective(s): 1.To assess students’ satisfaction level towards their dining experience in KDU cafeteria and how to improve for the future. 2.To analyse the four factors influencing their experience and choice to dine at the cafeteria. 3.To analyse the correlation between monthly income and price of food satisfactory level.
ASSESSMENT OF THE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION FOR KDU CAFETERIA5 1.4Research Questions 1.Do the price of food, quality of food, ambiance and service provided have positive or negative correlation towards customer satisfaction? 2.Does monthly income influence the decision to go dine at the cafeteria? 3.What is the overall satisfaction level of students that had dined in the cafeteria? 1.5Significance of Study By doing this study, various aspects of customer satisfaction can be identified which can be beneficial in the future. Firstly, the study can greatly benefit the operations of KDU’s cafeteria. Through the identification of variables that can affect a student’s satisfaction towards the f&b services of KDU, management will be able to identify trends and patterns of which they can implement in future operations. Should the data collected identify certain variable that is stronger than another, KDU management can utilize the results to ensure the needs are met accordingly. In addition, with the improvement of KDU’s f&b management, it will potentially help increase sales and development. Furthermore, it will attract more future students to dine in the cafeteria as well. Other than benefit of management, it will also help establish an understanding of students from different courses. With different demographics in mind, the research will be able to identify samples of students from other schools and relate the trend with theirs. CHAPTER 2 Literature Review 2.1Introduction This chapter will discuss the information obtained by other researchers in topics that relates to the research. “The format of a review of literature may vary from discipline to discipline and
ASSESSMENT OF THE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION FOR KDU CAFETERIA6 from assignment to assignment. A review may be a self-contained unit an end in itself or a preface to and rationale for engaging in primary research. A review is a required part of grant and research proposals and often a chapter in theses and dissertations. Generally, the purpose of a review is to analyse critically a segment of a published body of knowledge through summary, classification, and comparison of prior research studies, reviews of literature, and theoretical articles.” (Hall, 2018). The focus of the research is to establish the factors that influence students’ satisfaction towards KDU university’s cafeteria. This chapter will discuss in depth past researches, journals and articles pertaining the respected topic and find the necessary variables to complete the research. Nowadays, food service industry has been catering multiple sectors in institutes such as hospitals, colleges, universities, care centres and more. Due to the growth of number of students in public and private universities, the food service in the respected sector is expanding rapidly. 2.2Concept & Theory Food quality Food is the most important aspect of the overall experience in a restaurant as accordance to Sulek and Hensley (2014). As a result, different characteristics and aspects of food come into play such as food quality. Knowing the importance of food quality in the restaurant business, previous studies have examined various food quality attributes. There are some of the review of the literature reveals that the general description of food quality among researchers emphasizes on presentation, menu variety, healthy options, taste, freshness and temperature. Temperature is also a sensory element of food quality (Kivela et al, 1999). According to Delwiche (2004), temperature influence how to get the flavor of food has provided; this will be interacting with other sensory properties such as taste, smell and sight. Food price Students have constrained financial resources that influence their choices of picking food service operations, as they look for reasonable expenses. For the students, price plays a major role while choosing a restaurant as they have restricted finances. Similarly, Nadzirah, Ab-Karim, Ghazali, and Othman (2013) agreed that cost is the primary factor in university food service operations since students prefer to purchase food and beverage at a cheaper price. Likewise, they indicated that if the costs of the food and beverages are too high for students in the university or college
ASSESSMENT OF THE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION FOR KDU CAFETERIA7 campus, the students will choose to buy food and beverages from less expensive off-campus food service operations. Service provided For a company’s offer to reach the customers there is a need for services. These services depend on the type of product and it differs in the various organizations. Service can be defined in many ways depending on which area the term is being used. An author defines service as “any intangible act or performance that one party offers to another that does not result in the ownership of anything” (Kotler & Keller, 2009, p. 789). In all, service can also be defined as an intangible offer by one party to another in exchange of money for pleasure. Ambience According to Zeithaml and Bitner (2003), the ambient conditions in a restaurant include the background characteristics of the restaurant environment such as interior decoration, exterior appearance, room temperature, lighting, music, noise and smell. Ryu and Jang (2007) found that ambience (e.g. music, temperature and aroma) and employee appearance had the most important influence on customers‟ emotional responses, which in turn affected customers post-dining behavioural intentions. Meal services with manners-centered The food industry is particularly divided into three categories that serve the different taste and choices of people whether in institution, hospital or restaurants (Smith, 2016). The meal service that is manners-centered is usually for the institutional food services that cater the need of students (Rossi et al., 2017). The aim of this meal is to ensure that students are socially interacted through wide variety of food sharing. The manner-centered type of meal resembles the behavior that is either inappropriate or appropriate (Smith, 2016). The students are provided an opportunity to understand the importance of food through these types of meal (Rojas et al., 2015). In healthcare sector also, the food is symbolized as a dignity among the handicapped and disabled patients, where they eat the food on their own using special equipment to retain their dignity. Meal services with medicine-centered
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