Customer perceptions of service quality in a student-operated restaurant in Cape Town

Abstract

Customer perceptions of service quality in a student-operated restaurant are significant as they inform the management of current customer needs and expectations. Customer needs are changing, as well as their perceptions of service quality. Family structures are changing, and more women choose to remain single for longer as well. Women are no longer at home to perform domestic duties such as meal preparation. Time has become a scarce resource for working women who also have families. Restaurants have become aware of the ways that people re-invest their time. Learning about customer perceptions of service quality could assist service providers to satisfy customers, identify customer segments, increase patronage, increase customer referrals and increase profitability. The findings of this study could contribute to service excellence by identifying customer needs, identifying student-operated restaurant customers and enhancing service quality to satisfy these customers. The hospitality industry is reliant on human resources to render services. In student-operated restaurants, human resources refer to students and student instructors. Guests associate service quality with the friendliness and attitudes of employees. A student-operated restaurant is dominated by students who are in continuous in-service and being trained on-site and it is therefore relevant to investigate customer perceptions of service quality. This vehicle was chosen for the study because it will contribute to the early career grooming of future hospitality employees. This study used a non-experimental research design, which is suitable for descriptive studies, and a quantitative approach was selected to be able to quantify customer perceptions of service quality in a student-operated restaurant. The data collection instrument was an online survey questionnaire. The findings identified that the majority of the participants to be between 25 and 44 years of age; there were more single customers than married customers; there were more external (not linked to the SOR) customers, and the majority of households consisted of romantic partners who both work, and live with a minor. The service attributes that would motivate the current customer to return to the SOR is the combination of the high quality in food, the manner in which service was delivered, prices, and the location. The current customers would refer new customers because of their high-quality perception of the SOR’s facilities, referring to the ease to find the SOR, cleanliness of the dining areas and toilets, the availability of parking, and feeling safe while at the restaurant.