| Summary: | The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of restaurant attributes on customers’ expectations
and experiences in formal full service restaurants. The attributes included in this research were food,
service and ambience as independent variables and expectations and experiences as dependent
variables. The aims were to: (a) assess restaurant attributes that are important for customers’
expectations and experiences, (b) to determine which restaurant attributes had a significant
relationship with customers’ expectations and experiences. The questionnaire was based on
Markovic, Raspor and Markovic’s (2010) research. In order to meet the surveys’ goals, correlation
coefficient and regression analysis were conducted. The results of correlation coefficient reveal that
all three restaurant attributes had a significant correlation (p<0.05) with expectations. The strongest
correlation with expectations was service (r=0.76). Customers’ experiences showed that all the
attributes had a weak to moderate (r≤0.5) positive correlation with customers’ experiences. The
strongest correlation with experiences was food (r=0.54). The first regression model showed that all
three dining attributes were significantly related (p<0.05) to customers’ expectations. The level of
service (t=10.73) was rated as the most important attribute for expectations. The second regression
model showed that all three dining attributes were significantly related (p<0.05) to experiences. The
second model indicated that respondents rated food (t=7.51) as the most important attribute for
experience. The results reveal that although good food is an essential component for customers’
experiences, however, the level of service plays a pivotal role for customers’ expectations in formal
full service restaurants.
|
|---|
