HOW DOES THE FOOD AND BEVERAGES SERVICE DELIVERY CAN IMPROVE GUESTS EXPERIENCE?
A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE OF THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS WITH HONORS IN (HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT)
SHMS
UNIVERSITY OF DERBY
YEAR
Abstract
Background
The provision of quality servicers with acceptable service values and at standard levels are inevitable factors and significant issues in the hospitality industry. These factors are central to determining the different and the dynamıc market segmentation in the hospitality industry. The employees should, therefore, be careful to provide acceptable service delivery services to enhance guest experience and extensively meet the customer’s expectation. The main objective of this dissertation is to explore how food and beverages service delivery can improve guests experience at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Methods.
A cross-sectional study was conducted using the Saunders research methodology model. The study sampled a minimum of fifty restaurant guests and two Managers from the food and beverages department who were enrolled in the study. Primary Data was collected using a semi-structured interview and online questionnaires. Data analysis on the semi-structured interview was analyzed using categorization and unitization method, while the data analysis for the Online questionnaire was done using statistical analysis because the data was in numbers. This dissertation therefore entirely adopted both the qualitative and quantitative research methods of gathering data and information in numeral forms and in numerical kind which are classified into orders, or measured in units of measurement.
Results.
The study found that, of the more than what could only be counted as up to 50 restaurant guests who accessed the online questionnaires, 48 of them were willingly ready to respond and fill in the questionnaires if showed how to. This interprets to up to 96% of the total reachable restaurant guest population who at least made an effort to access the online questionnaire platform. These were to try and express either their dissatisfaction or satisfaction experiences with the service delivery, their standard levels and values from the food and beverages department at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Forty-Five restaurant guests accessed the online questionnaires and went ahead to fill in the questionnaires. Nearly all (99%) of the restaurant guest population responded, indicating as regular restaurant guests, and the reason was associated with the delivery of quality services accompanied by standard levels with acceptable moral values.
The two Managers Respondents from the food and beverages department in the semi-structured interviews stated the quality of service and service values as key components of the hotel prioritized goals and objectives. The hotel management makes sure their service delivery is routinely rated by their guests, and relevant complaints and comments noted.
Conclusion
The study showed that success of any hospitality industry case study Radisson Blu Hotel, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia is dependent on the quality of services it offers (99.5%) and the values and standard level of the service being delivered (96%).
The study recommends that employees should be trained and equipped with basic life skills of hospitality industry management, this is to enable them to handle all clients in a professional yet friendly way while delivering quality and standardized acceptable services.
Acknowledgments
I express sincere appreciation to my supervisors and course assistants for their counsel and advice, In the entire process of writing this dissertation.
I appreciate the food and beverage department of Hotel Radisson Blu for giving a platform and their personnel in the data collection which has greatly contributed to the success of this project, and many thanks also to all the restaurant guests who willingly showed interest and were even patient enough to have their time take part in the study. To the two Managers from the food and beverages department, am very much grateful for your time and honesty in committing yourself during the structured interviews
Finally, I thank my family for supporting and encouraging me in the entire course.
Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction 7
1.1 Background to the Study 7
1.2 Aim and Objectives of Study 9
1.2.1 Aim 9
1.2.2 Objectives 9
1.3 Conceptual Framework 9
1.3 Theoretical framework and structure of the study. 10
Literature Review 14
Methodology 17
3.1 Introduction 17
3.2 Study Designs 17
3.3 Study population 19
3.4 Study Area 19
3.5 Sampling 20
3.5.1 Sample Size. 20
3.5.2 Sampling Procedure 20
3.5.3 Data Collection 20
3.5.4 Data processing and Analysis 21
3.5.5 Ethical Considerations 23
3.5.6 Limitation of study 23
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 24
4.1 INTRODUCTION 24
4.2 Social demographic factors of sample 24
Table 4.1: Demographic characteristics of the respondents. 24
1.1 Frequencies and reason for attending the Restaurant 26
1.1, Fig 6. Frequencies and reason for attending the Restaurant. 28
Recommendations by frequent customers to Others 36
4.2.1 Gap score analysis for attendees on service satisfaction 42
4.2.2 Multiple Regression Analysis to determine the influence of SERVQUAL Model on 44
Customer Satisfaction of Quality Service. 44
4.2.3 Multiple Regression Model Summary 44
Table 4.22: Multiple Regression Model Summary 44
CONCLUSIONS AD RECOMMENDATION 45
5.1 Conclusion 45
5.2 Recommendations 46
List of Figures
Figure Page
1 The five gaps that organizations have to measure, manage and limit: 2
2 The Service quality model (Grönroos)…………………………… 3
3 The 3-Rater Model………………………………………………………………. 25
4 Saunders et al. (2012) Research methodology model ……………………………………………………… 26
5 Number of Respondents …………………………………………………………………. 26
6 Frequencies and reason for attending the Restaurant.…………………………………………………………………… 27
7 Purpose of Visiting Restaurant …………………………………………………………… 28
8 Quality of Meals …………………………………………………………. 28
9 Sources of Information about Radisson Blu Hotel, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia ………………… 29
10 Customer’s level of satisfaction in terms of meals, price, and location …………………………………………………………. 30
11 Number of Customers who would recommend to others about restaurant ………………………………………………………………. 31
12 What are the most important criteria when you choose a restaurant to eat out?…………………………………………………………. 32
Chapter 1
Introduction
Background of the Study
The Hospitality industry is growing rapidly, and it is even at our threshold, its globalization is inevitable and has to be met at standard levels. Any entity henceforth, in the marketing of hospitality industry services is availing more opportunities. Otherwise, it is also posing more threats and challenges. The long gone recognized scholarly experts in hospitality industry marketing stated service quality and its levels, are very instrumental factors in that modern hospitality industry strategy.
In the evolving market of the hospitality industry, its therefore very essential, that the entire hotel management and most importantly the employees in the service delivery department, to understand the customer’s satisfaction and dissatisfaction experiences of service quality and service value process. This is a very basic component of the evaluation of service by the management level, which is capable of making the hospitality industry more profitable.
Established International hospitality industries such as those in Malaysia has experienced tremendous growth and development due to the delivery of standardized quality services. The customers and guest’s inflow, in this case, is booming as a result of travel and tourism trade. The hospitality industry is a commercialized business, and so is the service quality and its levels in the country. The employees are professionally trained on quality service delivery with acceptable standard levels leaving nothing to chance and the business alike. Just for the record, in 2010 alone, the hospitality industry in Malaysia hosted restaurant guests as high as 24 million. Due to this influx of guest population in the hospitality industry, Malaysia has also initiated its structural development and upgrading projects towards harboring and satisfying more guests. Extensive resources have been invested in the hospitality industry is very, and this has triggered many dining restaurant managements and employees to strive harder in improving and achieving the required standard level and quality of their service.
In this regard, Studying the hospitality industry is essentially based on the quality of service and its value levels especially in the Department of Food and Beverage, this study therefore, is in the context of the modern hospitality industry concerned in evaluating how these provision and delivery of services in the hospitality industry influence the experience of restaurant guests. Most studies have meanwhile hypothesized Food that the service quality is a very crucial factor in the hospitality industry. As globalization of this industry unfolds, understanding the various customer and client’s behavioral patterns and perception, as much as service quality is concerned will be a great deal to help analyze the relationship between the service quality and customer satisfaction experiences. This will t effectively help the market strategists to raise their level and value quality of their services hence increasing their profitability margins.
This study explores the impacts of the differently tendered levels of service quality and their levels and values on customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction experiences. The experience a service being highly or lowly rated is the work of the customers during the process of exceptional dining restaurant services being performed, where the outcome of the service quality is rated by customers after fine dining from the restaurant services. This study also establishes how and to what extent has the perceptions experiences influenced customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Secondly, this study examines the inter-relationships of customer satisfaction is related to five Dimensions of SERVQUAL in the Food and Beverage industry. Furthermore, the mediating role of service quality and customer satisfaction in the Malaysian fine dining restaurant industry are evaluated.
All in all, for the study, the use of a simple and feasible method for evaluation of the fine dining restaurant service quality and customers satisfaction. The survey methods used in the study of the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction. The satisfaction of customers in each state of service quality questionnaire acts reveals the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction experiences of the food and beverage industry. There is a strong practical significance for the marketing of the fine dining restaurant.
Aim and Objectives of the Study
1.2.1 Aim
To explore how food and beverages service delivery can improve guests experience at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
1.2.2 Objectives
1- To review the literature on service delivery and its impact on the guest experience
2- To assess how service delivery affects the guest experience at the Radisson Blu Hotel by doing interviews for two managers and online questioner for the guests
3 – To compare and contrast the findings of the literature review, interviews, and questioner to suggest further recommendations to the hotel management team to enhance the guest experience.
Hypothetically there exists a relationship between food and beverages service delivery and the status of guest’s satisfaction and dissatisfaction experiences.
1.3 Conceptual Framework
The first theory that we will use is called the Gap model, and it was introduced by (Parasuraman, Zeitham & Berry)
The gap model (also referred to as the “five gaps model”) of service high-quality is an essential client-satisfaction framework. In “A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research” (The Journal of advertising, 1985), A. Parasuraman, VA Zeitham, and LL Berry identify five main gaps that face organizations seeking to fulfill customer’s expectancies of the client experience. (Blogger, 2013)
1.3 Theoretical framework and structure of the study.
Fig 1: The five gaps that organizations have to measure, manage, and limit:
gap 1 is the distance between what customers expect and what managers assume they expect – survey studies is a key manner to slender this
gap (Blogger, 2013).
gap 2 is between management perception and the real specification of the customer revel in – Managers want to make sure the organization is defining the level of provider they trust is wanted (Blogger, 2013).
gap 3 is from the experience specification to the delivery of the experience – Managers need to audit the customer experience that their organization presently offers which will ensure it lives up to the spec (Blogger, 2013).
Gap 4 is the distance between the delivery of the customer experience and what’s communicated to customers – All too often organizations exaggerate what is going to be provided to customers, or discuss the satisfactory case instead of the likely case, elevating customer expectations and harming customer perceptions.
Ultimately (Blogger, 2013).
Gap 5 is the distance between a customer’s belief of the experience and the customer’s expectation of the service – customers’ expectations had been shaped by using word of mouth, their wishes and their very own past studies. recurring transactional surveys after delivering the customer enjoy are essential for an organization to measure customer perceptions of service
(Blogger, 2013).
The Service quality model (Grönroos)
It identifies three dimensions of carrier excellent: technical, purposeful, and image. The model changed into shown on fig. 2. (Grönroos, 2013)
Technical high-quality – what customer receives because of interaction with the company, and that is important for him/her to evaluate the quality of service.
Functional quality – how the customer receives the final technical results, which includes: communication, competence, staff, and so forth.
Image – builds up through technical and functional perfection.
The model is a good measurement tool for satisfactory services evaluation. However, the relationship between perceived quality and customer satisfaction and dimensions, as mentioned above aren’t always clear. (Grönroos, 2013)
The 3-Rater Model
These Rater model Theory because It is focused on Guest expectations
The Rater model theory: These dimensions are shown time and once more to represent the first aspects of service that we tend to recognize and appreciate. The model was originally analysis based mostly and has been used extensively by service-orientated corporations since its introduction within the 90s. The RATER model begins to provide the United States a language for describing client service and may be used equally to review business and client customers (Kumar, 2005)
Reliability: doing what you say you may do Assurance: giving the client confidence in your company Tangibles: the physical look of the corporate, its offices, workers, and materials Empathy: trade the services to the individual client wants Responsiveness: responding to ever-changing client wants quickly and effectively
(Kumar, 2005)
Chapter 2
Literature Review
A review of literature is carried out to connect the already existing research gaps and what
The research is about to be done. It elaborates on past researches and suggests the research that is necessary and needs to be done. The commercialization of the hospitality industry hails its history back in the Mesopotamia era, where hospitality is termed as anything related to accommodation, food, and beverage (Bennett, 2011). This is evident in ancient Greece history, where traveler guests were welcomed with the highest standard level of hospitality, with conducive rooms to sleep and a satisfying meal (Bennett, 2011). Probably even in today’s hospitality industry, very few hotels have lost the actual touch in quality service operations in Food and Beverage services. (Janta, 2012). According to Briscoe&Tripp (2014), The food and beverage services are referred to as the Food and Beverage service operations that involve the process of making, presenting and serving of food and beverages to the customers at the Food and Beverage premises, in this case, the Restaurants. It also involves the responsible practice of maintaining the best and standard quality of food cooked in the kitchen and beverages made in the restaurant for the guests. These operations in the food and beverage department generally focus on immediate consumption of food and drinks, and it involves various kinds of restaurants (Cousins, Lillicrap & Weekes, 2014). Therefore, the perceived quality service is the entire satisfying or dissatisfying experience that a guest customer gets from the employee who is rendering the fulfilling service to meet the needs and requirements during the process of service delivery in the food and beverage premises (Kandampully&Suhartanto,2000). Food and beverage service is of many types such as table service, self- service, assisted service, and single point service.
Food and beverage services are, therefore, very essential in the routine operations of any sector of the hospitality industry. It encourages an assortment of food and beverage concepts and cuisines. Food and beverage services play a primary role in the functionality of hospitality. Therefore, it can position itself as the business requirements states. From a customer’s perspective, satisfying quality service is an experience which begins, when a customer is welcomed in the restaurant and orders a meal/drink, and it ends when the customer exits the restaurant (Davis, Lockwood, Alcott & Pantelidis, 2012). The entire Food and beverage management and employees are expected to carry out a variety of extensive services, such as welcoming and acknowledging the guests, order taking, settlement of the bills and last but not the least executing the various tasks after the guests leave the premises (Mok, Sparks & Kadampully)
Almost entirely most would agree that one of the single most significant issues in the hospitality industry is that, hotels with different market segmentations have this anticipation that their employees should at least provide an acceptable level of service for the hotels’ customers to meet the guest expectation. It is said that regardless of online commentary about the quality of service and service values on some particular websites like trip advisor, etc., these two substantial factors are evaluated in the mind of guests- and this assessment about service quality and hotels’ values proposition can shape customers’ mental experience about hotels; consequently, the chance of guest experience success or failure has a very direct interaction with ” single moment of truth”, which refers to the communications and impressions which occurred between the employees and guests (Ford, Heaton, and Sturman, 2012).
Not only in the lodging industry, but also in every commercial organization, once the top thinker of firms strives to devise a long run strategy, most of the time they consider an alignment among strategy, staff, and the operating model to meet the clients’ anticipations within the organization. This mindset is in the harmony of 3 integral principles of the guest experience including of service environment, service set up and more importantly service delivery, which in this case we will importune on food and beverage service out-lets delivery. There is no place doubt that to represent a congenial ambiance of hospitality in the accordance of guest expectation, it is indispensable to accomplish these three aspects all to gather at the same time. In this caption it should be noticed that, not merely various guests have diverged expectations about the service, also as the customers utilize the services of a hotel frequently, the level of their anticipations about the quality and diversity of services would augment (Ford, Heaton, and Sturman, 2012).
As a result, for those hotels which try to provide unforgettable memory for their guests, it is important to have a clear discernment about their guests’ needs, as a consequence, they start to glean their clients’ notion about the quality of service very often.
There an interesting jargon and appellation for these hotels stated in the previous paragraph, which for the first time when people commence talking about the premise of the guest satisfaction and guest experience, was enunciated by the great Walter Disney in the name guest ology. The term refers to some organizations which have essential considerations about guest satisfaction and behavior. Generally, these hotels have a laudable attempt to design a plan in the connection of disclosing guest expectations more and more based on their target market (Goldsmith, 1997).
Yet on the other hand, regarding the data which we have collected as our literature review, it is accurate that guest experience plays a prominent role to endure success in the long run; deep down we believe that unforgettable guest experience in food and beverage department of Hotel Radisson Blu is leverage, but the first part which leads to the second part (guest satisfaction) is employees’ satisfaction which is deemed as lever.
Perspicacious and astute human resource managers, truly have this realization that to be able to win the golden moment of truth, they should have some training program for the staff about how to deliver the optimum level of service to the guests, the program is besides of having some incentive plans to galvanize the employees to have committed on the framework and general strategy of the hotel, which is sharpening the quality of service in the F&B department. But the type of these programs are covert and are not mentioned clearly; this ambiguity can be taken into consideration as the gap of the knowledge.
We would like to state that, since the model of study is snowball, as we will go farther there is this possibility to dig up more gaps in the knowledge and also get some answers about the issues which are nebulous and hazy currently and we deem them as areas of knowledge which have not been covered by the other investigators.
The interaction of guest experience with Food and beverage outlets
Chapter 3
Methodology
3.1 Introduction
The purpose of this study is to examine How does the food and beverages service delivery can improve guests experience in the food and beverage department within Radisson Blu Hotel, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Both the Quantitative and Qualitative approaches through online questionnaires and depth interviews respectively are preferred as the appropriate designs for the data collection process, Babbie, (2008). This chapter additionally, involves presenting and emphasizing on the method used for collection and analyses of data. These methods of data collection are preferred as they form both the theoretical and practical approaches, however considering the features of this techniques; that they require a lot of investment in time, effort, and cost and are restricted from collecting massive amounts of data. Therefore, on account of these constraints, we use quantitative approach is manly relied on for data collection and analyses as it saves time and has a high ability to contact and engage more respondents during the data collection process and entire research study process. In general, the chapter provides a detailed explanation of the research design and the approach used to do the dissertation. Reasons for the research design used adopted are elaborated, and the process and procedures followed in carrying out the entire research dissertation. All the methods of investigation and data collection are reported here.
3.2 Study Designs
Saunders et al. (2012) Research methodology model
The Research methodology that was used is known as Saunders
It is a research model that is incredibly useful in choosing the most appropriate studies technique. The research onion model explains the style of techniques and methods that are available to the researcher. These research methods and techniques may be immensely useful in achieving the relevant outcomes and conclusions of the study. It’s far to acknowledge that the research onion model offers specific information about the studies method. Saunders (2009) shows the various layers of the studies technique (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2009)6. The diagram underneath gives the diagrammatic representation of a studies onion version.
fig 4: Saunders et al. (2012) Research methodology model
Philosophy
1 –Philosophy is realism: Realism analysis philosophy depends on the thought of independence of reality from the human mind. This philosophy relies on the belief of a scientific approach to the development of information. Realism is often divided into two groups: direct and critical.
The philosophy of this research is rooted in going realism
Approaches
2 the approach is adductive : because I will do an interview and online questionnaire my research will be deductive approach for the questionnaire because I will focus on using the data to test the theory and inductive for the interview because I will focus on using the data to develop my theory (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2012)
Strategy
3 – My strategy was a case study
(Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2012).
Choices
qualitative and quantitative, the research was adductive my research needs to be qualitative and quantitative,
Qualitative research is research when the information is not within the type of numbers (Punch, 1998, p. 4). This method was used for semi-structured interviews.
Quantitative analysis gathers information in a very numerical kind which may be placed into classes, or in order, or measured in units of measurement. This method was used for online questioner (Mcleod, 2017).
Time horizon
It involved cross-sectional: because this case study was undertaken with a time constrained (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2012).
Techniques and procedures
Semi structured interviews
On line questionnaire
For the data collection was a semi-structured interview and online questionnaires: Interview was
With two from the food and beverages department and the questionnaire will be with
Minimum of fifty restaurant guests
The instruments that were used in this study are3
Structured interview
The interview involved a meeting between the researcher and the managers who asked questions about the case study through a recorded voice device during the interview to collect the data. After the meeting, the voice record data was listened to and analyzed accordingly in the report (Gray, 2018).
Online Questioner
The created online questions about the study were updated, where the restaurant guests can access them online. The questionnaires were readily available to the restaurant guests. They were free to fill in the questionnaires at their own specific time and completed them at the time and the place where they were comfortable to do it (Gray, 2018).
3.3 Study population
The study population for the Online Questionnaires consisted minimum of fifteen restaurant guests that usually came to the restaurant.
The study sample for the semi-structured interviews consisted of two Managers from the food and beverages department
3.4 The Study Area
The hotel that my research will be about is the Radisson Blu hotel in Jeddah Saudi Arabia it is located in the middle of the city at The Al-salaam district which is 10Km away from King Abdelaziz airport The case study will be specified at the food and Beverages department at the hotel restaurant which is called the larder restaurant which is open for the breakfast, Lunch, and dinner the interview will with two of the restaurant managers and the online questioner will on minimum of fifty guests of the restaurant (radissonblu.com, 2018)
3.5 Sampling
3.5.1 Sample Size.
The Sample size for the semi structured interviews was two Managers from the food and beverages department.
Sample size for the online questionnaires was a minimum of fifteen Guests that regularly came to the restaurant. The fifteen restaurant guests were sampled from the fifty total restaurant guest study population based on their frequency and how often they came to Radisson Blu Hotel on account and preference of good and quality services being offered at the hotel’s food and beverages department.
3.5.2 Sampling Procedure
The sample population was selected using a two-stage cluster sampling technique. A sampling frame was prepared by making the semi-structured interviews and the online questionnaires. Simple probability random sampling technique was used to select the needed number of restaurant guests who were involved in the study. This was used because it gave all the restaurant guests an equal chance of being selected from the sample population. A total of 50 restaurant guests was sampled on online questionnaires. Fifteen guests were proportionately selected for the online questionnaires on basis of their attendance to the hotel. Those restaurant guests that often visited the hotel was asked the questions on the online platform. Two managers were selected for the interviews. Only managers from the hotel’s food and beverages department were interviewed. The structured interview involved a meeting between the researcher and the sample independently, who were asked questions about the case study and his voice recorded during the interview to collect the data. After the meeting, the voice record was keenly listened to analyzed in the report.
3.5.3 Data Collection
Two sets of research tools were developed for the purposes of this study. Online questionnaires tool for the restaurant guests and Semi-structured interview tool for the two Managers from the food and beverages department. Data was collected through the use of open and closed-ended questionnaires. The research tools were developed from the review of literature of previously used and done researches.
The first section of the questionnaire sought to find out the demographic and socio-economic
Background of the two Managers from the food and beverages department and the restaurant guests in the hotels. It also helped in responding to the influence of questions such as a socio-economic background in the study of the guest satisfaction and dissatisfaction experiences of the quality of services. The second part of this questionnaire was 5-point structured Likert scale questionnaire aimed to get information about the levels of the rendered service and its effect on customer satisfaction. The third part (also a 5-point Likert structured questionnaire) was directed to the restaurant guests. It aimed to evaluate the effect of employee professionalism and competence of the workers regarding the provision of quality services and how it had impacted the satisfaction and dissatisfaction experiences from the guests’ point of view. This was so as only the guests who regularly accessed the hotel’s food, and beverage department was in the best position to know whether the price paid is equivalent to the quality of services offered
The fourth part of the questionnaire was a 7-point SERVQUAL research tool which was administered to the restaurant guests and the two managers. This instrument was aimed to measure the pre and post – consumption assessment of quality service offered. Respondents were asked an open question, on their overall satisfaction and dissatisfaction experiences of the offered services. Highly rendered quality of service and thereby, satisfying services are capable of inducing re-purchase intentions, positively triggered feelings and words of mouth henceforth the customers causing referrals (Tabaku & Cerri 2016).
I have obtained the University of Derby Policy and Code of Practice on Research Ethics committee and departmental approval for my research. All survey responses are confidential and untraceable back to any specific dining food and beverages service delivery department establishment, which means I will not need any kind of approval from the management staff.
3.5.4 Data processing and Analysis
Data analysis was done after the successful acquisition of all the data needed. The semi-structured interview was analyzed using ‘categorization and unitisation method. While the Online questionnaire was analyzed using the statistical analysis. These were because the data was in the form of numbers.
Responses associated with the relationship between socio-economic background of respondents and the guests’ satisfaction and dissatisfaction experiences and the influence of service quality on customer satisfaction of the restaurant guests and managers were analyzed collectively. The response on price and value standards of the rendered services from the clients (those that regularly used the service) were analyzed separately.
Further analysis was carried out to monitor and evaluate the relationship between the service quality and customers satisfaction to investigates the impacts of SERVQUAL dimensions on customer satisfaction by the quality of service. This analysis was done using multiple regression techniques. Multiple regression analysis was used to find out how one variable (guest experience) was affected by variations in two or more independent variables (service quality and its values and standard levels). The corresponding model
was interpreted as:
β0 + β1X1 + β2X2 + ……… βnXn + e
Where
y = Dependent variable (customer satisfaction with banquet services)
βi = coefficients to be estimated
xi =independent variables
Where:
X1- Responsiveness
X2 – Tangibility
X3 – Reliability
X4- Empathy
X5- Assurance
3.5.5 Ethical Considerations
The participation of the respondents was voluntary and anonymous as they were requested using a participatory letter (see Appendix I) that stated their freedom to take part in the exercise. The purpose of the study was made known to all respondents and to ensure that any consent given was from an informed place. The data collected was strictly kept for education and research purposes of ensuring that no person faced any risk upon participating in the study.
3.5.6 Limitation of the study
This research project was a cross-sectional survey for establishing How food and beverages service delivery can improve guests experience within the hospitality industry, case study Radisson Blu Hotel, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Radisson Blu Hotel, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The main limitation faced was respondents were reluctant to give all the information sought clearly and accurately. Lack of clarity and inaccuracies could have resulted from the survey respondents’ withholding meaningful information that could have been instrumental in making the right conclusion. Thus the authenticity of the part the given data and some of the processed information calls for more stud suggestions as they remain questioned.
CHAPTER FOUR
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS
4.1 INTRODUCTION
The study has been carried out through primary data mainly by online questionnaire and semi-structured interviews tools. The research required correspondents from both the guest restaurants and the hospitality industry management, so the online
questionnaire was made and distributed to customers and restaurants while questions were on the scheduled interview, asked the two managers from the food and beverage department. The online survey questionnaires consisted of questions based on the 5-point Likert scale where strongly disagree was assigned 1 and strongly agree was assigned as 5. The data collected from the online questionnaire were analyzed using statistical analysis tools and categorization and unitization method for the data collected from the semi-structured interview.
4.2 Social demographic factors of the sample
The study investigated the demographic characteristics of the respondents such as age, gender, education levels, and the departments they worked in presented the results in Table 4.1 below.
Table 4.1: Demographic characteristics of the respondents.
Description
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Age
18-25 Years
37
39.3
39.3
26-35 Years
18
51.8
91.1
36-45 Years
10
8.9
100.0
Gender
Male
27
48.2
48.2
Education
High School Level
15
26.8
26.8
Departments
Food and beverage department
31
55.4
55.4
Restaurant guests
19
33.9
89.3
In the analysis, the results showed that 8.9 percent of the respondents were aged between 36- 45 years, 39.3 percent of the respondents were aged between 18-25 years, while the majority of 51.8 percent were between the ages of 26-35 years. In respect to gender, it was observed that 48.2 percent of the respondents were male while the remaining 51.8 were female respondents, as seen in Table 4.1.
It was observed that 26.8 percent of the respondents attained a High School level of education while the remaining 73.2 percent attained above high school level of education.
Number of Respondents
40
37
35
30
25
20
18
15
10
10
5
0
0
Under 18 years
18 – 25 years
26 – 35 years
36 – 45 years
Figure 5. Number of Respondents
Gender of Respondents
The participants of the online questionnaire survey were 50 in total. Among the total participants of the survey, 29 respondents were females, which is 60% of respondents and 21 participants were males, which is referred to 40% of the participants. The outcome shows that the restaurant is popular among female customers in comparison to male customers. It is, therefore, more important to focus on female restaurant guests, especially because of their higher eye cue on service quality when it comes to food and beverage on the view point of health. The distribution of gender participants is shown in below figure;
Frequencies and reason for attending the Restaurant
In a total of 50 respondents, 35 customers used to visit Foods and Beverage department rarely, which shows 42 in percentage. Meanwhile, 15 customers responded that they visit the restaurant once a month (28%). The number of customers who visit the restaurant once in a week is 15 (17%) whereas the number of customers makes their visits few times in a week is seven which concludes in 11 as a percentage. And at last, only two customers used to visit the restaurant daily (3%). This output of questionnaire express that those participants who attended the restaurant rarely and once a month comprises 70% collectively and the responses from them would be the effective medium to make more improvement in those factors which affects the level of customer satisfaction negatively. The below chart shows the result of frequencies of customers who visited the restaurant;
DAILY
RARELY
FEW TIMES A WEEK ONCE A MONTH
Visit Restaurant
ONCE A WEEK
2
7
11
18
27
Frequencies of Visiting Restaurant
No. of restaurant guests
Fig 6. Frequencies and reason for attending the Restaurant.
The purpose of Visiting Restaurant
Among the total participants of 50 restaurant guests, 22 of the people visited Friends and Burger restaurant during the time of lunch (40% of total participants). Meanwhile, group of 10 participants visits the restaurant for their get together purposes (22% of total participants), and likewise, 15 participants for the survey have visited the restaurant in an unplanned way (29% of total participants). Moreover, a small group of 3 participants has visited the restaurant for the birthday celebration purpose (9% of total participants). These data analyses show how quality service to the guests was inevitable to the hotel. The customers expected quality services with acceptable standard values. The time interval of customers while visiting the restaurant is shown through the below chart;
14
Get Together
Unplanned
Birthday Celebration
19
Lunch
26
6
Purpose of Visiting Restaurant
Figure 7. Purpose of Visiting Restaurant
Provision of Quality service of Meals
This was the main focused area of the online questionnaire. Out of the total participants of 50 restaurant guest population, 30 people of the survey has pointed GOOD for the provision quality service on the meals available in the restaurant which comprises 46 in terms of percentage whereas 17 people had pointed out the service quality on meals EXCELLENT in related to the quality of meals available in the restaurant which shows 42 in terms of percentage. Likewise, seven people consider the meals as an AVERAGE quality, which comprises 7 in terms of percentage. Similarly. Only one person had pointed out the meals of the restaurant as BAD quality, which includes 2 in terms of percentage. The collective opinions of people those who rated the EXCELLENT and GOOD quality of meals shows 88% which means the service quality on meals provided or served to the customers are appreciable and their level of satisfaction is positively in terms of qualitative service quality on meals. The distribution of opinions given by the respondents of the survey is illustrated in the below diagram;
No. of Customers
Opinion about quality
Excellent
Good
Average
Bad
0
1
5
7
10
15
20
25
27
30
30
35
Quality of Meals
Figure 8. Quality of Meals
Sources of Information’s about Radisson Blu Hotel, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
No. of Customers
Fifty participants responded to the online questionnaires survey. Twenty-nine people knew about Radisson Blu Hotel, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from their friends who had visited the hotel. Thirteen people from their families who had earlier visited the hotel, eight people found out the information by surfing the internet, and only one people visited the website of the restaurant. An analysis of this outcome, it shows that the most effective means of the hospitality industry to its clients is by the provision of quality services, in this case to the friends and member of the family of the customers. However, few numbers of customers visited the restaurant by extracting the information from the internet. In modern time, people make themselves available in using the internet and social media, which means the company should make focus and maximum presence in social media. Moreover, it is crucial for the hospitality industry such as the Radisson Blu Hotel, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to provide the updated activities and offers about its services in the internet and social media.
Modes of Information
WEBSITE OF
RESTAURANT
INTERNET
FAMILY
FRIENDS
0
1
5
8
13
20
15
10
20
15
29
30
How you knew about Radisson Blu Hotel, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Fig 9. Sources of Information’s about Radisson Blu Hotel, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Customer’s level of satisfaction in terms of the value of service quality.
The total guest population of 50 people had responded to the online questionnaires, where 35 people indicated themselves satisfied, and seven people indicated themselves very satisfied in the value of the rendered services.
Similarly, a group of 5 people indicated their level of satisfaction as an average. Meanwhile, three people indicated themselves very dissatisfied in value standards of the rendered services.
Of restaurant. The collective result of satisfied and very satisfied shows that the company has been able to make a positive influence on the customers in value of the rendered services. However, restaurant management is needed to keep track of their service towards improving and attaining the anticipation of their guest restaurant customers in the future. The below figure illustrates the about the responses of customers.
35
5
3
7
0
Customer’s level of Satisfaction in terms of
value of service quality
Dissatisfied Very dissatisfied Average Satisfied
Very satisfied
Figure 18. Customer’s level of satisfaction in terms of meals, price, and location
The behavior of employees during service delivery.
Most of the assessed customers this study felt that the behavior and services from the side of staffs are positive. The group of 47 participants felt friendly behavior during whereas a group of 17 people felt helpful behavior of the staffs. Likewise, leastNo. Customers
number of people, i.e., one people felt the average behavior of staffs in the restaurant. This shows that the customers are well satisfied with the behavior of staffs and service provided by them as well. The below figure illustrates the picture in detail;
The behavior of Staffs to Customers
50
47
45
40
35
30
25
20
17
15
10
5
0
1
0
Rude
Friendly
Helpful
Average
Dealing with customers
Figure 19. The behavior of Staffs to Customers
Recommendations by frequent customers to Others
The 50-restaurant guest population responded to the online questionnaires. Most of these study participants who are 48 (96%) participants said that they would recommend Radisson Blu Hotel, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to those people whom they know whereas a minority of participants which is only 2 (4%) people said that they are not particular about it.
Recommendations to Others by Customers
No. of Customers
The outputted data explains that most of the participants are well satisfied with the restaurant quality of services, which was served to them and would like to recommend it to other people whom they know very well. This is the outstanding result in terms of quality service and satisfaction level of customers for the restaurant. Thus, the Radisson Blu Hotel, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, should focus more and more to make it stable and growth in the future. The below figure shows the result of this section;
No
Not sure
Responses
Yes
0
0
2
10
20
30
40
48
50
Recommendations to Others by Customers
Figure 11. Number of Customers who would recommend to others about the restaurant
Which is the most important factor that led to your satisfaction experience?
Customer service
More variety of food
Reasonable price
Tasty food
Speed of serving
Location and space
The pie chart revealed that Quality Customer service contributed the significant percent (95%) followed by reasonable price with 2%, tasty food at 1%. These results analysis shows how the provision of quality services with acceptable standard levels and values is key to improving the experience of the restaurant guests; this is beside considering other factors which customers also merely consider as shown in this result analyses.
For instance, in this case analyses, besides food quality, food pricing, location and space and availability of food varieties, in order to improve guests, experience at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and eventually enhance customer loyalty, the quality service element is very key to positively impacting the consumer’s repurchase or visit intention.
This implies that customers still consider the quality service aspect, and therefore the hospitality industry should consider hatching an effective plan to elevate and improve its importance and influence customer thinking and experience when it comes to standard levels and values of quality service. However still, combining various hospitality factors as mentioned in this analysis will potentially inject business activities livelier, more competitive, healthy competition, and positive market view as each restaurant or organization can easily and freely choose the key issue by generating distinct solutions to solve and be dominant in that market segment.
What are the most important criteria when you choose a restaurant to eat out?
100%
Food
Location
Price
Family views
Service Quality
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Fig 12: What are the most important criteria when you choose a restaurant to eat out?
In this research results analyses, it shows that even though other factors such as food quality, location and food, and beverage prices account for the customer satisfaction experience, in the hospitality industry food quality, delivery of quality service is an impressive preliminary factor as shown in the bar graph fig 22 above. This is because quality service includes a chain of practice and effort, and a single lack of its bit renders the other service dependent factors to be negatively perceived by the customer.
4.7.1 Determination of Service Quality and Customers Satisfaction using Gap
Score Analysis
The purpose of this study was to explore how food and beverages service delivery can improve guest’s satisfaction experience at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. SERVQUAL Model was used to measure the service quality gap to determine the customer satisfaction on the services offered I the food and beverage department of the hotel. The SERVQUAL scale focused on the performance component of the service quality model.
The service quality dimension considered in SERVQUAL scale is; tangibility, reliability,
responsiveness, assurance, and empathy, which were used in the study as the basis for service quality measurement. The SERVQUAL scale is used to determine customer
satisfaction by calculating the disparity between expectation and perception by the customer before and after the service is delivered (Loizos, 2005). The difference between perception and expectation experiences is known as Gap analysis.
Service Quality Gap Score Analysis: The study used 22 service quality statements
adopted by Parasuaman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1985) to determine the customers’ service quality before and after the service was rendered. Primary data was collected using
semi-structured interview and online questionnaire that assessed customers’ perceptions and expectations on the service quality using a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from “strongly agree” (7) to (1)
“strongly disagree.” The Service quality was determined by calculating the Gap scores based on the difference between mean scores for expectation and perception of service delivery. A customer is said to be satisfied with service quality if the perception of service received equals or exceeds their expectations (Loizos, 2005). A negative difference
between perception and expectation indicates the customer who is dissatisfied with the service rendered. The analysis entailed calculating the mean scores for each of the 22
customer satisfaction survey statements for both expectation and perception statements.
The gap scores for each statement were determined by finding the difference between these means (Perception – Expectations). Further analysis was done to determine the average Gap score for each category of service quality component and overall quality service. The gap
analysis for clients and attendees was calculated separately and presented in
Tables 4.20 and 4.21 as discussed below.
4.2.1 Gap score analysis for attendees on service satisfaction
Statement
Perceptions
(P)
Expectations
(E)
Gap Score (P-E)
(i)
Tangibility
1
Modern looking banquet dining equipment
(plates, cutleries, glassware, etc.)
5.19
5.76
-0.57
2
Building, signs, dining room, décor,
lighting, carpet, etc. visually appealing
5.12
5.35
-0.23
3
Staff very neat in uniform and well
groomed
5.13
5.29
-0.16
4
Materials such as menu card, serviettes, table clothes very appealing
5.04
5.80
-0.76
Average Gap score for Tangibility
5.12
5.55
-0.43
(ii)
Reliability
5
Banquet service will be timely
4.19
5.88
-1.69
6
Staff will solve every problem
4.27
5.83
-1.56
7
Performed service right, first time
4.07
6.18
-2.11
8
Will provide service at the time it
promised to
3.99
6.16
-2.17
9
Will provide error-free service
3.88
5.87
-2.00
Average Gap score for Reliability
4.08
5.98
-1.91
(iii)
Responsiveness
10
Staff will inform us when service will start
4.48
5.85
-1.37
11
Staff will provide prompt service to us
4.46
5.85
-1.40
12
Staff will be willing to help
4.57
5.86
-1.29
13
Staff will not be too busy to respond
4.38
5.71
-1.33
14
Staff will instill confidence in customers
3.99
5.87
-1.88
Average Gap score for Responsiveness
4.38
5.83
-1.45
(iv)
Assurance
15
Customers will feel safe
4.19
5.77
-1.58
16
Staff will be consistently courteous
4.17
5.76
-1.59
17
Staff will know to answer all
questions
3.85
5.56
-1.71
18
Staff will give individualized attention
3.38
5.77
-2.39
19
The hotel has convenient operating hours
3.23
5.86
-2.63
Average Gap score for Assurance
3.76
5.74
-1.98
(v)
Empathy
20
Staff will give personal attention
3.25
5.66
-2.41
21
Staff will have customers at the heart
3.40
5.78
-2.38
22
Staff will understand the specific needs of
customers
3.42
5.83
-2.40
Average Gap score for Empathy
3.36
5.76
-2.4
Key: Gap mean score = mean perception – mean expectations
4.2.2 Multiple Regression Analysis to determine the influence of SERVQUAL Model on
Customer Satisfaction of Quality Service.
Multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between service quality dimensions of SERVQUAL model that influence the customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction with the services offered by the restaurants. The regression model hypothesized that SERVQUAL perspectives (tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy) of the rendered services were capable of influencing positive changes in customer satisfaction. The regression output is presented in Table 4.22.
4.2.3 Multiple Regression Model Summary
Table 4.22: Multiple Regression Model Summary
Std. Error
of the Estimate
Change Statistics
Model
R
R
Square
Adjusted R Square
R Square Change
F
Change
df1
df2
Sig. F Change
1
.887a
.787
.782
6.76923
.787
177.085
5
240
.000
- Predictors: (Constant), Assurance, Tangibility, Empathy, Reliability, Responsiveness
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSIONS AD RECOMMENDATION
5.1 Conclusion
The aim of this study was to explore how food and beverages service delivery can improve guests experience at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The online questionnaires and the semi-structured interviews surveys were the primary sources for the research study, which was implemented for the collection and analyzation of data to fulfill the research aims. From the methodological point of view, the survey included the 20 questions, both open and closed-ended questions. In a total, 50 restaurant guests and food and beverage managers were participants in the survey. The process was quite labor intensive, not as assumed before conducting the survey.
From the study conclusive analyzed findings, nearly all study participants had pleasant and satisfying experiences regarding the quality of services offered at the restaurant which identified the restaurant as having quality services, which are customer satisfaction-oriented goals. There was not in the exemption of other factors that helped improve guests experience at the restaurant which was such as the pricing and quality of meals offered to them, the conduct of the stuff and all employees of the restaurant during the service delivery and location of the restaurant. However, the provision of quality services in the food and beverages department at the Radisson Blu Hotel remained the ultimate reason behind the improved guest satisfaction experience. This is statistically shown by the number of 48 active participants who participated in the survey, stating that they were satisfied in terms of quality services rendered by the restaurant and 16 participants were delighted. These all elements created a positive vibe in participants which resulted in that out of 50 participants, 48 participants would recommend Radisson Blu Hotel to other people whom they know well, and this shows an impressive result for the restaurant management and their business.
In conclusion, the participants were generally satisfied in all terms of service quality and products offered by the restaurant to them.
5.2 Recommendations
It was quite challenging to gather and collect data, ideas, and views from the customer during their visit time in the restaurant as their time separated for the meal only. Even though, the participated customers showed their interest in my survey activities and provided their important recommendations for the restaurant which are listed as follows;
The management of the restaurant should think employee appraisal programs to build its capacity for quality service delivery.
The restaurant should be active in updating its services on social media.
The restaurant should improve the way of settings of tables and chairs.
Management should focus on interior decorations of the restaurant.
Do not take more time to deliver the ordered meal.
Make sure they note even the tiny preferences of the customers for both food and beverage.
Suggestion for further study
The results show that the Radisson Blu Hotel– Jeddah, Saudi Arabia has established and are using the key known methods of Quality Control. The researchers recommend that a study be carried out to ascertain the benefits gained so far as a result of implementing these methods.
It is further recommended that the same study be conducted to include the views of all the employees in the hotel. This is because this study involved only the views of the respondents in food and beverage management and the restaurant guest. Finally, another research can be carried out to determine what other methods of overall quality management are being used in the hospitality industry in Saudi Arabia and their impact on organizational and employee performance provision of quality services to the restaurant guests and customers.
REFERENCES
Ford, R., Heaton, C., and Sturman, M. (2012). Managing quality service in hospitality. [Clifton Park, NY]: Delmar Cengage Learning, pp.3-20.
Goldsmith, A., (1997). Human resource management in hospitality services. 1st ed. Florence: International Thomson Publishing, pp.70-80.
Weinberg, M., (2018). Using the Power of F&B to Win Loyal Customers. [online] seven rooms. Available at: https://sevenrooms.com/en/blog/using-the-power-of-fb-to-win-loyal-customers/ [Accessed 26 Feb. 2019].
Denscombe, M. (2010). The Good Research Guide. 4th ed. P.329-342
Kumar, R. (2005). Research Methodology. 2nd ed. pp.35-38.
www.pyxigroup.co.uk, S. (2018). Understanding Customer Service with RATER. [online] Cxrm.co.uk. Available at: http://www.cxrm.co.uk/understanding+customer+service+with+rater [Accessed 1 Mar. 2019].
I.pinimg.com. (2018). [online] Available at: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/fd/77/da/fd77da635e459921f5d584911037581f.jpg [Accessed 2 Mar. 2019].
Gray, D. (2018). Researching the real world. 4th ed. p.381.
Gray, D. (2018). Researching the real world. 4th ed. p.343.
https://www.radissonblu.com/en/hotel-jeddah-alsalam. (2018). [online] Available at: https://www.radissonblu.com/en/hotel-jeddah-alsalam [Accessed 2 Mar. 2019].
Taylor & Francis. (2013). Service quality and customers’ satisfaction with the food and beverage industry. [online] Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09720510.2009.10701421 [Accessed 2 Mar. 2019].
Research-Methodology. (2018). Realism Research Philosophy – Research-Methodology. [online] Available at: https://research-methodology.net/research-philosophy/realism/ [Accessed 2 Mar. 2019].
McLeod, S. A. (2017, Dec 05). Qualitative vs. quantitative research. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/qualitative-quantitative.html [Accessed 2 Mar. 2019].
Punch, K. (1998). Introduction to Social Research: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches. London: Sage
Saunders, M., Lewis, P., and Thornhill, A. (2012). Research methods for business students. 6th ed. P.128-196
researchgate.net. (2012). [online] Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-research-onion-Saunders-et-al-2012_fig2_282912642 [Accessed 2 Mar. 2019].
AllAssignmentHelp | UK – Blog. (2018). Research Onion – Made easy to understand and follow. [online] Available at: https://www.allassignmenthelp.co.uk/blog/research-onion-made-easy-to-understand-and-follow/ [Accessed 25 Mar. 2019].
Expedia | Management online. (2019). Service quality model. [online] Available at: https://ceopedia.org/index.php/Service_quality_model [Accessed 10 Apr. 2019].
Grönroos, C. (2013). A Service Quality Model and its Marketing Implications | European Journal of Marketing | Vol 18, No 4. [online] Emeraldinsight.com. Available at: https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/EUM0000000004784 [Accessed 10 Apr. 2019].
Blogger, G. (2013). Service Quality Gap Model. [online] Verint Community. Available at: https://community.verint.com/b/customer-engagement/posts/service-quality-gap-model [Accessed 10 Apr. 2019].
APPENDIX 1: CONSENT INFORMATION
Dear respondent,
I, am a student of the University of Derby, studying degree program. I am writing my thesis on “How food and beverages service delivery can improve guests experience?
I am requesting you to be a participant in this study by only helping me to fill in the questionnaire to the best of your ability; please provide honest answers.
All the wiling study participants will not be forced to do the study, and they can make withdrawal at any time they want. Elaborations will be made clear to the participants when and how are we going to need their information if they didn’t feel comfortable after the process has been done they can get still withdrawal but if we reach the point where we have already analyzed the data they cannot withdrawal from the study according to our agreement that we made before the study
All the participants will be made to be aware of the purpose of the collected information and who is going to conduct the research and how are they going to be used and inform them who are the people who are going to have access for this information and the amount of time that we are going to need this information for Also we are not allowed to change anything in the information , The participants will know that we are only allowed to record an audio or take a video of them , the personal information will be top secret , the data will be securely saved. The study participants will be only asked about data that are relevant to the study ,the data will not be used to take any decisions , the data will not be used in anything that could damage them , the participants will stay anonymous unless they asked to be identified, after finishing the study the data will be returned to the participants or it will be destroyed (Denscombe, 2010)
It takes about five minutes to complete this questionnaire. The answers will be treated anonymously. Thank you in advance.
APPENDIX 2: ONLINE QUESTIONNAIRE
Choose the age group you belong to:
Under 15 years old
15 years – 30 years old
30 – 45 years old
45 – 60 years old
60 years old above
Gender
Female
Male
How often do you visit restaurants?
Once a week
Daily
Few times a week
Once a month
Rarely
How often do you visit the Radisson Blu Hotel?
Once a week
Daily
Few times a week
Once a month
Rarely
What is your basis to visit Radisson Blu Hotel?
Lunch
Get together
Unplanned
Birthday celebration
What is your view about new pricing for the meals?
Cheap
Average
Expensive
Very expensive
Revised August 2015
The menu has enough varieties of Meal.
Agree
Disagree
What is your opinion about the quality of your meals?
Bad
Average
Good
Excellent
What do you rate about the behavior of staffs of the restaurant?
Rude
Friendly
Helpful
Average
How long have you waited to get the ordered meal?
1-5 mins
5-10 mins
10-15 mins
15-25 mins
On the scale of 1 – 5 tick where appropriate 1= Very bad 5 = Excellent
1
2
3
4
5
Space
Cleanliness
Settings of Tables and chairs
Fragrance of restaurant
Utensils for meals
Physical appearance
Toilets
Air and freshness
How did you knew about Radisson Blu Hotel?
Friends
Family
Internet
Website of restaurant
Will you visit the Radisson Blu Hotel next time again?
Yes
Not sure
No
Will you recommend to others to visit the Radisson Blu Hotel?
Yes
Not sure
o No, If Not, why not: —————————————————-
Please, rate your level of satisfaction in terms of service Quality in meals, and other available restaurant amenities?
Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied
Average
Satisfied
Very Satisfied
What are your suggestions for the further improvement of the restaurant in the future?
What is your opinion about the delivery of quality meals?
(1 is the lowest score, and 5 is the highest score)
Tasty
Reasonable price
Speed of handling orders (fast serving, and making food ready…)
Have more options to mix with (for example pita bread, salad, hummus…)
Where do you usually go for lunch?
Company’s cafeteria Nearby restaurant
Food delivery services
No, I bring my own lunch Other.
How much are you satisfied with your choice of place? (1 is the lowest score, and 5 is the highest score)
Company’s cafeteria Nearby restaurant
Food delivery service Other
Why do you choose to have lunch in these places? (Multiple choice answers) (If the answer is nearby restaurants or company’s cafeteria)
Time-saving
Reasonable price
Quality services (cheerful staff, cleanliness, spacious…) Delicious and more variety of food
Others
Does your satisfaction in Quality service affect your decision about where to go and what to eat?
Yes
No
Are you a loyal customer at any restaurant? Yes(specify)
No
Why do you become loyal to those restaurants? (If the answer is Yes)
APPENDIX 3: STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS
The interviewee respondents involved are free to give out their contact info if they could help the thesis author get more details in participating in the interview.
- Research question
Which factors will interfere with your satisfaction and decision toward a restaurant? 2. Aim
How much customers pay attention to service, price, and service quality
Customer journey shows their way to new restaurants.
How customers are familiar with mix-and-make their meal
Are they willing to try this new restaurant style? Product and service quality.
CUSTOMER PERCEPTION
Which criteria are more important to your satisfaction when coming to a restaurant? (Put from 1-3 for service and product quality)
How do you understand about Quality service (customer service, friendliness, speed of serving…) in the restaurant business?
What is your opinion about the services of current restaurants that you have gone so far?
What do you usually do when you visit a restaurant and unhappy at some points?
What is your favorite time to come to a restaurant?
What would you like to receive when becoming a loyal customer at your favorite
restaurant?
“Thank you for your Cooperation.”
APPENDIX 4. ETHICS APPROVAL FORM AND GUIDANCE
Request for ethical approval for research undertaken by staff, post-graduate research, and post-graduate professional students
Please submit your completed form to your supervisor who will, after approval, forward to the chair of, or representative of, your subject research ethics committee (SREC)
The outcome of the ethics committee will be one of the following:
APPROVED – you may collect data
APPROVED WITH RECOMMENDATIONS – you may collect data after discussing the recommendations with your supervisor and taking any action agreed with your supervisor
APPROVED SUBJECT TO CONDITIONS – you may NOT collect data until the conditions have been met and agreed in the first place with your supervisor and confirmed by the ethics committee
NOT APPROVED – a new study must be planned
NO
NO
NO
- What is the aim of your study? What are the objectives of your study? Aim:
To explore how food and beverages service delivery can improve guests experience at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
objectives
1- To review the literature on service delivery and its impact on the guest experience
2- To assess how service delivery affects the guest experience at the Radisson Blu Hotel by doing interviews for two managers and online questioner for the guests
3 – To compare and contrast the findings of the literature review, interviews and questioner to suggest further recommendations to the hotel management team to enhance the guest experience
- Explain the rationale for this study (refer to the relevant research literature in your response).
Keywords that will be used in this Research: Service Delivery, Guest experience, how to improve The service Delivery, How to Give The Guest Their Best Experience (Taylor & Francis, 2013)