Service Quality of Restaurants in Croatia

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Statistical Study
The Purpose Study
Reasons for Picking this Report
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Service quality is an important factor that customers consider when choosing the nature and type of restaurants in the hospitality industry. Restaurants that offer high quality services attract customers, while restaurants that offer poor quality services lose customers. Statistical analysis of the quality of services that restaurants offer require assessment of customer expectations and perceptions.

Markovic, Raspor, and Segaric (2010) state that the difference between customer perceptions and expectations indicates the quality of services that a restaurant offers. In essence, customer perception is the experience that customers gain in the course of consuming services (Markovic & Raspor, 2010). In contrast, customer expectation is the quality of service that customers believe a restaurant has the capacity to provide. In this view, this report analyzes statistical study aimed at establishing if services of restaurants in Croatia meet customer expectations.

Statistical Study

Type of Data

The study used questionnaires to collect data in three aspects of the restaurant industry, namely, demographic attributes, customer expectations, and customer perceptions. The type of data that the study presents in the demographic attributes is continuous and qualitative because they indicate percentage of gender (male and female customers), percentage of the level of education (primary, secondary, college and university, and masters or doctorate), percentage of the country of residence (Croatia, Italy, Germany, Austria, and others), percentage of age (16-25, 26-35, 36-45, 46-55, 56-65, and 66 and above), and the frequency of previous visits to the restaurant (never, once, and twice or more).

Moreover, in both customer expectations and perceptions, the type of data that the study present is continuous and qualitative because they rate perceptions and expectations in the form of a seven-point Likert scale, which ranges from the highest point of 7 as “strongly agree” to the lowest point of 1 as “strongly disagree.”

Level of Measurement

The data for the demographic attributes of customers fall in the interval level of measurement because they indicate the difference in the proportion of male customers and female customers, distribution of customers according to their education level, proportion of customers basing on their country of residence, percent distribution of customers according to their ages, and the proportion of frequency in terms of visits to the restaurant. In this view, the data in the form of gender percentages, education level, country of residence, age, and frequency of visits to the restaurant, are in the interval level of measurement. The data for customer expectations and perceptions fall in the ordinal scale because they rate customer responses in a seven-point Likert scale. The ordinal scale used shows the degree of agreement or disagreement with certain statements in the questionnaires, which assess the expectations and perceptions of customers.

Presentation of Data

The study presents data in a grouped manner because the grouping summarizes the demographic attributes of customers and rates responses of expectations and perceptions of customers. The study groups the demographic attributes for gender into male and female, for education level into primary, secondary, college and university, and masters and doctorate, for country of residence into Croatia, Italy, Germany, Croatia, and others, for age into 16-25, 26-35, 36-45, 46-55, 56-65, and 66 and above, and for frequency of previous visits into never, once, and two or more. Additionally, the study groups responses of expectations and perceptions of the customers into a seven-point Likert scale, “strongly agree”, “agree”, “somewhat agree”, “undecided”, “somewhat disagree”, “disagree”, and “strongly disagree” from 7 to 1 respectively.

The Purpose Study

The purpose of this study is to investigate the quality of service that restaurants offer in Croatia by assessing expectations and perceptions of customers with a view of identifying important variables that influence performance of restaurants. To achieve the purpose, the study designed questionnaires, which assess demographic attributes of customers, expectation responses, and perception responses. According to Markovic et al. (2010), the study used 35 restaurant attributes, which are components of empathy, responsiveness, reliability, price, satisfaction, assurance, and tangible, in assessing expectations and perceptions of customers.

Subsequently, the study used a convenience method of sampling in distributing questionnaires to potential participants in 32 restaurants in Opatija Riviera, Croatia. Markovic et al. (2010) state that the study obtained 156 complete questionnaires, which represent a response rate of 31.2%. The study hypothesizes that modified DINESERV model is a reliable instrument that managers in the hospitality industry can use in assessing expectations and perceptions of customers accurately.

To achieve its purpose, the study also formulated a number of questions to guide researchers. The first question sought to establish the levels of expectations and perceptions among the customers, while the second question sought to establish the quality of service that restaurants offer by finding the difference between expectations and perceptions. The third question sought to identify factors of the modified DINESERV model, which effectively explain customer expectations and perceptions.

Analysis of the data using descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses shows the restaurants have lower level of perception scores than expectation scores, which means that they offer a poor quality of services to customers (Markovic et al., 2010). Moreover, the study reveals that seven factors of the modified DINESERV model effectively explain customer expectations, while two factors effectively explains customer perceptions (Markovic & Raspor, 2010). In this view, the study shows that DINESERV model is appropriate in predicting expectations and perceptions of customers in the hospitality industry.

Reasons for Picking this Report

I selected this study because it relates to my major of hospitality management. The study examines management aspects of the hospitality industry, which include customer expectations and perceptions. Markovic et al. (2010) report that the findings of the study are relevant to the hospitality industry because they enable managers to note weaknesses and strengths of their restaurants and develop appropriate strategies to improve service quality and meet expectations of customers. Moreover, I selected this study because it applies statistical analyses, which I have learned in the statistics course. Specifically, the conversion of qualitative data into continuous data using seven-point Likert scale to allow descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate tests provides a practical application of statistics. The type of data and the level of measurement are also evident in the study, thus making it an appropriate choice for this statistical project.

Conclusion

Since hospitality is a service industry, quality of services that restaurants offer to customers have marked effect on their growth and development. The sustainability and viability of restaurants in the hospitality industry are dependent on the quality of services they offer. The assessment of customer expectations and perceptions provides the basis of determining service quality. Statistical analysis of expectations and perceptions of customers in restaurants in Croatia shows that there is a significant difference. The difference indicates that restaurants offer poor quality of services, which do not meet the expectations of customers. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses of continuous and qualitative data shows that the modified DINESERV model effectively explains service quality using customer expectations and perceptions.

References

Markovic, S., & Raspor, S. (2010). Measuring Perceived Service Quality Using SERVQUAL: A Case Study of the Croatian Hotel Industry. Management, 5(3), 195-209. Web.

Markovic, S., Raspor, S., & Segaric, K. (2010). Does restaurant performance meet customers’ expectations? An assessment of restaurant service quality using a modified DINESERV approach. Tourism and Hospitality Management, 16(2), 181-195. Web.

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