Beyond The Plate: A Mixed-Methods Study on Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction, Loyalty, and Owner Challenges in Restaurants
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20828190Keywords:
DINESERV, expectancy-disconfirmation theory, restaurant management, technology adoption, food serviceAbstract
Service quality stands as the cornerstone of restaurant excellence, shaping customers' perceptions and experiences while driving loyalty and reputation in a competitive food service industry. This mixed-methods study examined restaurant operations in Misamis Occidental, Philippines, from customer perceptions of service quality, satisfaction, and loyalty, to owners’ lived experience of sustaining that quality. A descriptive-correlational design surveyed 396 customers across ten establishments, assessing service quality (tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy), satisfaction (ambiance, hospitality service, added value, technology, trust and commitment), and loyalty (repeat patronage, word of mouth, brand equity, emotional attachment, switching costs), using researcher-made questionnaires and Pearson correlation. A phenomenological design then interviewed the owners of those establishments, analyzed through Moustakas' method. Results showed service quality rated very good, satisfaction very high except for technology, and loyalty very high, with service quality significantly correlated with both outcomes. Interviews yielded three themes describing owners' difficulties: managing operations, sustaining marketing, and countering rivals. An exploratory correlation linking owner-reported difficulty severity to satisfaction and loyalty scores found no significant relationship, though the small sample limits what this test can rule out. Taken together, the findings suggest that strong customer-facing outcomes may be sustained despite, rather than because of, an absence of strain on the owner's side: owners describe active personal involvement, informal staffing, and reactive promotion, a pattern that may not hold as rivalry intensifies, although this could not be confirmed. Recommendations include investing in technology-enabled delivery, formalizing staff training, and adopting more deliberate promotional strategies to protect satisfaction and loyalty.
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