“STUDENTS’ SATISFACTION ON SMALL-TYPE RESTAURANTS NEAR THE

VICINITY OF LEMERY COLLEGES”

A Research Study
 CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM

INTRODUCTION

Aside from earning profit, customer satisfaction has always been

the central focus of all businesses. These customers will be the heart and the

building blocks of a business. Without the customers, a business will inevitably

come to an end. To earn recurring customers, ideal profit together with consistent

operations,great marketing strategies must be implied. Also, in order for such

businesses to meet customer satisfaction, seeing the different dimension of

customer's preferences should be conceptualized. Needless gto say, business's

life lies on how they satisfy themselves with what these businesses offer.

Meanwhile, consumers satisfactions changes over time. They

seek for sommething new, something rare and something that would bear on

their minds and exceed the expectation that they want to meet. With lots of

businesses of different types,and specializations so as small type restaurants, a

customer will surely headfor the ideal one for him/her. A consumer will not

prefera small type restaurant that would not even meet his/her standards and

preferences. As consumer's preferences vchanges over a period of time, this

consumers.

The reason why the researcher conducted the study is to fully

understand customer's satisfation on small type restaurants specially those that

are near the vicinity of Lemery Colleges. The researcher is also looking forward

to give and meet customer's demands that will surely earn recurring customers.

Statement of the Problem

The research study entitled " Students' Satisfaction on

Small Type Restaurants Near the Vicinity of Lemery Colleges" mainly focuses on

the satisfaction level of students when it comes to food and service offered by

small type restaurants near the vicinity of Lemery Colleges.

Specifically, this sought to answer the following questions:

1. What do customers consider when eating on small type restaurants in

termsof:

1.1 price

1.2 food quality

1.3 service

2. What should a small type rstaurant possess to gain recurring

customers?
 3. What reasons do the customers have on choosing small type

restaurants over school canteen?

4. What makes these small type restaurants an ideal choice to eat?

5. What influences the students to eat on small type restaurants along with

the following:

5.1 school environment

5.2 food satisfaction

Significance of the Study

This study will be a significant endeavour in advancing

with the study of customer satisfaction, which is the primal objective of a

business.

Moreover, this study will benefit the following groups of people:

To the business owners specially those whose businesses are much

inclined with food and services. They will acquie requsite information about

students' behavior when it comes to choosing a small type restaurant to eat and

leaving them with vast opportunities to adjust their scehmes and strategies which

will lead to the improvement of the food quality, their services and environment.

By understanding these factors, these business owners will aim to meet

customer satisfaction specifically the students and still earn a good profit.
 To the staff who will be benefited by this study as they can offer great

cusomer service, thus, meeting or even exceeding customer expectation.

To the future entrepreneurs, who can take these important factors into

consideration before putting up a small type restaurant and how will it earn a

satisfying profit.

To the consumers, who will buy the goods and ervice from these small

type restaurants. They can assure great food quality and complimentary service

in return for their expenditures.

And to the future researchers, who can use this resserach study as a

relevant reference on their study about customer satifaction. This study may

serve as a guide for future innovations and development of work.

Scope, Delimitation and Limitation of the Study

This study focused on the food and services offered on small-type restaurants to

be observed in Lemery Colleges, Bagong Sikat, Lemery, Batangas. The study is

only limited to the nearby small type restaurants near the vicinity. This research

does not cover other enterprises or businesses which are not correlated with

food business. However, the study only involves the guarantee of satisfaction

among the students.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

CUSTOMER PREFERENCE

This part reviews the relevant literature about customers’ preferences and

characteristics of an ideal small type restaurant. Also, customer satisfaction is to

be tackled as well as the marketing strategies that may be essential.

Previous studies on consumer behavior in the restaurant context have

identified a number of factors that consumers consider important in their

restaurant selection. Following are examples of these studies: Lewis (2007)

investigated the influence of the benefit features of advertising on consumers’

decision to go to a restaurant. Three types of restaurants: family/popular,

Atmosphere, and gourmet were analyzed. Food quality was found as the most

important feature determining patronage in tensions to any type of restaurant.

The Kevel’s (2009) results Showed that the relative importance of the restaurant

choice factors differed considerably by restaurant type, dining occasion, age, and
occupation. The studies of consumer behavior in ethnic restaurants are relatively

limited. Previous ethnic restaurant studies have focused on consumers’

perceptions and attitudes or on a particular cuisine (Josiam & Monteiro, 2007 .)

Among these studies, the unique characteristics of ethnic cuisine are

commonly discussed. However, ethnic restaurateurs cannot compete simply on

the uniqueness of the cuisine. The results of past studies have emphasized that,

in order to succeed, restaurant operators need to pay attention to the attributes

that have the highest regard in relation to consumers’ selection behavior.

Another important element in a restaurant is the physical environment.

From this point of view, the restaurant has to be large enough to serve and

prepare the food (Carlback, 2008). Bitner (2012) named the physical

environment of a restaurant „servicescape”. It was defined, according to its

dimensions, as: physical conditions (for example, the temperature, the noise), the

space (for example, the equipment), signs, symbols and artifacts (for example,

direction signs or the decoration style). Moreover, some studies show the fact

that the physical environment can be used to influence the consumers’

expectations regarding the qualities of the restaurant (; Wall and Berry, 2007), as

all these factors are part of this catering experience.

Meanwhile, Qin and Prybutok (2008) investigated the role of the price

when talking about fast-food consumers and they discovered that the price didn’t

play such an important role.. Nevertheless, the price plays an important role in

attracting young people, as they have lower income.

where the services are offered (the „servicescape” and the contact employees),

the food quality and the prices, from the young people’s perspective, in three

types of restaurants. On one hand, the price is considered as the most important

factor in determining the young people's loyalty, it being followed by contact

employees. On the other hand, the physical environment („servicescape”) and

the food quality are not so important in influencing young people’s loyalty

regarding a catering place.

According to Upadhyay, Singh et al., (2007), the process of taking the

decision regarding the place to eat, represents an aspect which should be taken

into consideration, in order to understand the way people choose the restaurants,

how they select them and what influences them in choosing a particular menu

etc.

CHARACTERISTICS OF AN IDEAL SMALL TYPE RESTAURANT

As noted by Middleton (2007), small businesses form a seedbed for

the entrepreneurial and enterprise culture on which much of the profit and

employment prospects of big businesses ultimately depend. This observation

clearly indicates the difference between small business owners and

entrepreneurs. But although support for this viewpoint in the literature is

universal, some researchers do not draw such a fine line between the two terms

when discussing related issues; also, studies of small business firms are usually
found in the entrepreneurship literature, where sometimes the two terms are

used interchangeably.

According to Lee, Renig, and Shanklin (2007) food quality involves more than

food safety, taste is just as important. In fact, during the research conducted by

the group, food quality was a consideration for those who have looked into

assisted living facilities.

(Aguilera, 2008) pointed out that great customer service has made restaurants

and other businesses successful; consequently, poor service could also lead to

failure When customers have had great service at a restaurant and poor food

they will return. If however they received great food and poor service, most will

not return. One reason for this development has been the emergence of more

restaurants and a larger variety. Customers did not have to compromise, if they

did not receive the service they expected, they simply went somewhere else.

One of the areas focused on for great customer service started with making

business decisions based on the customer rather than the operating cost. One

example of demonstrating customer focus was to give out condiments rather

than charging for it. Some other methods of customer focus included, design of

the establishment to be appealing to the eye and music or sounds at appropriate

levels to increase the dining experience.

Another key point in operating a successful restaurant mentioned was menu

diversity. The ability to offer something the other companies do not, especially
when operating a smaller business, was important to the survival of the business.

(Howell,2009, p.3)

Wittebort (2012) further stated the importance of keeping up with the market

trends and customer needs. Golden Corral has remained successful because

they “…borrow ideas from everybody and steal from the best…”)

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

According to Deng et al., (2009) Customer satisfaction is becomes the most

important part in the business field because when your customer is satisfied then

it will provide the profitable business to the industry. Basically customer’s

satisfaction is term which means that how customers predict about your product

after the use of a specific product and how they evaluate your product in single

manner and compare with the competitors’ products. The customer satisfaction is

customer’s evaluation of goods and services in term of whether it is according to

the customer’s requirements or it is dissatisfied the customer’s needs and wants.

Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (2008)stated that one of the most important

findings of study is that service quality can be assessed by comparing the

expectations of customers against their perceptions of the actual service

experience. That is, service quality is an outcome of the difference between

service expectations and customer perceptions of actual service performance

(Naik, Gantasala, & Prabhakar, 2010; Yeşilada & Direktör, 2010). Izogo and
Ogba (2015) argued that service quality leads to enhanced customer satisfaction

and loyalty as a result of several factors. They added that SERVQUAL is one of

the best measures of service quality.

In terms of the dimensions, according to Parasuraman, Berry and Zeithaml

(2011), tangibles concern the appearance of physical facilities, equipment,

personnel and communication materials. Reliability is the ability to perform the

promised service dependably and accurately. Responsiveness represents

willingness to help customers and prompt service. Assurance stands for the

knowledge and courtesy of employees and the ability to inspire trust and

confidence. Finally, empathy relates to the caring, individualized attention the

firm provides its customers.

Also, studies conducted to investigate restaurant service quality

have used three main dimensions of service quality: food quality, physical

environment (ambience) and employee service (Lee, Kim, & Woo, 2012). For this

study, it was possible to measure the physical environment and employee

service using the SERVQUAL instrument as it contains relevant dimensions

covering these constructs. Ryu et al. (2012) highlighted the importance of food

quality as a measure of customer satisfaction in the restaurant industry. As a

result, five aspects of food quality were adopted from Ryu et al. (2012), namely:

the food is fresh, the food is delicious, the food is nutritious, there is a variety of

menu items and the smell of the food is enticing. Qin and Prybutok (2009)
explored the potential dimensions of service quality and examined the

relationships between service quality, food quality, perceived value, customer

satisfaction and behavioural intentions in fast-food restaurants and pointed out

that food quality has a positive and direct influence on customer satisfaction.

MARKETING STRATEGIES

The main goals of marketing strategies for business leaders are to fill market

needs, grow market share, and increase shareholder value (Jemaiyo, 2013).

Small, independent restaurant owners must develop stakeholder strategies to

support annual strategic initiatives and assist in accomplishing opportunities for

growth. Small business leaders should gather all insights regarding marketing

activities to forecast growth and sustainability patterns (Fiore et al., 2013).

Identifying consumer insights and trends through marketing assists with the

evaluation of cost savings and other ongoing initiatives, and may contribute to

organizational growth.

According to Gillian, Weerawardena, & Liesch,( 2012) leaders of small

and medium sized firms should use more cross-functional involvement with focus

on inter-organizational partnerships, intraorganizational partnerships, and training

as a marketing strategy Training all staff on marketing principles and the

importance of market research is fundamental (Tabaku & Mersini, 2014). …

services, and leadership are critical when implementing a marketing plan (Janicic

& Jankovic, 2014). Integrated marketing 13 strategy, external integration of

resources, market research, steady marketing management activity, and market

orientation are basic principles of an innovationmarketing model (Li & Ju, 2014).

Janicic & Jankovic, (2014) pointed out that strategic marketing system entails a

needs analysis, research and analysis, creative infusion, strategic positioning,

marketing plan development and training, implementation, evaluation, and

adjustment .

Marketing managers should implement offensive and defensive

strategies to adopt a relationship marketing orientation approach centered on

three concepts: attracting, retaining, and regaining lost customers as stated by

Vivek, Beatty, & Morgan, (2012). Offensive marketing strategies are marketing

planning goals of acquiring more customers, suggesting brand modifications, and

increasing purchase frequency (Vivek et al., 2012). Small business executives

should use offensive marketing strategies to assess the value of engaging

prospective customers and the value of evaluating brand potential (Vivek et al.,

15 2012).

Furthermore, Khan, (2014) stated that small business restaurant owners

should consider competition and company objectives when implementing

competition-based pricing as a marketing activity). With marketing innovation,

price of the product to increase sales through new product introductions and

positioning strategies (Çetinkaya & Kalkan, 2014). Marketing is applied through a

unique marketing model structure, to gain better customer satisfaction, higher

market premiums, or higher sales efficiency (Li & Ju, 2014). Marketing managers

should design products with a focus on customers’ consumption behavior and

customer satisfaction to measure market premiums and sales efficiency (Li & Ju,

2014).

Josiam, Monteiro, Carlback and Bitner studied vabout what

customers take into consideration before eating on a restaurant. vThese

reserachers also identified the types of restaurants based on their physical

environment, the culture observed and some fsctor such as the temperature and

its price which was enough for the researcher to acquire good background and is

proven to be useful.

Meanwhile, Voon, Upadhyay and Singh discussed about services offered,

its location, the way other people choose a place to eat and what influences them

guided the researcher to fully understand how people behave and is proven as

essential factors for a stable business.

On the other hand, as noted by Middleton, Lee, Renig and Shanklin,

the importance of possesing a great food quality out of its safety and taste is just

important and gave the idea on how food plays an essential part for a restaurant.
 Just as customer service is concerned with this study, Aguilera and

Howell pointed out that one major factor that leads businesses to success is

customer service. These researchers further stated that people who had

experienced great service but poor food would most likely return but if the

customers received good food but with poor service, most will not.

It was supported by Howell adnd Witterbort where they stated keeping

up with the market trends and customer needs is a vital factor for sa business to

be stable specifically small type restaurants.

Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Deng justified that meeting customer

satisfaction leads to profitable business in the industry. Added to gthis statement

was that exceeding customer's expections through actual customer service

experience offers vast benefits for the business. This study has relevant

information as the present study also focuses on customer satisfaction.

As far as customer satisfaction is concerned, Parasuraman, Berry,

Zeithaml and Dutta, physical facilities, equipment, personnel and communication

materials has a major impact on customer satisfaction. These statement shows

similarity with the present study as the students are sophisticated with it and are

the major consumers on this study.

In terms of marketing strategies, Janicic, Jankovic and Vivek pointed

out that strategic marketing system entails a needs analysis, research and

analysis and creative infusion, strategic positioning, marketing plan development,

further information as these strategies are needed for a business to be stable.

Khan, Cetinkaya andf Kalkan stated that small business restaurant

owners should consider competition and company objectives when implementing

competition-based pricing as a marketing activity. The researcher found these

statements useful as it has similarities with the present study such as the

competition of small type restaurants near the school vicinity.

The studies prsented above would greatly help the research study to

come up with valid results, thus, leaving the researcher with enough basis and

helpful evidences with regards to the study.

Synthesis

The literature and reserach studies reviewed and presented

has vast relations with the present study. The studies shown offered sapience

and has evidently vital relevances that may help the researcher. The study

focused on students' satisfaction on small type restaurants that was clarified with

the ideas of Lewis and Kevels and has given the researcher a different

perspective.

Definition of Terms
 Terms used in this study were conceptually and

operationally defined to help the reader better understand the study.

Restaurant. A place where people pay to sit and eat meals that are cooked and

served on the premises. (http://www.google.com.ph/search?

ei=ukn2wiD4n0skgjwe13hvskvk m=restaurant+definition&btnG=)

In this study, restaurants, specifically small type restaurants are the test subject

in connection with customer satisfaction.

Food Quality. The quality characteristics of food that is acceptable to the

customers.(http://en.mm.wikipedia.org/wiki/food,quality)

In this study, food quality is identified as one of the major concerns of small type

restaurant owners.

SERVQUAL. The comparison of perceived expectations of a service with

perceived performance.(http://www.google.co.ph/search?

=XOZ2WL8SL97Ly8=service+quality+definition)

In this study, servqual is used as a determinant and to gather essential

information with regards to expected service and actual service.

Customer Satisfaction. A marketing term that measures how products or

services supplied by a company meet or surpass customers' expectation.

(http;//www.google.com.ph/search?

ei=10Z2WOifhdk3jgfktks=customer+satifaction+definition=mobile1105)
In this study, customer satisfaction is the primary subject as the study mainly

focuses on customer satisfaction itself.

SMEs. Small and Medium sized Enterprise are businesses whose personnel

numbers fall below certain limits.(http://en.wikipediaa.prg/wiki/small_and

medium_sized_enterprise)

In this study,SMEs refer to the small type restaurants with only

fewpersonnel or staff that contributes a huge part in customer satisfaction.

Servicescape. The impact of the physical environment in which a service process

takes place. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/servicescape)

In this study, servicescape is used to give to give emphasis on how physicasl

environment plays an essential role in the business.

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

Research Design

The researcher used qualitative method of research

wherein variables are not controlled nor manipulated. Moreover, interviews are
conducted to further understand the behavior and gather essential information

needed for the study.

Interviews were conducted with regards to customer

satisfaction on small type restaurants near the vicinity of Lemery Colleges

located at Barangay Bagong Sikat, Lemery, Batangas. Furthermore, the

responses of the interviews were kept with confidentiality. The results were then

analyzed to come up with the needed information for the study from the non-

manipulated variables.

Research Sampling

The researcher applied purposive sampling method to efficiently

identify the groups of people that may offer a significant change with regards to

the present study. Also, this sampling method can give the researcher a great

background with the perspectives of the respondentsl their opinions and their

preferences on small type restaurants.

This sampling method will be offering vast benefits to the

researcher as it is a good soucrce of primary data and meet the desired

information, essential to the study.

Research Environment

The research study was conducted at Lemery Colleges,

Barangay Bagong Sikat, Lemery, Batangas where the students' preferences are
the central focus and subject of the study. The age of the respondents ranges

from 17-21 years old to ensure that the data to be gathered will not be the same.

This place consists of consumers that will give relevant data essential to the

study.

Research Instrument

The researcher gathered information through the use of

different instruments. The researcher formulated a self-made interview guide

questions which were then validated by the expertise of the validator. The

questions written were made with the ability for the interviewee to express

thoughts about the study.

The researcher also used obsrvation as a tool to gather

information. The accuracy of this tool is not as accurate as the interview but was

still used by the researcher.

Data Gathering Procedure

The data for this study were gathered using an interview with

the participants. The interview guide questions were formulated last February 03,

2017. The interview guide questions encompasses 10 questions relevant to the

study. After formulating, the letter was then approved and then seek for the

validation on whether these questions discusses the topic of the researcher.

interviewees. After preparing the letter, the researcher finally conducted an

interview to five consumers and let them express themselves. After conducting

the interview, the researcher thanked the interviewees for lending their time and

effort to give their responses, helpful for the study.