Remington’s Restaurant: Performance and Satisfaction

Introduction

Remington’s restaurant is famous in Tampa, Florida, which offers casual dining to its patrons. Although the restaurant has earned a good reputation in the hotel industry owing to the quality of services it offers to its patrons, it has encountered several complaints from patrons. In this view, the restaurant surveyed to assess its performance and evaluate the perceptions of patrons and their levels of satisfaction. According to Usyal and Williams (2013), the performance of restaurants in the hotel industry is dependent on customer satisfaction. Therefore, the study of customer satisfaction is imperative in Remington Restaurant because it enables Remington’s management to understand the pertinent needs and wants of customers, and hence, provides the basis of improving the performance of the restaurant in the competitive markets of the restaurant industry. Following a series of complaints among customers, Remington’s Restaurant aims to improve its performance by building a noble reputation and attracting customers.

The purpose of the research project is to explore the research methodology of Remington’s Restaurant, assess how patrons perceive the performance of the restaurant, and determine customer satisfaction. To achieve this purpose, the research project will undertake surveys among patrons and analyze collected data using descriptive statistics and test statistics. Essentially, the research project dwells on the four variables of patrons, namely, the selection criteria of restaurants, perception of performance, satisfaction with the restaurant, and demographic attributes.

To analyze the data present in the four variables, the study will undertake several statistical analyses. These statistical analyses are descriptive statistics, such as measures of central tendency and standard deviation. Correlation analysis, regression analysis, and z-test are some of the test statistics that the study will perform. Overall, the study will perform descriptive statistics and test statistics for each of the nine research questions. Fundamentally, the study will undertake a comprehensive analysis of the collected data and offer several recommendations to Remington’s Restaurant for it to enhance its reputation in the restaurant industry and augment patron satisfaction.

Research Objectives

The study has research objectives that guide researchers and make them remain within the context of the research. The following are the two categories of research objectives: three objectives based on the research process and six objectives based on survey data.

Research Objectives on Research Process

1. To explain why a survey research design is the appropriate research design that Remington’s Restaurant selected when compared to secondary data design and an observation design.
2. To explain how the types of data that Remington’s Restaurant collected using surveys regarding the perception of performance and satisfaction of services are better than other forms of data such as ratio and interval.
3. To evaluate how Remington’s Restaurant constructed questions in terms of contents, wording, and response strategy.

Research Objectives on Survey Data

1. To describe the demographic profile of Remington’s average patron.
2. To calculate and discuss Remington’s scores on each of the six perception measures of performance, namely, has large portions, has competent employees, has excellent food quality, has quick service, has a good atmosphere, and has reasonable prices.
3. To perform hypothesis testing to determine if there is a statistically significant difference in satisfaction with Remington’s Restaurant by gender.
4. To perform correlation analysis to determine and describe the correlation coefficient (r) for has competent employees, as the independent variable, and satisfaction with Remington’s Restaurant, as the dependent variable.
5. To undertake correlation analysis to determine and interpret the coefficient of determination (r²) for has competent employees, as the independent variable, and satisfaction with Remington’s, as the dependent variable.
6. To test the hypothesis using regression analysis to determine if there is a statistically significant relationship between satisfaction with Remington’s and each of the performance perceptions, namely, has competent employees, has excellent food quality, and has quick service.

Research Questions

Research questions are critical in the research process because they guide researchers in finding relevant data and undertaking specific statistical analysis. The nature of data that a given study collects is dependent on the objectives made and the type of research questions formulated. Jonker and Pennink (2010) argue that research questions need to relate to the conceptual framework and theoretical basis of research. In this case, the study will relate the research questions with the research objectives. Since the study has nine research objectives, their conversion into research questions would enhance the specificity of the study. So, the following are the nine research questions formulated from the research objectives.

1. Is a survey research design the appropriate research design that Remington’s Restaurant selected when compared to secondary data design and an observation design?
2. Are the types of data that Remington’s Restaurant collected using surveys regarding the perception of performance and satisfaction of services better than other forms of data, such as ratio and interval?
3. Did Remington’s Restaurant construct questions appropriately in terms of contents, wording, and response strategy?
4. What is the demographic profile of Remington’s average patron?
5. What are Remington’s scores on each of the six performance measures, namely, has large portions, has competent employees, has excellent food quality, has quick service, has a good atmosphere, and has reasonable prices?
6. Is there a statistically significant difference in satisfaction with Remington’s Restaurant by gender?
7. What is the correlation coefficient (r) for the two variables, has competent employees, as the independent variable, and satisfaction with Remington’s Restaurant, as the dependent variable?
8. What is the coefficient of determination (r²) for the two variables, has competent employees, as the independent variable, and satisfaction with Remington’s Restaurant, as the dependent variable?
9. Does a statistically significant relationship exists between satisfaction with Remington’s Restaurant and each of the performance perceptions, namely, has competent employees, has excellent food quality, and has quick service?

Literature Review

The restaurant industry is experiencing great challenges in meeting the needs of its patrons, owing to increased competition and complex needs of patrons. Baraban and Durocher (2010) argue that entrepreneurs prefer establishing casual dining restaurants because they have a significant proportion of target customers in the restaurant industry. Casual dining is an integral segment of the restaurant industry because it serves a significant proportion of customers. Essentially, casual dining restaurants have attributes that appeal to a significant proportion of customers. According to Lee (2011), these attributes are the quantity of food, diversity of food, quality of food, the reasonableness of prices, ambient environment, quickness of service, and treatment from attendants. Casual dining restaurants employ these attributes in improving the quality of their services and enhancing the satisfaction of customers in the competitive restaurant industry.

Attributes of food such as quality, quantity, and diversity of the menu have a considerable impact on the satisfaction level among patrons in the restaurant industry. According to a study, quality is a primary attribute of food, which does not only enhance customer satisfaction, but it also promotes returning visits and referrals (Namkung & Jang, 2007). Hence, quality food enables casual dining restaurants to maintain customers and increase their market share. Quantity of food is an important attribute of food in a casual dining restaurant that effectively satisfies patrons. Strianese and Strianese (2011) argue casual dining restaurants should optimize profits and minimize costs by designing an appropriate portion of food that satisfies the target customers. Another important attribute of food in a casual dining restaurant that influences customer satisfaction is the diversity of the menu. Strianese and Strianese (2011) recommend that restaurants need to design their menus in a manner that satisfies the interests of diverse customers for them to target an extensive market. Thus, the diversity of the menu does not only satisfy customers, but it also appeals to a considerable number of customers in the restaurant industry.

Pricing of food is an important factor that determines customer satisfaction. Given that the prices of food vary according to the quality, quantity, and diversity of the menu, restaurants need to provide reasonable prices. Expensive food relative to quality, quantity, and diversity of the menu scares away customers owing to their dissatisfaction. Heung and Ngai (2008) assert that the pricing of food requires the consideration of the economic class of the target customers in the restaurant industry. When customers purchase food from casual dining restaurants at favorable prices, which are within their purchasing power, they feel satisfied. In addition to pricing, the ambient environment determines the satisfaction of customers with a given restaurant. In the analysis of the physical environment, Han and Ryu (2009) find out that décor, ambient conditions, spatial layout, and artifacts are determinants of customer satisfaction in a restaurant. Hence, casual dining restaurants should ensure that their physical environment appeals to diverse customers.

The quickness of service and friendly treatment of customers are critical factors that improve the satisfaction of customers in the restaurant industry. Qin and Prybutok (2009) state that service quality in restaurants is a function of quickness of service and treatment received from employees. Evidently, for restaurants to satisfy customers, they should provide quick services and offer warm and friendly treatment. In a study that examined satisfaction with food services, Andaleeb and Caskey (2007) identified quickness of the services and the friendliness of restaurant attendants as among the most satisfying attributes of restaurants. Therefore, the study of selection ratings, performance perceptions, and satisfaction measures are integral in understanding the satisfaction level of Remington’s Restaurant.

Answers to Research Questions

This section of the research project provides answers to the nine research questions. Given that research questions emanate from two sources, the sections will focus on the questions derived from the research process followed by the questions derived from survey data.

Research Questions on Research Process

RQ1: Is a survey research design the appropriate research design that Remington’s Restaurant selected when compared to secondary data design and an observation design?

The survey research design is the appropriate research design for this study because it involves the collection of perceptions and opinions of patrons concerning the performance of Remington’s Restaurant and the satisfaction level of customers. According to Mitchell and Jolley (2012), surveys are advantageous because they are easy to administer via mail, cheap to administer owing to self-administration, reliable since they have no researcher’s bias, and accurate in the collection of data due to the structuring of responses.

Comparatively, the survey research design is appropriate when compared to secondary data design and an observation design. Secondary data design focuses on the data that is already collected and analyzed. Such a form of data is not reliable because it does not provide specific data that fits the needs of Remington’s Restaurant. Essentially, secondary data design does not provide updated data, unlike a survey research design, which collects primary data. Moreover, the survey research design is better than the observation design because it has no researcher’s bias, and it is easy to administer. The observation design allows the researcher’s bias because observation is subjective, and thus, inaccurate in the collection of perceptions and opinions from patrons. As observation requires researchers to interact with patrons, the data collected is prone to bias.

RQ2: Are the types of data that Remington’s Restaurant collected using surveys regarding the perception of performance and satisfaction of services better than other forms of data, such as nominal data?

The types of data that Remington’s Restaurant collected through surveys administered to patrons via email are ordinal and interval data. The ordinal form of data emanated from the structured responses in the form of a seven-point scale. The responses of the six selection ratings, the six performance perceptions, and six measures of satisfaction are on a seven-point scale, where one represents strongly disagree, and seven represents strongly agree. The age of patrons and annual gross income of households are on a five-point ordinal scale. Analytically, ordinal, and interval scales are better than nominal data because they allow statistical analysis, such as descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, and regression analysis amongst other test statistics.

RQ3: Did Remington’s Restaurant constructed questions appropriately in terms of contents, wording, and response strategy?

The analysis of the questions indicates that Remington’s Restaurant constructed its contents appropriately. The first three questions allowed screening of individuals, and thus, enhanced the selection of the right patrons, who have the experience of consuming food in casual dining restaurants. The next three categories of questions focused on selection ratings of the restaurant, performance perceptions, and satisfaction measures. The contents of the selection ratings and performance perception assessed portion of food, competence of employees, quality of food, speed of service, and atmosphere of the restaurant, which captured attributes of a restaurant and perceptions of performance. The contents of satisfaction measures evaluate the satisfaction of patrons, the likelihood of their return, the likelihood to recommend to friends, and the frequency of patronage. The contents of the last category of questions examined the number of children, the experience of seeing adverts, gender, age group, annual gross household income, and the competing restaurants. The contents of these questions captured the objectives of the research, and hence, promote the collection of the appropriate form of data for Remington’s Restaurant.

The analysis of the wording shows that the research questions used simple words, which do not complicate the understanding of patrons. Vogt, Gardner, and Haeffele (2012) assert that the research questions should be simple and straightforward for respondents to understand and answer them accordingly. In this case, all the research questions were short and used simple words, which eased the understanding of patrons. In the aspect of response strategy, the structured research responses in the ordinal scale. Brace (2008) states that the ordinal scale transforms qualitative data into quantitative data, which are applicable in statistical analysis, such as descriptive statistics and test statistics. The main questions about the restaurant ratings, performance perceptions, and measures of satisfaction have responses structured on a seven-point scale. In contrast, classification questions such as income category and age group have a five-point scale structure. The research structured other responses into two and three categories represented by numerical values.

Research Questions on Survey Data

RQ1: What is the demographic profile of Remington’s average patron?

The purpose of the research question is to investigate the demographic profile of Remington’s average patron. The variables that are present in research question one are age, gender, number of children, advertisement seen in the past 60 days, annual household income, and most familiar competitors. These variables were measured by six fixed choice questions in the survey. The variables, such as several children, age of patrons, and household income, are on the ordinal scale. At the same time, gender, advertisements are seen in the past 60 days, and most familiar competitors are on an interval scale. The respondents selected their age group, indicated their gender, stated the number of children, showed their level of annual household income, stated if they have seen adverts in the past 60 days, and chose the most familiar competitors. The descriptive analysis of data was done, and the measure of central tendency (mode) was indicated, as shown in Table 1 below.

The demographic profile, as shown in Table 1 above, indicates that the average Remington’s patron is a male with the ages between 35 and 49 years, who has one or two children. The average annual household income of Remington’s patron is between $35,001 and $50,000. Although most patrons have not seen adverts in the past 60 days, they recognize Outback as the most familiar competitor of Remington Restaurant.

RQ2: What are Remington’s scores on each of the six performance measures, namely, has large portions, has competent employees, has excellent food quality, has quick service, has a good atmosphere, and has reasonable prices.

The purpose of the research question two is to investigate the performance measures of Remington’s Restaurant. The variables of research question two, which measures performance: has large portions, has competent employees, has excellent food quality, has quick service, has a good atmosphere, and has reasonable prices, which were measured by six fixed questions from the survey. The data collected using these questions are on the ordinal scale, where respondents selected responses on a seven-point scale, with one representing strongly disagree and seven representing strongly agree. Descriptive statistics were used in the analysis of the ordinal data, and the measure of central tendency (mean) and the measure of dispersion (standard deviation) were presented as findings. Table 2 below presents the results of the descriptive analysis.

The sample of Remington’s patrons gave diverse opinions regarding the importance of has a large portion, has competent employees, has excellent food quality, has quick service, has a good atmosphere, and has reasonable prices. Regarding has a large portion, patrons somewhat disagreed that Remington’s Restaurant offers large portions of food. With an average rating of 3.27 and a standard deviation of 0.91, the range of responses fell between 2.36 and 4.18, which suggests that Remington’s Restaurant performs slightly below the average to slightly above the average on the largeness of portions. Regarding has competent employees, patrons somewhat disagreed that Remington’s Restaurant has competent employees. With an average rating of 3.88 and a standard deviation of 1.35, the range of responses fell between 2.53 and 5.23, and hence, suggest that Remington’s Restaurant performs slightly below the average to significantly above the average on the competence of employees.

Regarding the variable, which has excellent food quality, patrons agreed that Remington’s Restaurant has excellent quality of food. With an average rating of 6.12 and a standard deviation of 0.97, the range of responses fell between 5.15 and 7.09, suggesting that Remington’s Restaurant performs significantly above the average to excellence on the quality of food. Concerning the variable of has quick service, patrons somewhat disagreed that Remington’s Restaurant has quick service. With an average rating of 3.41 and a standard deviation of 1.22, the range of responses fell between 2.19 and 4.63, and thus, suggest that Remington’s Restaurant performs significantly below the average to slightly above the average on the quickness of service. Regarding the variable has a good atmosphere, patrons somewhat agreed that Remington’s Restaurant has a good atmosphere. With an average rating of 5.65 and a standard deviation of 1.21, the range of responses fell between 4.44 and 6.86, and hence, suggest that Remington’s Restaurant performs slightly above the average to slightly below excellence on the goodness of atmosphere. Regarding the variable of has reasonable prices, patrons somewhat agreed that Remington’s Restaurant has reasonable prices. With an average rating of 5.34 and a standard deviation of 0.81, the range of responses fell between 4.53 and 6.15, and thus, suggest that Remington’s Restaurant performs slightly below the average to slightly below excellence on the reasonableness of prices.

RQ3: Is there a statistically significant difference in satisfaction with Remington’s Restaurant by gender?

The purpose of this section is to answer research question 3, which investigates if male and female patrons exhibit statistically significant differences in satisfaction with Remington’s Restaurant. The null hypothesis is that there is no statistically significant difference in satisfaction with Remington’s Restaurant by gender, and the alternative hypothesis is that there is a statistically significant difference in satisfaction with Remington’s Restaurant by gender. The variables in research question 3 are satisfaction ratings and gender, which were each measured by two fixed choice questions from the questionnaire. The data of satisfaction ratings were ordinal, where respondents gave their ratings on a seven-point scale, while the data of gender were in interval ratio, where respondents selected 0 for males and 1 for females. Ultimately, the data were analyzed by a two-sample z-test for means in Microsoft Excel, using a statistical significance level of.05. Table 3 below presents the results of the data analysis.

According to the z-test for two sample means in table 3, the p-value of.0014 is less than the statistical significance level of.05. The low p-value suggests a rejection of the null hypothesis and acceptance of the alternative hypothesis. Specifically, the alternative hypothesis states that there is a statistically significant difference in perceived satisfaction between males and females. Thus, hypothesis testing implies that male and female patrons have different perceptions of satisfaction with Remington’s Restaurant.

RQ4: What is the correlation coefficient (r) for has competent employees, as the independent variable, and satisfaction with Remington’s Restaurant, as the dependent variable?

The purpose of this section is to answer research question 4, which asks for the correlation coefficient (r). The variables in the research question 4 have competent employees, which is the independent variable, and patron satisfaction with Remington’s Restaurant, which is the dependent variable. These variables are measured by two fixed choice questions from the questionnaire, where respondents selected values from a seven-point scale, with one representing strongly disagree and seven representing strongly agree. Data were analyzed using the correlation coefficient (r), and results were presented in table 4 below.

According to table 4, there is a modest and positive relationship (r =.57) between the competence of employees and patron satisfaction with Remington’s Restaurant.

RQ5: What is the coefficient of determination (r²) for has competent employees, as the independent variable, and satisfaction with Remington’s Restaurant, as the dependent variable?

The purpose of this section is to answer research question 5, which asks for the coefficient of determination. The variables in research question 5 are has competent employees and patron satisfaction with Remington’s Restaurant measured by two fixed-choice questions from the questionnaire. The research questions allowed respondents to select values of 1 to 7, with one representing strongly disagree and seven representing strongly agree. Data were analyzed using the coefficient of determination (r-squared) and the results presented in table 5 below.

Table 5: Relationship Between “Has CE” and “Patron Satisfaction”: Coefficient of Determination Added

Variable

r r²

Has CE and Patron Satisfaction

.57.33

According to table 5, there is a modest and positive relationship (r = 0.57) between has competent employees and patron satisfaction with Remington’s Restaurant. Specifically, has competent employees explains 33 percent of satisfaction, leaving 77 percent unexplained.

RQ6: Is there a statistically significant relationship between satisfaction with Remington’s and each of the performance perceptions, namely, has competent employees, has excellent food quality, and has quick service?

The purpose of this section is to answer research question 6, which asks if a significant relationship between satisfaction with Remington’s Restaurant and performance perceptions. Satisfaction with Remington’s Restaurant is a single question in which the respondents used a seven-point scale in rating the level of satisfaction with one representing strongly disagree and two representing strongly agree. Performance perceptions comprise of six variables, namely, has competent employees, has excellent food quality, and has quick service, where respondents rated using a seven-point scale. Ultimately, the data were analyzed using regression analysis, and the results presented, as shown in Table 6 below.

According to table 6, there is a modest and positive relationship (r = 0.57) between has competent employees and patron satisfaction with Remington’s Restaurant. Specifically, has competent employees explain 32 percent of patron satisfaction, leaving 78 percent of unexplained. Table 6 also shows that there is a very weak and positive relationship (r = 0.28) between has excellent food quality and patron satisfaction. In essence, has excellent food quality explains 8 percent of patron satisfaction, leaving 92% of unexplained. Similarly, there is a weak and positive relationship (r = 0.40) between has quick service and patron satisfaction. Essentially, has quick service explains 16 percent of patron satisfaction, leaving 84 percent unexplained. Overall, the p-values of the three variables of performance perceptions indicate that has competent employees, has excellent food quality, and has quick service have significant relationships with patron satisfaction.

Recommendations

This section offers recommendations to Remington’s Restaurant basing on the research objectives and research questions. Data analysis provides insights into how patrons rate restaurants, perceive performance and measure satisfaction. Therefore, the following are recommendations that Remington’s’ Restaurant should consider in improving its ratings, performance, and satisfaction of patrons.

1. The findings of question one indicate that survey research design is better than observation research design and secondary research design because it is accurate, easy to respond, cheap to administer, and free from researchers’ biases. Hence, Remington’s Restaurant should use survey research design in undertaking comprehensive research among its potential patrons.
2. The analysis of the types of data that the research used indicates that they are on an ordinal and interval scale. These scales of data are better than nominal because they allow descriptive analysis and hypothesis testing. Therefore, Remington’s Restaurant needs to structure its surveys in a manner that converts qualitative data to quantitative data for descriptive analysis and hypothesis testing.
3. Analysis of how the study constructed research questions indicates that Remington’s Restaurant used appropriate wording and response strategy, which enhances the accuracy of collecting data. However, the contents did not capture all the attributes of a restaurant. In this view, Remington’s Restaurant needs to incorporate additional attributes such as location, diversity of food, the safety of food, parking space, and décor, amongst other attributes.
4. Research question four indicates that a typical patron of Remington’s Restaurant is a male with ages of between 35 years to 49 years, a family of 1 to 2 children, and an annual household income of $35,001-$50,000. Based on this data, Remington’s Restaurant should target individuals with these attributes, who are mainly middle-class individuals, because they are potential customers.
5. Regarding the perception of performance as investigated by the fifth question, the findings indicate that Remington’s Restaurant scored poorly in has large portions, has competent employees, and has quick service for respondents somewhat disagreed with these assertions. In this view, Remington’s Restaurant should improve on these performance attributes to meet the needs of customers.
6. Analysis of gendered satisfaction using the z-test indicates that male patrons are more satisfied than female patrons. The difference in satisfaction implies that Remington’s Restaurant should enhance the satisfaction level of female patrons.
7. The finding of question seven is that there is a modest and positive relationship (r =.57) between has competent employees and patron satisfaction with Remington’s Restaurant. The existence of such a relationship requires Remington’s Restaurant to hire competent employees who know how to treat and serve patrons well.
8. In question eight, the coefficient of determination (r²) indicates that “has competent employees” explains 33 percent of “patron satisfaction.” Therefore, Remington’s Restaurant should focus on hiring competent employees because they contribute significantly to the satisfaction of patrons.

The answers to question nine show that the performance measures, such as has competent employees, has excellent food quality, and has quick service have significant relationships with patron satisfaction. Thus, Remington’s Restaurant should improve on these performance measures because they are significant predictors of patron satisfaction.

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