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Introduction
Background information
The results of the previous studies have revealed the growing trends in increased interests to dine away from homes. The increase in these interests translates to the diverse nature of todays generation. Food and beverage outlets in most cases are frequented by young and sophisticated individuals. In addition, the level of competition among the outlets has increased within the industry. The customers who choose to dine in high-end food outlets usually prefer to experience a total dining fantasy. Understanding the expectations of the customers by the restaurant proprietors is valuable enough to help in making decisions to attract and retain different personalities of the customers.
Nonetheless, the available literature mainly focusing on what motivates young adults to frequent food and beverage outlets is very limited. This study, therefore, aims to advance the limited research in this field and generate new perceptions in regards to the choice and preferences of the consumers.
Fast food restaurants
Fast food restaurants are popular among young adults. These restaurants sell foodstuffs which are cheaper and are served quickly. Many of these young adults are bachelors or spinsters with limited dependents and commitments; therefore, they prefer a quicker fix. The kinds of food here are fries, chicken and pizza among others, and they are normally prepared faster and served quickly. Fast food business is gaining much popularity internationally due to the fact that it is much different from the normal restaurant business; the foods are easier and faster to prepare. Furthermore, a customer can eat and work or engage in another different activity simultaneously when using fast food outlets (Keller, 1993, p. 108).
Globally, the pace of living has escalated; this has called for shorter dining hours. The rapid expansion of fast food business has been supported by this fact. Eating out in food outlets not only satisfies the diners hunger, it also adds to the diners pleasure, entertainment, socializing, and personal convenience. A proper business strategy for the fast food outlets is so beneficial to understand the plan for the evolving needs of the customers. The strategy is in terms of the restaurants image, high quality service, proper planning, etc. The restaurants image is very beneficial in contributing to the success of the fast food business due to the fact that it creates customer loyalty and trust. Many young adults prefer to be associated to a specific outlet where they get a high quality service (Aaker, 1991, p. 26).
Due to the fact that there is increased competition and fast paced changes in the global market, many food outlets have regarded the management of their image as the top most objective. In a real sense, the restaurant proprietors find it impossible to manage their image because of the fact that the fast food outlets provide similar products. They therefore resort to lower pricing as the top most means of attracting customers. Providing discounts to customers is regarded as the most convenient way of attracting and retaining customers; but at the same time it frustrates the business in regards to low profits (Aaker, 1991, p. 27).
Existing literature suggests that proper management of restaurants is economically beneficial. In regards to this, many firms have resorted to proper restaurant business management to create an appealing awareness to young adults who are the main catch. When awareness has been created, the customers will be loyal to a particular food outlet in order to have a sense of recognition or image. This study, therefore, explores on what food outlets do to capture the interests of the young adults and make them visit the outlets on a regular and constant basis and enhance their loyalty.
There are four dimensions that determine the level of re-visits by a customer. These dimensions are: level of awareness created by the food outlet, the quality of service/food, the loyalty to the food outlet, and the image of the food outlet. These four dimensions will be explored in this study. The perceptions of the customers regarding a food outlet will be tied to the four dimensions. Each dimension has a diverse influence on the customers ability to revisit the food outlet over and over again.
Problem Statement
Many people have lately preferred eating away from home rather than eating at home. Various studies have revealed that households spending on eating out has gone up. With the increase in demand for food away from home, many eating outlets have come up. With the increased number of eating outlets, competition in regards to the quality of food service has gone up, resulting to improved quality standards (Jones & Slater, 2003, p. 163).
The restaurant proprietors have an uphill task to satisfy the surge in demand by the consumers. They have to be innovative and add value to the quality that they already have. The many restaurants make these kinds of decisions differently, and these decisions influence the consumers motivation to come back and visit the eating outlets again and again. The kinds of decisions that are made are in regards to the quality of food, the ambiance of the restaurant, the quality of the service, and the varieties of the foods that are served. These normally vary from one restaurant to the other. Diners normally regard the first impression/experience highly and they use their judgment to make dining decisions (Doyle, 2002, p. 122).
There is an urgent need for the restaurant proprietors to categorize the needs of the diners since these needs are important in decision making. They use this information to plan adequately for the supplies of their offerings and execution of their strategies. Information about consumer behaviour is also very relevant to the restaurant operators as it guides them to understand the nature of the target market (Doyle, 2002, p. 123).
Justification of the study
This study is very important due to the fact that it adds to the available body of knowledge regarding the factors that motivate the young adults to visit the food outlets regularly. The results of this study are very relevant to the hotel proprietors because they can use it for strategic and planning purposes so that they can come up with clear-cut objectives to attract and retain a large customer base.
CHAPTER TWO
Literature Review
Introduction
This chapter reviews the theories both empirical and theoretical that are closely linked with understanding why young adults are motivated to visit a particular food outlet over and over again.
Theoretical framework
Behaviour of the consumers
Having an elaborate insight in regards to the behaviour of the consumers is very useful in planning for the consumer based services. In line with this it is easier to point out the perception of the consumers toward a particular product. Consumer behaviour can therefore be explained as the procedures that consumers pursue when seeking to buy or examine a product or a service that is meant to live up to their desires (Belch & Belch, 2004, p. 123).
Turley and Moore (1995, p. 47), in their study categorised the behaviour of the consumers into two, for instance, cognitive consumer behaviour, and consumer behaviour tied to the consumers experience (experience-oriented). The difference between the two is that cognitive consumers are rational while experienced consumers have a personal relationship with the product or the service. Consequently, Turley and Moore (1995, p. 47), in their study described four vivid characteristics of a consumer. The characteristics are: logical, educated, innocent, and social.
Logical consumers will want to have a good knowledge about the product or service plus the added features before taking the step to buy it. By digging into the information about the product, an association or attitude between the consumer and the product/service is developed. It is this association/attitude that will determine whether the consumer will buy the product/service or not (McDonald & Sharp, 2000, p. 10). In the context of this study, many young adults are explorers; they would wish to know more about a restaurant and develop an attitude/attachment to the restaurant before going to eat out. Logical consumers can therefore be summarised in three steps, for instance, KNOWLEDGE’ATTUTUDE’ACTION.
Innocent consumers, on the other hand, first develop an attitude/association towards the product/service. It is the attitude that will drive them to seek for more knowledge or information regarding the product. After getting the knowledge, they make a decision as to whether to buy the product or not (Ladhari, Brun & Morales, 2008, p. 569). In the context of this study, young adults tend to be influenced by their friends or colleagues to develop an attitude about a particular restaurant. After that they become curious to know more about the products and services in that restaurant before moving on to make the purchase. Innocent consumers can therefore be summarised in three steps, for instance, ATTITUDE’KNOWLEDGE’ACTION.
Educated consumers derive their behaviour from regular habits. Their purchase of a product is spontaneous; they do not plan to make a purchase of a product of their choice. A perfect example is a consumer who purchases a newspaper. He will first purchase the newspaper, get to know the information about it and then develops an attitude/association with the newspaper. Their behaviour can be summarised into three steps, for instance, ACTION’KNOWLEDGE’ATTITUDE.
The last category is consumers who are influenced by the social surroundings in which they operate in. They normally make a decision to purchase a product/service as a result of the kind of lifestyle that they live in, or as a result of their social status. Their behaviour can also be summarised into three steps, for instance, ACTION’ATTITUDE’KNOWLEDGE.
The motivation of the consumers/customer is influenced by a number of factors, for instance, the culture in which the consumer is associated with, the status of the consumer in the society, the age, economic status and the occupation of the consumer, and finally the attitude, perception and beliefs of the consumer (Kotler et al. 1999).
Purchasing habits of the consumers
Turley and Moore (1995, p. 46), in their study explained that the purchasing habit of a consumer is tied to his taste of the product, perception of the product, and his lifestyle. The buying behaviour of the consumer is influenced by a number of internal and external factors; this makes it a complex phenomenon altogether (Kotler et al. 1999). The purchasing habit of the consumer is broken down into five stages as represented below:
The above diagram illustrates the stages involved in the purchasing habits of the consumer. It appreciates the fact that the consumers make decisions in a five stage model.
Relationship between quality of service and customers choice
It is important for food outlets must have a clear picture of what the customer expects from them (Josiam & Monteiro, 2004, p. 22). The consumers choice on the quality of a service is very different from their choices in regards to choosing goods or products. This is because services are much more different from commodities. Goods are tangible and can be touched, while services are not tangible. Goods are perishable, service is not, and so on (Kotler et al. 1999; Josiam & Monteiro, 2004, p. 22). Therefore, this challenges the customers when comparing services and products.
Intangibility of service
Unlike goods or products, service cannot be felt, or touched, or tasted, or seen (Aaker, 1991, p. 67). Customers are known to make choices based on both tangible and intangible factors. Dimensions like the quality of the food or service, and the price of the product in relation to the service are some examples of intangible factors that influence the decision making process of the consumers (Asp, 1999, p. 290). The restaurant proprietors normally opt to concentrate on tangible factors that are aimed at influencing the customers decision making. The tangible dimensions that they adopt are: good ambiance of the restaurant, choice of music and sound level, improved facilities, and so on (Auty, 1992, p. 330; Bailey & Tian, 2002, p. 60).
Variability of the service
Service varies from a service provider to another and also from a customer to another (Bailey & Earle, 1993, p. 262). Due to this variability, consumers have an uphill task to make decisions to choose one service provider over another (Bailey & Tian, 2002, p. 60). The restaurant proprietors also have an uphill task of maintaining a steady level of operation in terms of the quality of the food or service (Belch & Belch, 2004, p. 43). For instance, if a restaurant waiter/waitress gets a complaint from a customer, the complaint will influence him/her to provide low quality services consequently (Kotler et al. 1999).
Inseparability of the service
A restaurant proprietor will gauge the efficiency of the service only after he/she has sold the service. On the other hand, a customer will gauge the efficiency of the service only after he/she has bought it (Kivela, Inbakaran & Reece, 2000, p. 22; Kivela, 1997, p. 120). The level of professionalism of the restaurant employees will give the customers an insight in regards to the service quality. In the same context, the feedback or responses received from customers will give the restaurant proprietors a perception in regards to the customers satisfaction regarding the restaurants service (Kotler et al. 1999).
Perishability of the service
Customers can purchase physical products at any given time due to the fact that they can be stored and sold at any time the customer asks about their availability. On the other hand, it is not possible to store a service. When a service is not sold, it translates to the fact that the service does not exist in the first place (Kotler, Bowen & Makens, 1998, p. 253). One way of illustrating this is to take, for instance, a customer who has made a reservation and fails to show up. The restaurant will fail to serve other customers when the restaurant becomes full because they are anticipating the arrival of the customer who reserved the table. Due to the fact that the nature of the customers is uncertain, the restaurant proprietors find it challenging to find the balance between the supply and demand for their services (Kotler, Bowen & Makens, 1998, p. 253).
The model of decision making by the consumers
Very many scholars have come up with different interpretations of the model of decision making by the consumers. This model gives an explanation of the steps that any consumer takes just immediately after seeing the product up to the time he/she makes the decision to purchase the product. Due to the fact that services vary from one restaurant to another, the process by which consumers make their decisions when it comes to using a service is far much different from the process by which they make their decisions when purchasing a physical product.
Ladhari, Brun and Morales (2008, p. 570), in their study, came up with a five-stage model of the consumer decision making process. These stages are discussed in the section below.
Acknowledging the need
The process starts with the need recognition whereby the consumers define their needs. The needs can be created due to both internal and external factors. An example of an internal factor is when the consumer decides to eat because he/she is hungry. An example of an external factor is when the need of the consumer is created when he sees an advert about a product. It is important for restaurant owners to be familiar with the factors that capture the interests of young adults. These needs can be related to a setup of a restaurant. The physiological needs of the customers will motivate them to use a particular restaurant. The restaurant owner or workers then treat the customers with a good quality service which gives them a sense of belongingness and safety. In addition, customers prefer to choose a particular restaurant that is in line with their esteem; thus, giving them a status in the society (Miller, 1993, p. 48).
The consumer acknowledges the fact that indeed there is a need that exists. To the consumers, the need is the problem that drives them to find solutions for the same (Johns & Pine, 2002, p. 132; Josiam & Monteiro, 2004, p. 22). According to Maslow (1970, p. 47), there is a hierarchy of human needs which includes: the physiological needs, the need for safety, the need for belongingness, the need for self-esteem, and finally the need for self-actualization. These needs were ranked by Maslow (1970, p. 47) in regards to the order of importance.
The search for information
In this stage the consumer is motivated to know more about the product/service of interest. After that the consumer evaluates the available existing alternatives whereby he can compare prices and quality. The consumer then makes the decision to make the purchase. In the final stage, the post-purchase decision, the consumer will gauge their prospects about the product/service against the performance of the product (Kotler et al. 1999).
The information can be sought from friends, colleagues or even the media (Ladhari, Brun & Morales, 2008, p. 568). Logical consumers will want to have a good knowledge about the product or service plus the added features before taking the step to buy it. By digging into the information about the product, an association or attitude between the consumer and the product/service is developed. It is this association/attitude that will determine whether the consumer will like the service (Lovelock, Patterson & Walker, 1998, p. 251).
Exploring on the possible alternatives
When a customer has already identified a need and has gathered enough information about the need, he/she will look for other possible options that exist in regards to the category of the need the customer has. In this instance, the customer will explore on the various characteristics of the need to help him/her make a decision (Brookes, 2004, p. 162).
In the context of a restaurant, the specific attributes that are explored by the customer include: varieties of food available, the prices, the taste of the food, and so on. This explains the primary reason why one restaurant is chosen over another (Kotler et al. 1999).
The purchase
After the successful consideration of the top three stages, the customer will make his/her mind to purchase the service from the preferred vendor and consume it. In the context of a restaurant, the process of purchase and consumption are complementary; they happen together. At this stage the customer is very confident because he/she has enough and relevant information about the service (Kim, 2000, p. 49; Hoffman & Bateson, 2001, p. 26).
Evaluation of the service after the purchase
Restaurant operators are required to have in mind this process of decision making in order to know and understand what the consumers needs are in each stage. This will also help them in making useful strategies in the near future (Macdonald & Sharp, 2004, p. 8; Jackson, Titz & DeFranco, 2004, p. 23). Rational consumers will want to evaluate if their expectations have been satisfied by the service after purchase and consumption. When the customer is satisfied, he/she is likely to make the restaurant the top choice. The customer is also very likely to become very loyal to the restaurant and refer a friend to the same restaurant. In future, the customer will not feel overburdened to pay more for the service because he/she has full confidence (Ladhari, Brun & Morales, 2008, p. 568).
Consumer behaviour when selecting restaurants
According to previous studies of the same, various scholars came up with different factors that influence the consumers decisions before selecting restaurants. Mill (2007, p. 68), in his study to explore on what influences the decisions of a customer, found out that the quality of food and the ambiance of the restaurant played a big role in influencing the customers decisions. Dugan (1994, p. 82), in his study also found out that the decisions of the consumers are influenced mostly by the image of the restaurant and what other people say about the restaurant. In addition, he found out that the older people like quiet places with a good ambiance and tasty foods. Younger people, on the other hand, prefer restaurants that provide quick foods with very fair prices.
Auty (1992, p. 325), in his study also found out that the choice of a customer is influenced by the variety of food, the price of the food, and the quality of the service/food. Very many customers are fully satisfied with the restaurant if the prices are fair and the food quality is good. The customers will have a good reason to revisit the restaurant again and even recommend the restaurant to a friend (Auty, 1992, p. 325).
What determines the restaurant decisions
The decision making process by the consumers is also affected by the influence of others. A customer can decide to choose a particular food outlet because his/her friends normally frequent there. The young adults normally have a habit of exchanging ideas with their friends regarding new food outlets that have come up in order to get their advice. When a food outlet is regarded highly by friends, the customer is most likely to prefer it. Advertising also influences the decision making process of the customers. It creates more awareness about the product since it is the biggest form of communication (Aaker, 1991, p. 65). Other factors include the packaging of the service and the convenience of the service (Bailey & Earle, 1993, p. 262).
Many young adults are regarded to be rational consumers. They first want to have a knowledge about the product, develop and attitude before proceeding to make the purchase. Their decisions to purchase are influenced by both internal and external factors. The first factor that motivates the young adults is the quality of the food or service. Aaker (1991, p. 120) in his study found out that any given brand stems its identity from its quality. The consumers, therefore, pay great attention to the service quality that is available.
The young adults also normally look at the price of the product or service as another factor that influences their decisions to choose a food outlet. Price and quality are complementary, in that, the highest quality attracts the highest prices and vice versa. Many fast food outlets have lowered their prices to enhance their competitive edge in the market; thus, reducing their financial risks (McDonald & Sharp, 2000, p. 10).
This study analyses the decision making process of the consumer and further explores on those factors that entice consumers to come back and eat in a restaurant again. This area also relies on the findings of other studies to explore on factors like the awareness created by the food outlet, the quality of the food and service, and the image of the food outlet in relation to the loyalty of the customers. Food outlets have very choosy and sensitive customers. This matters a lot when it comes to their decision making process (Bailey & Earle, 1993, p. 262).
Very many scholars have explored on the factors that influence the choice of a food outlet. Very many factors have been named, but there are top four factors that really stand out. Various studies have identified the quality of the food as a top factor. In addition, the quality of the service has also stood out to be a top factor. These two factors have an instant effect on the satisfaction of the customer and also on the post purchase behaviour of the customer (Ennew & Binks, 1996, p. 220; Finkelstein, 1989, p. 33; Goldman, 1993, p. 68; Ladhari, Brun & Morales, 2008, p. 569).
Very many studies have pointed out to the fact that food quality is highly correlated to the satisfaction of the customer. On the other hand, other studies have also pointed out to the fact that service quality is highly correlated to the satisfaction of the customer (Dube, Renaghan & Miller, 1994, p. 42). Consumers therefore make their choices in line with the factors of food quality and service quality.
The quality of the food
Many studies exploring on what influence the customers decisions to choose a food restaurant have identified food quality as a top factor (Doyle, 2002, p. 65; Dillman, 2007, p. 48; Cowell, 1989, p. 79; Turley & Moore, 1995, p. 47). Food quality has various dimensions that rational consumers normally look at. These dimensions include: the taste of the food, the assortment of foodstuffs, healthy food, and known (uncomplicated) food.
Taste of the food
The taste of the food has an immediate effect on the consumers decision to choose a restaurant. It is the most important dimension of food quality (Kim & Geistfeld, 2003, p. 73; Keller, 1993, p. 10). The main reason why customers choose to eat out is to enable them to have access to food that they cannot prepare by themselves in their homes; therefore, the taste of the food and the choice of ingredients are very important (Kelly & Carvell, 1987, p. 64).
Assortment of foodstuffs
Customers normally prefer a restaurant with a wide variety of foodstuffs in their menus. Customers find eating in a restaurant with a limited assortment of foodstuff to be monotonous since they eat the same type of food all the time (Kelly & Carvell, 1987, p. 64). A wide variety of foodstuffs in the menu are, therefore, a very important aspect that the customers look at keenly.
Healthy food
There is a growing trend by many customers all over the world to mind their health by choosing to eat food that doesnt interfere with their body system, for instance, people in advanced age normally prefer to eat food with minimal levels of cholesterol (Hassan & Hall, 2004, p. 92; June & Smith, 1987, p. 24). In regards to this, many restaurants have redesigned their menus to capture the health benefits of the food with an aim of attracting many customers who are keen on healthy eating.
It is due to the element of health that will drive a customer to prefer Chinese food, or Indian food, or any other ethnic food due to the widespread belief that they are healthy foods (June & Smith, 1987, p. 24; Heung, Wong & Qu, 2000, p. 88).
Known food
Many customers come from diverse cultures and there are some specific foods that fit them. It is the responsibility of the restaurant owners to understand the culture of the customers and offer them familiar foods with familiar ingredients (Greenbaum, 1998, p. 83). Customers will always prefer restaurants that offer them familiar foods (Gregoire, Shanklin & Greathouse, 1995, p. 45).
The quality of the service
Before choosing to dine in a particular restaurant, customers normally do a background check up on the quality of the service. The attributes that are related to the quality of the service are the ambiance of the restaurant and the level of professionalism of the staffs (Hair, Bush & Ortinau, 2000, p. 49).
The ambiance of the restaurant
Customers will normally look at attributes like the physical decoration of the restaurant, the atmosphere inside, and the kind of seats in the restaurant as choice attributes before making the decision to use the restaurant (Hardy & Sheuy, 2000, p. 275; Bitner, 1992, p. 62). These attributes will highly influence the first-hand experience of the customers. Customers will therefore choose the restaurant with the highest quality of ambiance that highly satisfies them (Bitner, 1990, p. 72).
Professionalism level
Customers really like to be handled professionally with the best etiquette; this is an element of good customer service (Cowell, 1989, p. 42; Burnett & Moriarty, 1998, p. 92). It is always the human nature to make judgments based on the first impression or experience. In addition the customers normally want to be attended to by waiters who are patient, understanding, friendly and well familiar with the products on offer (Asp, 1999, p. 289; Burton, 1982, p. 39).
Reputation of the restaurant
Many customers will hear about a restaurants reputation through word of mouth. They can learn this from their friends or from other customers who are very familiar with the restaurant (Burton, 1990, p. 42; Cadotte & Turgeon, 1988, p. 47). Positive comments about a restaurant by friends will highly affect the decision making process of the customer; they are more likely to try out the new restaurant. This therefore implies that many customers will trust and believe what their friends or other customers say about the restaurant (Mill, 2007, p. 49).
It is normally a belief that when a customer is highly satisfied with a restaurant, chances are that the customer will recommend the restaurant to at least five friends. On the other hand, when a customer is highly dissatisfied with the services of a restaurant, there are high chances that the customer will share his/her bad experience with at least nine friends (Miller, 1993, p. 51). Therefore, when a customer knows that his/her friends are having a fantastic experience in a restaurant, he/she will have good confidence and will be very comfortable in choosing the restaurant (Bailey & Tian, 2002, p. 62).
Sales and marketing
Many restaurants that provide quality services to the customers normally resort to sales and marketing to make known their services to the customers. Usually this is an efficient move to boost the popularity of the restaurant (Cheng, 2006, p. 160). The various forms of sales and marketing that are used by restaurants to promote their services are: media adverts, carrying out sales promotion and using publicity (Mill, 2007, p. 96).
Sales promotion
Restaurants carry out sales promotions by giving the customers various offers like discounts, gifts, etc. These offers are normally on a short term basis (Lundberg & Walker, 1993, p. 36; Mill, 2007, p. 96). Many customers will be attracted to restaurants that give them discounts or redeemable points every time they dine there (Jackson, Titz & DeFranco, 2004, p. 27; Jones & Slater, 2003, p. 38).
Using publicity
Publicity is like a press statement or press release. Many restaurants often resort to publicity to make known their services to the customers. The main aim of using publicity is to reach out to those consumers who do not pay extra attention to advertising (Lundberg & Walker, 1993, p. 36).
Media advertising
This is the process whereby the restaurant owner uses the media to promote the ideas or services of his/her restaurant. The kinds of media commonly used by restaurants include: the internet, magazines, TVs and radios (Mill, 2007, p. 98). Many consumers, particularly the ones who are not residents in certain area normally use these external sources of information to know more about the services of a restaurant. This information will give the consumers assurances over their uncertainties (Churchill, 1979, p. 67; Clark & Wood, 1998, p. 142).
When a restaurant relates in a good way with the media, its image will be highly boosted. This can be used as a very effective way of communication aimed for marketing purposes. The media is the
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