Guest Satisfaction in Restaurants
Today, the starting point of marketing activities for businesses that produce all kinds of goods and services is the customer. It is not possible for businesses to produce goods or services without analyzing the expectations, needs and desires of their customers. Because today, a large number of goods and services are produced to meet the expectations, needs and wishes of customers and serve similar purposes, and businesses that want to provide competitive advantage in this environment and thus maximize both their profits and their image have to try to understand their customers.
For this reason, whatever kind of goods or services are in question, businesses have to take into account the thoughts and behaviors of their customers about their preferences. This is also true for restaurant businesses. Restaurant businesses, whose number is increasing day by day, have to take into account the preferences of their customers in order to meet the expectations, needs and demands of their customers, to maintain their existence and to stand out in the industry where there is intense competition.
Today, various factors such as increase in consumer income, increasing work intensity, increase in the number of working women, time saving, economy, socializing by meeting new people, being with family/friends, having fun, convenience, status-prestige, seeking novelty and avoiding cooking at home. Because of this, more people prefer to eat in restaurants. Restaurants are defined as places where people can sit and eat comfortably (Dash 2005: 5), and the restaurant industry consisting of restaurant businesses has become a growing industry (Pedraja and Yagüe 2001; Bareham 2004; Buchtal 2006).
While restaurant businesses contribute to the economy of the region they are located in, they also provide employment opportunities for those working in the tourism industry. Because restaurants are one of the critical factors underlying the touristic product such as accommodation, transportation, attractiveness and activity factors (Reynolds 1993: 48). People need many foods and beverages, both in their normal lives and during their travels, depending on their life period and their desire to be healthy (Antonioli 1995). Therefore, restaurants are an important factor affecting tourism marketing (Antonioli 1999; Wood 2000).
Restaurant businesses, which have an important place in the service economy, are faced with situations such as increasing labor costs, high turnover rate, competition, food and service differences, and price inconsistency that can drive the customer away from the business (Lee et al. 2011; National Restaurant Association 2011). For this reason, restaurant businesses need to provide effective service in an intense competitive environment, produce new products, recognize and understand the variables that cause differences in the minds of customers and affect their restaurant choices in order to attract more customers or to keep their customers coming back (Yüksel and Yüksel 2002). This is because restaurants are able to continue their existence with long-term success and to develop products that meet the needs and wishes of their customers,
Since the first effect is also the last effect, it is important for restaurant businesses to predict the decision-making processes consisting of different elements before deciding where customers will eat. As a matter of fact, customers are often hesitant to choose among these alternatives when they have too many alternatives (Myung et al. 2008: 120). For this reason, restaurant businesses need to provide an unforgettable experience for customers to stay loyal to the business and think that they get what they pay for (Alonso et al. 2013: 548). On the other hand, determining the factors affecting the restaurant preferences of the customers helps the restaurant managers to determine more accurate marketing strategies (Auty 1992;
"Restaurant Features" is the most important factor affecting customers' restaurant choices, followed by "Food and Beverages", "Services" and "Monetary Value" factors. The atmosphere of the restaurant, its reputation (image), cleanliness, the region where it is located, the fact that it offers customers a comfortable experience and that it is not crowded are the most important factors affecting restaurant choices for customers.
As a matter of fact, while Bitner (1992: 67) states that the atmosphere is extremely important on customer preferences and the experience they live, in some studies (Turley and Milliman 2000; Sulek and Hensley 2004; Han and Ryu 2009; Kim and Moon 2009), restaurant atmosphere is the reason why customers make choices about restaurants. They stated that it is the determining criterion when necessary, and that it affects the general Guest Satisfaction in Restaurants in of the customers and their loyalty to the business.
These results showed that the atmosphere is extremely important for customers and affects their intention to come back to the business. Therefore, restaurant businesses that want to increase customer satisfaction and be at the forefront in the competitive environment need to create an atmosphere in which customers will not be disturbed in order to increase the quality of the time they will spend in the restaurant and to ensure that they come back to the business.
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