Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty at Sambal Express - Research Paper Example

Research Project - A Study on Satisfaction and Loyalty at Sambal Express Chapter Four: Findings 4 Data Analysis For the purpose of analysis, the response of 50 random customers has been recorded in a questionnaire. A questionnaire is a set of printed questions relevant to the study which are devised to arrive at a quantitative result of the study (Bendat and Piersol, 2011). Mainly, questionnaire can be of two types viz. Open ended and close ended. Open ended questionnaires are designed to conduct the research qualitatively in order to assess the intrinsic aspects of the research objective (Brotherton, 2008). In this type of questionnaire, the respondents are allowed to express their views and opinions regarding the study. This type of questionnaire is helpful when the research is conducted to gain true and insightful suggestions of the consumers (Craver, 2014). In contrast, close ended questionnaire tends to quantify consumers’ response and analyse it using mathematical techniques or statistical tools (Gelman, Carlin, Stern and Rubin, 2014). In order to research on customer satisfaction and loyalty of the Sri Lankan Restaurant Sambal Express, a close ended questionnaire has been designed to capture the visitors’ reaction towards the restaurant and its different aspects including quality of food, ambiance and customer service, promptness and professionalism as well as overall satisfaction of the sample customer group. The questionnaire consists of 10 questions which are expected to confine all the attributes that will help the researcher to analyse the level of satisfaction of the customers of Sambal Express. 50 respondents were randomly selected from the regular visitors of the restaurant. 4.2. Explanation The first question was designed for the localities’ of South Harrow. The question consists of the name of four renowned restaurants of South Harrow including Sambal Express such as Eastern Eye, Jaflong, Golden Sovereign and Barcelos. When the respondents were asked about their most favourite restaurant among the five, 10% customers replied that they would love to go to the restaurant Eastern Eye. 24% voted for Jaflong while 26% of the customers selected Golden Sovereign to be their most favourite. Another 10% opted for Barcelos. However, more than 30% customers had chosen Sambal Express to be the first restaurant they consider when they think of a perfect dine out. The next question concentrates on counting the frequency of the consumers visiting Sambal Express. 26% of the customers select Sambal Express as their weekend destination whereas 28% of them have expressed their wish to visit the restaurant again during holidays and festivals. 22% customers visit Sambal Express over fortnight. The number of customers visits the restaurant once in a month or after an interval of 2 to 3 months is comparatively less (12% each) for Sambal Express. The third question attempts to understand the overall satisfaction level of the consumers. Excellence of Sambal Express is reflected when 52% customers revealed that they are extremely satisfied with the overall services of the restaurant. 22% of the customers are moderately satisfied whereas, 14% of the consumers are little satisfied with the services of Sambal Express. Degree of satisfaction is poor among a very small customer segment (12%). However, no consumer has shown complete dissatisfaction towards the services of Sambal Express. Considering the quality of food and ambiance of Sambal Express, almost 18% customers are of the opinion that the foods and surroundings of the restaurant is something beyond their expectations. 24% customers are moderately satisfied, whereas, 26% thinks it is almost same as any other restaurants in this range. 10% replied that the Srilankan food available at Sambal Express is below average and in fact, 4% of the respondents have replied that they find the food of Sambal Express is least preferred to them. When the respondents were asked if they get exactly what is ordered, approximately 26% consumers responded in unison. 30% customers of the opinion that in most of the time they get exactly what is placed in the order. 24% think that sometimes they get what they actually ordered whereas 14% customers find it difficult to relate the food placed to them and what was ordered in actual. More surprisingly, 6% of the customers never find any similarity in order placed and item served. While evaluating the quality of customer service and attitude of the manager and staff of Sambal Express, a huge portion of customers (28%) has responded that the courtesy and professionalism of the managers of Sambal Express are excellent. 36% of the visitors also found the staffs of the restaurant to be very good, whereas, 24% found the approaches of the staffs and manager to be moderate. However, according to 8% customers, customer service of Sambal Express is poor. In fact, 4% found the attitude and presentation of the staffs to be very poor and below standard. When the respondents were asked if they would like to recommend Sambal Express to their friends, relatives and colleagues, 30% of the customers said that they would strongly refer the restaurant so that their peers can also come and enjoy the authentic Srilankan food. Another 38% also responded that they would love to recommend Sambal Express to their peer groups. 14% have said that they will think whether they would like to recommend the restaurant whereas 10% have shown less confidence in this regard. In fact, 8% of the present customers have shown least interest in recommending Sambal Express and they have opted for “Never” when it comes to further recommendation of the restaurant. In the next question, researcher attempted to find out the expertise of Sambal Express. Hence, the next question on the questionnaire has to be the most amiable quotient of the restaurant that attracts the customers the most. 36% customers opted for the ambiance of the restaurant and almost 40% has shown their fondness about Srilankan food. 10% respondents said that the courteous behaviour of the manager and staffs drive them to visit Sambal Express again and again ,whereas, another 10% customers are on the opinion that overall the restaurant is likable for them but it is difficult to opt for one particular aspect among all. However, 4% of the respondents found nothing interesting about Sambal Express. When the customers present in Sambal Express were asked about their next visit, 20% of the respondents replied that they will visit again on the next week, 30% said that they are planning to come within next month where next visit of 14% are uncertain. A large number of customers (32%) responded that they would love to visit next during any occasions, festivals or family get together. In contrast, 4% have decided that they will never visit the restaurant again in the future. Finally, the customers were asked how they would rate Sambal Express in overall. According to 24% customers the restaurant is outstanding, whereas, as much as 18% of the customers find it very satisfying. 32% respondent rated it good and 8% found the restaurant to be moderately satisfying. However, experience in Sambal Express appeared to be least satisfying for 2% customers. Chapter Five: Data Interpretation Data interpretation indicates the process of interpreting the collection of numeric data associated to the study (Longest, 2014). It tends to determine the significance behind the findings and trends of the data accumulated from various sources for conducting the research (Grbich, 2012). Careful data interpretation facilitates arranging of the data in the form of graphs, chart, tables and other statistical calculations and analyse it on the basis of the pattern shown in such graphical or tabular representations (Hanssen, 2001). In this research, quantitative interpretation will be drawn in order to arrive at a definite inference about the level of customer satisfaction in Sambal Express and the degree of their customer loyalty (Little and Rubin, 2014). 5.1. Question 1 When the respondents were asked to name the restaurants that comes in their mind first when they think of vising a resturant in North Harrow, London, it aimed to capture the degree of responsiveness of the customers towards Sambal Express. From the graphical representation it is evident that a large proportion (30%) of the total sample size (50 respondents) has shown their interest in Sambal Express. Of course, all those customers have visited the restaurant prior to the survey and it indicates high level of satisfaction derived by them from the services provided by Sambal Express that led them to visit the restaurant whenever they think of a perfect dining out. In fact, it shows loyalty of the repeat customers who are ready to visit more and more to Sambal Express rather that exploring other leading restaurants available in this region. 5.2. Question 2 Considering the frequency of the customers’ visit, the above chart has revealed that during the festival seasons and occasions, the prime choice of the customers is Sambal Express. In fact, for a large chunk of the customers, Sambal Express is the most favourite weekend destination. Moreover, 22% of the sample group cannot resist themselves from visiting the restaurant less than once in a month. Such inclination of customers towards the restaurant shows high level of customer loyalty of Sambal Express as well. 5.3. Question 3 Considering the overall satisfaction level, more than 50% of the consumers have shown high satisfaction level. Customers satisfaction is accomplished when the approaches of the concerned business can fulfill the need, want and desire of the customers in a holistic manner. In fact, the survey result depiced that not a single customer of Sambal Express had reported their experience of complete dissatisfaction. Hence, analysing the trend, it can be deduced that the level of customer satisfaction is very high for the restaurent. 5.4. Question 4 Taking the taste and quality of the food served in Sambal Express as a parameter for measuring the level of customer satisfaction, here also a huge portion of the sample observed has shown their preferences over the Srilankan food available at the restaurant. Though a small percentage of customer revealed that they don’t like the taste of Srilankan food because of their use of extra spices, still their preference of visiting the restaurant can be attributed to the ambiance and other factors of Sambal Express. Observing the trend of huge acceptance of the taste and quality of foods served in Sambal Express, the reaction of 4% customers who have opted for “least preffered” can be justified by saying that they must be the local and aged people with British origin who are not at all accustomed to spices. 5.5. Question 5 More than average of the sample size have reported that they have received almost exactly what they have ordered. This shows professionalism and perfection of the staffs of Sambal Express. The 6-10% of customers who have reported that they have never received the order placed because they have faced difficulties in undersatnding the menue card and tent card. If the staffs can extend their level of assistance to understant the ingredients of the food items and suggest the customers those items that will suit their taste and preferences, Sambal Express can win the satisfaction and loyalty of this customer segment as well. 5.6. Question 6 Most of the respondents are of the opinion that the staffs and the managers here are very much well-mannered and courteous. Customers are welcomed with a warm smile and foods are served in a professional manner. However, it can be predicted that those customers who have marked in the questionnaire that they have never received the menues they have ordered, the same group of customers have mentioned here that the customer service is very poor. Hence, corrective actions should be taken by Sambal Express and helping hand should be extended to the customers in order to overcome such problems. The staffs and manager of the restaurent should be enlighten about such customers’ response and relevant training and development programs on advanced customer services should be arranged accordingly. 5.7. Question 7 Analysing the responses of the repondents, it has been observed that high proportion of the sample size, taken from a large population have agreed to refer Sambal Express to their friends, colleagues and relatives. This indicates that these customers are higly satisfied with the food quality and other aspects of the restaurent and are willing to share their satisfaction among their near and dear ones. This is a prominent sign of customer loyalty. Though a very small number of people has denied to refer the resturant to others or have shown confusion about their outlook towards Sambal express, care should be taken so that the ratio of such customers continually decrease. 5.8. Question 8 This question is framed to discover the main attributes that has facilitated Sambal Express to experience high level of customer satisfaction. On the other hand, this question will help the restaurant to identify the areas of improvement. The survey result has exposed that ambiance and food are the main expertise of Sambal Express depending upon which the restaurnat has gained customer satisfaction. However, improvement should be brought in the hygine factor so that even minimum number of customer satisfaction can be eradicated. 5.9. Question 9 High frequency of customer visit on repeated ocassions and weekends ensures high degree of customer loyalty for Sambal Express. In fact, a few customers only have said that they would never visit the restaurant again in future. No matter what reason influenced them to choose this option among all other available options to that particular question, corrective actions should be taken by Sambal Express to restrict the attrition of such customers. This is because word of mouth of these customers may create negetive publicity for Sambal Express. 5.10. Question 10 Considering the overall rating provided by all 50 respondent customers of Sambal Express, review of majority of the customers further strengthened enormous customer loyalty and established customer satisfaction for the restaurent. Threrfore, the research objective is established by deriving a positive customer satisfaction and customer loyalty for Sambal Express. Reference List Bendat, J. S. and Piersol, A. G., 2011. Random Data: Analysis and Measurement Procedures. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Brotherton, B., 2008. Researching Hospitality and Tourism: A Student Guide. London: SAGE Publications. Craver, K. W., 2014. Developing Quantitative Literacy Skills in History and the Social Sciences: A Web-Based Common Core Standards Approach. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. Gelman, A., Carlin, J. B., Stern, H. S. and Rubin, D. B., 2014. Bayesian data analysis. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 109(507), pp. 203-210. Grbich, C., 2012. Qualitative Data Analysis: An Introduction. London: SAGE. Hanssen, R. F., 2001. Radar Interferometry: Data Interpretation and Error Analysis. Berlin: Springer Science & Business Media. Little, R. J. A. and Rubin, D. B., 2014. Statistical Analysis with Missing Data. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Longest, K. C., 2014. Using Stata for Quantitative Analysis. London: SAGE Publications. Appendix 1. When you think of visiting a restaurant, which restaurant comes to your mind first? Eastern Eye Jaflong Golden Sovereign Barcelos Sambal Express 2. How often do you visit Sambal Express? Weekly Twice a Month Once in a Month Every 2-3 Months On festivals and occasions 3. How much satisfied are you with the overall services of the restaurant? Extremely Satisfied Somewhat Satisfied Neither Satisfied Nor Unsatisfied Somewhat Unsatisfied Extremely Unsatisfied 4. How do you like the taste and quality of the food items in Sambal Express? It’s out of the world Love it Average Below Average Least Preferred 5. Do you get exactly what you order? Always Most of the time Sometimes Infrequently Never 6. How do you find the customer service in Sambal Express? Excellent Good Moderate Poor Very Poor 7. Would you recommend the restaurant to your friends and colleagues? Strongly Recommend Recommend Will think of it Im not Sure Definitely Not 8. What do you like the most about Sambal Express? Ambiance Food Responsiveness of the Staffs Overall Atmosphere Hygine 9. When are you planning to visit Sambal Express next? Next Week Next Month On the Next Occasion Havent Decided Yet Never 10. Overall, how will you rate Smabal Express? Outstanding Satisfying Good Neither Good Nor Bad Least Satisfying Bibliography Render, D., 2009. Quantitative Analysis For Management. New Delhi: Pearson Education India. Roche, M. L., 2005. Cultural Perspectives On Services Marketing. Bradford: Emerald Group Publishing. Rosenthal, J. A., 2012. Statistics and Data Interpretation for Social Work. Berlin: Springer Publishing Company. Sinha, N. K., 2013. The Pearson Guide to Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation. New Delhi: Pearson Education India. Tang, Y., 2007. Quantitative Analysis, Derivatives Modeling, and Trading Strategies. Singapore: World Scientific. Turk, S. E., 2011. Research Methods for Leisure, Recreation and Tourism. London: CABI. Yin, R. K., 2013. Case Study Research: Design and Methods. London: SAGE Publications. Read More