Thesis
INTRODUCTION
Eating is a daily necessity. According to the hierarchy of needs, a person must fulfil the physiological needs which are food, water, air and shelter. People concentrate on satisfying these needs before turning to higher needs. In a fast paced and affluent society, eating out in restaurants has also become an important social and business occasion. The consumers usually have a wide range of options to choose from. There are restaurants by the thousands offering a full range of food varieties and services. As the number of restaurants has mushroomed, so the business has become much more competitive. Being able to meet consumers' basic expectations in today's situation at best can ensure business survival. To be successful and outstanding, a restaurant has to be able to exceed consumer’s expectation by really understanding customer’s reasons for selecting a particular type of dining experience.
According to the National Restaurant Association (NRA 2013) operator survey, a majority of restaurateurs said customer loyalty was more difficult to maintain than it was two years ago. On average, repeat customers represent sales of 71 per cent of quick service, 68 per cent of fast casual, 64 of casual dining, 63 per cent family dining and 51 per cent of fine-dining restaurants. In the quick service and fast-casual sub segments — where repeat customers are most critical for success — a solid proportion of operators reported gains in repeat business.
The forecast includes feedback culled from an annual NRA consumer survey. Their responses reveal a high pent-up demand for restaurants. Four of 10 adults said they weren’t visiting restaurants as often as they would have liked, compared to one in four during the mid-2000s, when the economy was stronger. About 10 per cent of respondents described the national economy as “excellent” or “good,” while the rest said it was “fair” or “poor.” As a result of poor consumer confidence, customer loyalty
Eating is a daily necessity. According to the hierarchy of needs, a person must fulfil the physiological needs which are food, water, air and shelter. People concentrate on satisfying these needs before turning to higher needs. In a fast paced and affluent society, eating out in restaurants has also become an important social and business occasion. The consumers usually have a wide range of options to choose from. There are restaurants by the thousands offering a full range of food varieties and services. As the number of restaurants has mushroomed, so the business has become much more competitive. Being able to meet consumers' basic expectations in today's situation at best can ensure business survival. To be successful and outstanding, a restaurant has to be able to exceed consumer’s expectation by really understanding customer’s reasons for selecting a particular type of dining experience.
According to the National Restaurant Association (NRA 2013) operator survey, a majority of restaurateurs said customer loyalty was more difficult to maintain than it was two years ago. On average, repeat customers represent sales of 71 per cent of quick service, 68 per cent of fast casual, 64 of casual dining, 63 per cent family dining and 51 per cent of fine-dining restaurants. In the quick service and fast-casual sub segments — where repeat customers are most critical for success — a solid proportion of operators reported gains in repeat business.
The forecast includes feedback culled from an annual NRA consumer survey. Their responses reveal a high pent-up demand for restaurants. Four of 10 adults said they weren’t visiting restaurants as often as they would have liked, compared to one in four during the mid-2000s, when the economy was stronger. About 10 per cent of respondents described the national economy as “excellent” or “good,” while the rest said it was “fair” or “poor.” As a result of poor consumer confidence, customer loyalty